Tears In Heaven - Eric Clapton

I love finding out more about the background of songs, especially if I can relate to the lyrics in any kind of way or if the lyrics move me personally.

In an earlier post I have already revealed some facts about the Boomtown Rats' song I Don't Like Mondays. In this post I would like to tell you about Eric Clapton and what kind of tragic event inspired him to compose one of his most successful songs - Tears in Heaven.

Eric Clapton, born 30 March 1945, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. On 20 March 1991, Eric Clapton's four-year-old son, Conor, died after falling from the 53rd-floor window of his mother's friend's apartment in New York City. Shortly afterwards Eric Clapton wrote the song Tears in Heaven, which was co-written by Will Jennings. By means of this song, Eric Clapton expressed his grief and mourned over the sudden loss of his son.

The song was initially featured on the soundtrack to the film Rush (a movie about two cops who go after an elusive drug dealer and eventually become drug addicts themselves) and it won three Grammy Awards.
In 2004 Eric Clapton stopped playing the song due to personal reasons. He explained to the press that he could not perform it anymore because his emotions had changed over the years. He did not feel the same kind of loss anymore as he did right after the mortal accident of his four-year-old son, which is such an essential part of performing the song according to him. In an interview Eric Clapton stated: " I almost subconsciously used music for myself as a healing agent, and lo and behold, it worked...I have got a great deal of happiness and a great deal of healing from music."

I think the number of people all over the world who know this song is completely amazing, even though the majority probably does not even know about the meaning of the song and what Eric Clapton tried to express with it. All in all, it is a song written about the pain and loss Eric Clapton felt following the death of his little boy who died at a terribly young age.

I added the video for you to listen to it once more - if you feel like it.