What does Tears In Heaven mean?

Eric Clapton: Tears In Heaven Meaning

Album cover for Tears In Heaven album cover

Song Released: 1992


Tears In Heaven Lyrics

Would you know my name
If I saw you in heaven
Would it be the same
If I saw you in heaven
I must be strong,
and carry on
Cause I know, I don't belong
Here in heaven

Would you hold my hand
If I saw you in heaven
Would you help me...

  1. anonymous
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    Aug 3rd 2006 !⃝

    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

  2. anonymous
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    Jul 1st 2006 !⃝

    It is about his son, and it wasn't his or the nanny's faults. His ex wife was actually on drugs and wasn't paying as much attention to the son.

    He wrote this a while after his son died, and it was for his son.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
  3. anonymous
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    Apr 3rd 2006 !⃝

    This song was written about the death of his father, no the death of his son which is a common misconception.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
  4. ladiesman
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    Jan 19th 2006 !⃝

    No it wasn't about his son, which is a common mistake, it was about his mum. He treated his son like dirt, yeah with all the drugs, work commitments, etc. He didn't feel as much as a bond with his son to write so powerfully. I defended the son side of the song until I finally gave in to overwhelming support for the mother. Hence you be the judge.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
  5. anonymous
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    Jan 5th 2006 !⃝

    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.

  6. anonymous
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    Dec 13th 2005 !⃝

    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

  7. anonymous
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    Nov 10th 2005 !⃝

    This song, which is very sad, I heard he wrote after his son died. This was partly because he wasn't keeping an eye on him because he was on drugs (I don't know if this is true I just heard it). Afterwards, he was feeling so sad and guilty about it he wrote this song.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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