anonymous December 13th, 2005 05:42PM  
Actually, that's completely wrong. Eric Clapton's son Conor, who was only 4, fell from a New York apartment building and landed on an adjacent roof top because his nanny had left the window open. Clapton has said that this song wasn't written because of the death of his son, but that it was written for the movie Rush. I personally don't believe it, and think of it as a beautiful momento to his son. This song is amazinly written and played. One of my personal favorites.

-Casey, 10th grader from NH

anonymous January 5th, 2006 01:57AM  
The two previous interpretations are very close, just combine them and you are there. After his son died at age four, Clapton wrote this song for his own sake. He wanted to clear his head and come to peace with the whole thing. It was not written with the direct intention of being used at shows or concerts, it was his way of venting. He did sing it at a night club and that's when it grew in popularity, then it was incorporated into his long list of hits. Overall though, it was just written as a way to come to peace with the fact that his son, Conor, did die at age 4 by falling out of the building.

anonymous August 3rd, 2006 07:50PM  
Alright you idiot listen up, are you some sort of clown? This song is clearly about his son please jump off the highest peak you can find. Cream of clapton

anonymous February 7th, 2007 09:06PM  
Circus left town.... Thats the song Clapton wrote to make his peace with connor. He was actually across town in his own Condo. Connor's mother, Lori Santos (Clapton's ex),was in her bedroom with her current boyfriend, While connor was in the living room playing with the maid. He tripped and fell out the window. PLEASE PEOPLE QUIT BLAMING ERIC AND DRUGS FOR ACCIDENTAL DEATH. Eric was clean and sober at the time of connor's death. Tears in Heaven originally for the movie Rush...

anonymous August 29th, 2007 11:49PM  
Clapton had spent the day before with his son at the circus. They (being his son and son's mother) had planned on going to the zoo that day. His mother was dealing with a fax. Conor was playing with the nanny. The housekeeper had a left a large (4 ft.) window open for cleaning. There were no safety bars on the window. Conor ran from the nanny as part of a game. He ran right out the window and fell over 50 stories to a roof top below. The nanny screamed, bringing the mom into the room. Clapton arrived a few minutes later for the zoo trip, not knowing what had just happened. He was informed in a sort of surreal way. VERY TRAGIC but having nothing to do with drugs or child neglect. Yes, Tears in Heaven and the Circus were written for Conor by Clapton by his own admission. I believe even Phil Collins wrote a song for Conor.

anonymous September 25th, 2007 09:13PM  
Wow, there is something seriously wrong with you people. You really need to get your facts straight, because all of you know nothing and love to spread vicious gossip. These facts are indisputable, and none of you got the main fact right, none of you. The Mother (Del Santo), the Nanny, or Clapton "left" the window open to air out. A block Janitor for the complex was in the room cleaning, who stupidly slid open a 4 foot by 6 foot glass wall that was suppose to be permanently locked, but the lock was broken. The Boy Conor was running (playing) with the Nanny, and did not realize the window was open when jumping toward the one foot wooden ledge on the inside of the glass frame. The Mother (Del Santo) was in the next room reading a fax, not on drugs. Clapton arrived 5 minutes later from his place across town somewhere. Clapton went with Conor to the Circus the day before, not that day. Tears in heaven was written by Clapton 9 months later, for his SON, not the effing movie Rush. Get it straight or don't say it-

anonymous October 13th, 2007 08:34AM  
Eric Clapton was not with his son when he died, he was not chasing him, he was not in a drunk stupor unable to watch over him properly, and he did not throw him out a window while tripping out of his mind as I've heard someone comment.

I heard his story on Larry King today. He was in his apt and Connor was at his mothers apt building, some 5 blocks away from Eric's. The inquest said that someone was cleaning the window and left it open. Apparently poor Connor climbed up and fell.

anonymous December 6th, 2007 01:44PM  
This song is about his son's death and it wasn't because of him or his mother. He was on a NJ apt. on the53Floor(said by his exwife) and she was on the other room looking at some fax. while Connor was with his nanny. He was playing hide and seek . At the time there was the janitor cleaning some things in the room and he opened the window (which was like a crystal wall, it was not meat to be opened)to let some air in and when Connor and the nanny entered the room the janitor stopped the nanny to tell her that the window was opened but at the same time conor was runing to the window and fell. Neither the mother or the father were doing drugs at that time nor the mother was with her boyfriend.

kossoff1 January 8th, 2008 11:17AM  
Clapton actually started this song with his grandfather Jack in mind, however it became more relevant to connor and I think he finished it this way. The whole thing about the apartment window thing is so tragic, however being a father myself, its hard to imagine ever being in a situation where I would buy an apartment that was 50 floors or more higher with a four year old running around all day. This is where the stupidity lies, which incidentally had nothing to do with Clapton.

anonymous March 11th, 2008 10:57PM  
I recently delivered my stillborn son on Christmas eve. I bought a mix cd from starbucks the other day and this song was on it. As I listened to it, I cried, Again and again, I had to research it because I didn't think it was a love song and a little confusing. I couldn't think about anything else besides my son in heaven while listening to it. Does anyone know why, he says "I know I don't belong here in heaven"? IS it his son's view. Or he can't be in heaven cause it's not his time yet, so has to be strong and carry on? or is he directing to his son because he's in heaven, kinda like I don't belong here in heaven.. with you because god decides when it's time? Any ideas why he words it like that? In any case it's a very beautiful song and thanks for any input.

anonymous April 18th, 2008 02:51PM  
Just Thought I would throw this out there. Great interpretations guys!

From http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21258590/


In Clapton’s new book, the famed musician wrote that he poured himself into his music, honoring his son with several songs, most notably, “Tears In Heaven.”

“Was that the toughest song you ever wrote or did it just come out?” Potts asked.

“The writing of the song is the therapy. The toughness is doing nothing,” Clapton responded. “From the time where everyone said goodbye to one another at the funeral and I was left at home — from that time to the time the song was finished, it was harder if I didn’t play the guitar. Playing the guitar was actually the solution. The tough part was actually being in the knowledge and the moment of what happened.”

anonymous June 17th, 2008 05:01AM  
I think that all your silly stories are cruel to what really happened and the meaning of this song. like a previous person on this string of comments, I had a stillborn son at full term, who I only had in my arms for a couple of hours before he was taken, this song and the meaning is very warming to me, and I long to be with Tommy again. Great song Eric!!

anonymous June 19th, 2008 02:47AM  
For goodness sakes people. Eric was not at the apartment but his wife was. The janitor removed a piece of glass to fix a lock on it. Mom was on the fax machine and nanny was not playing hide and go seek. Connor was by himself trying to get Mom to play. He ran out of the window not tripped. Listen to the dam interview!

anonymous September 12th, 2008 05:01PM  
Eric Clapton tells this tragic story in his book, "Clapton".
He was at his apartment in NY, and as he was getting ready to walk over to Lori's apartment to pick she and Conor up for a trip to the Zoo and out to eat, his phone rang around 11AM. It was Lori and she was hysterical. She told him that Conor was dead. Eric at first was in complete shock and disbelief, even asking her, "Are you sure?!" She then told him that Conor had fallen out of the window, 53 stories up, plunging to his death.
When Eric arrived, this is what he said, and I QUOTE:

"By talking to the police and the doctors, I established what had happened without even having to go into the room. The main sitting room had windows along one side that went from floor to ceiling, and they could be tilted open for cleaning. There were no window guards, however, since the building was a condominium and escaped the normal building regulations. On this morning the JANITOR was cleaning the windows and had temporarily left them open. Conor was racing about the apartment playing a game of hide-and-seek with his nanny, and while Lori was distracted by the janitor’s warning her about the danger, he simply ran into the room and straight out the window. He then fell 49 floors before landing on the roof of an adjacent four-story building." End QUOTE.

Sheesh people. Your compassion's overwhelming!!
Whether or not Eric Clapton was on drugs or drink or sober as a baby, which, by the way, he was then, these kinds of freak accidents can and do happen to anyone! For those of you who are implying that he asked for it because of his lifestyle choices, are not only sick, but get off of your high horses! Who are YOU to point a finger at this man who made some bad choices in his life? You've NEVER said or done ANYTHING in your entire life that was bad or ever did or said anything to hurt anyone?
Be careful of those stones you're carrying around in that glass house of yours.
And as far as what Conor's parents had to endure facing life without him, NOT to mention the grief and guilt of knowing that their son died such a horrific death, well I wonder how many of us would even be here today if faced with that.
And for the woman who delievered a still baby? My heart and prayers go out to you and your precious angel.
And I think the lyric, "...I know I don't belong, here in heaven." is meant to be interpreted as his way of saying it's not my time yet. Or maybe because of his overwhelming grief and guilt, he felt that he (Eric) didn't deserve Heaven.

Ryckboy5 October 14th, 2008 09:48AM  
You all are being very stupid don't talk lies about this song. Eric wrote it for his son Conor (died by falling out a window).

He did not write the song for his movie Rush. Sure it was in the movie but he actually wrote it for his son. The whole story was Conor was in his mom's house on the 53rd floor and he was playing hide and seek with the nanny and the janitor had opened the window (4ft), and Conor was not paying attention when he got too close to the window and fell right out. Nor mother or Father(Eric Clapton) were on drugs.

anonymous December 26th, 2008 05:06PM  
I had heard before I had heard the song itself that it was written for Clapton's son, Connor. After hearing the song, my sister and I found ourselves discussing it months later after hearing it again and she told me she thought that in the song Clapton was asking his son all of those questions (Would you know my name? Would you help me stand?). I disagreed with her interpretation, however, as I had always thought after hearing the song, that Clapton was writing from his son's point-of-view. His son was so young when he died, and the questions in the song are his son asking him, "Would you know my name?" An adult, if they believe in afterlife, has already determined their own answers to these questions of meeting deceased family members in the afterlife, whether or not they would know them, see them and remember them. A child, however, does not develop their own idea of the afterlife, and at such an age as Connor at the time of his death, most likely hasn't even considered death or afterlife, so Clapton, I think, is writing from his son's P.O.V, asking these questions, "Would you know my name?" "Would you hold my hand?". However, there's the line, "I know I don't belong, here in heaven." I think this is a part of Clapton's denial over his son's death; it's a stage in grief and it shows in the song. A child deserves to live a long, healthy life. Not to die so young. He doesn't belong there, he belongs with his family, with the people who love him.

Perhaps I'm wrong. Just my own interpretation of the song.

anonymous March 14th, 2009 09:22AM  
What year did his son die?

vicky33 March 31st, 2009 08:22AM  
He died in March 1991. Why did he jump? did he just tried to stand on border the window without knowing there was no glass and accidently felt? I wonder what happened in his mind? this is a mystery ... do you know something?

JasmineStar April 27th, 2009 12:01AM  
In the song Eric wonders if he might see his son again in Heaven, but he then questions whether he would belong in heaven, knowing his guilt on a number of issues, so he questions whether he could meet with his son again. i am not sure what guilt Eric felt, but probably any parent of a child who has died suddenly would feel some guilt, wondering if they could have kept them safer. But even if Eric was off alcohol and heroin by teh time his child died,we all know it can take a lot longer to rebuid the relationships that were not possible while a person was a heavy drug user. It also can take time for a person to be considerate of others, or to think of their needs. A broken lock on a window, leaving a child with nannies and needing to run around but no park anywhere available, and a child left to run off the balcony seems something he may have felt guilt over. Taking a child to New York appartment because your career or recordign is there when the childs needs might be for open spaces to run around, is not really the parents selfishness, but if a child dies from this, the guilt a parent would feel would be very tough.

anonymous May 26th, 2009 10:25PM  
Seriously some of you guys are really dumb. Do yourself a favor and go read his autobiography Clapton. It is really good and hopefully it will stop most of you from blurting out wrong information. It is about Conor!!! Crack open a book please!