Tears in Heaven
| Tears in Heaven | |
|---|---|
| Eric Clapton | |
| publication | January 7, 1992 |
| length | 4:30 |
| Genre (s) | Soft rock |
| Author (s) | Eric Clapton · Will Jennings |
| Label | Warner Bros. Records |
| Award (s) | 3 Grammys · RS # 362 |
| album | Music from the Motion Picture Soundtrack RUSH |
Tears in Heaven is a ballad that was written by Eric Clapton and songwriter Will Jennings in 1991 as a commissioned film music composition for the soundtrack of the film Rush (1992) and also released as a single. The composition was created after the accidental death of Clapton's four-year-old son, who fell out of a window on the 53rd floor in New York City in 1991 . The piece is not Clapton's most commercially successful single, but one of his most famous works. In 1993 the single release won three Grammy Awards .
Text and music
In the first stanza the protagonist in heaven asks himself whether someone who is still alive would recognize him in heaven. Clapton had been asking himself this question since his grandfather's death. This is followed by lines in which he remembers to be strong and to have to go on with his life, because he knows that he does not yet belong in heaven. The second verse varies the first by asking two more questions about a meeting in heaven (“Would you hold my hand”; “Would you support me”) and again the reflection takes place that he will find his way through days and nights because he could not stay in heaven. The bridge is about difficult times and about the fact that there will be peace in the hereafter and he knows that there will be no more tears in heaven (“There'll be no more tears in heaven”). The song ends with a repetition of the first verse.
The song, a film music commissioned composition, is originally in the key of A major. The chords are played with a fingerpick pattern in 4/4 time. After a four-bar intro, the 14-bar verse begins, followed by a 4-bar interlude leading to the next verse. The eight-measure bridge is in the key of E minor.
Awards
| year | Award | category | result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Golden Globe Award | Best movie song | Nominated |
| MTV Movie Award | Best movie song | ||
| MTV Video Music Award | Best camera | ||
| Best video from a movie | |||
| Best video by an artist | Won | ||
| 1993 | Grammy Award | Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media | Nominated |
| Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television | |||
| Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or for Television | |||
| Record of the Year | Won | ||
| Song of the Year | |||
| Best pop solo performance | |||
| 2004 | Rolling Stone Award | The 500 best songs of all time | # 362 |
Chart placements
In Australia, the single was number 37 on the ARIA charts and stayed in the Australian music charts for a total of eight weeks. In Flanders , the single was at number 16 on the music charts and was able to stay in the Belgian Ultratop hit parade for ten weeks . In the Netherlands, Tears in Heaven made it to number 13 on the music charts and stayed in the charts for 21 weeks. In Sweden the appearance ranked 24th on Sverigetopplistan and stayed in the charts for two weeks. In New Zealand, the single reached number one on the charts and remained in the charts for 18 weeks, at number one for five weeks in a row. In Ireland, the single was also number one. In Canada, the publication reached the top spot on RPM magazine's Adult Contemporary and Top Singles charts . In France, the single only reached the charts of the Syndicat National de l'édition Phonographique in 2013 and is at number 112 with a chart week.
In Germany, Tears in Heaven was 42nd in the single charts and stayed there for eleven weeks. In the Swiss charts , Tears in Heaven entered the music chart at number 19 in 1992. The single reached the highest ranking of seven three weeks later. Overall, the single remained in the Swiss charts for 15 weeks. In Austria, the single had a top position of ten in the fourth week of the chart. Before that, the single entered the Ö3 Austria Top 40 in 25th place . Tears in Heaven stayed in the Austrian charts for 12 weeks . In the UK music charts, the single reached number five on the Official Charts Company chart and remained in the charts for a total of 14 weeks. There were re-entries in 2008 and 2012. In the United States, Tears in Heaven reached number one on the adult contemporary chart of Billboard Magazine . The single also placed second on the Billboard Hot 100 and took ninth place on the charts of mainstream rock songs . The release is in third place on the Billboard Radio Songs hit parade.
Tears in Heaven ranks sixth on New Zealand's annual hit parade in 1992 . In Australia, the single was number 28 at the end of 1993.
Awards for music sales
| Country / Region | Award | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Awards for music sales (country / region, Award, Sales) |
||
 Australia (ARIA)
|
 gold
|
35,000 |
 Japan (RIAJ)
|
 platinum
|
100,000 |
 New Zealand (RMNZ)
|
gold
|
7,500 |
 United States (RIAA)
|
Platinum (Physical) + Gold (Digital)
|
2,800,000 |
 United Kingdom (BPI)
|
 silver
|
200,000 |
| All in all |
1 × silver 3 × gold 2 × platinum |
3,142,500 |
Main article: Eric Clapton / Music Sales Awards
Adaptation and cover versions
Shortly after the single was released, Clapton recorded the title as part of the MTV Unplugged concert series. The accompanying Clapton album Unplugged was released in 1992 and won three Grammy Awards the following year . It is Clapton's most successful album to date.
In 2003 André Heller recorded a German version of his album Ruf und Echo under the title Im Himmel in Viennese dialect.
Paul Anka played the song on his 2005 jazz-and-swing album Rock Swings . Joshua Redman also recorded a jazz version that can be found on the 1993 album Wish . A year later, James Galway recorded an interpretation of the piece for the album Wind of Change . Declan Galbraith covered the piece on the 2006 album Thank You , stylistically quite similar to the original version, but with more complex instrumentation. The Gregorian singing group interpreted it in their typical pseudogregorian style. Loona covered the song in 2004; In contrast to the original, this version is orchestral orchestrated.
In 2005, Ozzy Osbourne and Sharon Osbourne gathered an all-star ensemble to record a version of Tears in Heaven . The proceeds from the recording benefited the victims of the tsunami in Southeast Asia. The list of contributors includes Gwen Stefani , Mary J. Blige , Pink , Slash , Duff McKagan , Steven Tyler , Elton John , Ringo Starr , Andrea Bocelli , Katie Melua , Josh Groban , Scott Weiland , Robbie Williams, and Rod Stewart . Ozzy Osbourne and Kelly Osbourne also sang.
In 2007 the song was covered by Peter Gläser ; In 2010 Kenny Werner recorded the piece for the album Form and Fantasy . Kinga Głyk recorded a video in 2016 with a solo version for electric bass .
Individual evidence
- ↑ https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/tears-in-heaven-245443/
- ↑ https://www.udiscover-music.de/popkultur/zeitsprung-20-3-1991-stirbt-eric-claptons-sohn-bei-einem-sturz-aus-dem-fenster
- ↑ Eric Clapton: My Life. Translated from the English by Kristian Lutze and Werner Schmitz. Kiepenheuer & Witsch, Cologne 2007; Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2009, ISBN 978-3-596-18061-5 , p. 256 f.
- ^ Wieland Harms: The Unplugged Guitar Book. 20 of the most beautiful songs for acoustic guitar. Gerig Music, ISBN 3-87252-249-3 , pp. 74-79 ( Tears In Heaven ).
- ↑ a b c d Music from the Motion Picture Soundtrack RUSH (Awards) in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- ↑ a b c 1992 MTV Video Music Awards. MTV, accessed July 7, 2015 .
- ↑ 35th Annual Grammy Awards. Rock on the Net, accessed July 7, 2015 .
- ^ Grammy Awards: Record of the Year. Rock on the Net, accessed July 7, 2015 .
- ^ Grammy Awards: Song of the Year. Rock on the Net, accessed July 7, 2015 .
- ↑ Grammy Awards: Best Pop Solo Performance. Rock on the Net, accessed July 7, 2015 .
- ↑ RadioKaKa: Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of all time (2010 Edition). last.fm, May 10, 2013, archived from the original on July 6, 2013 ; Retrieved July 7, 2015 .
- ↑ Eric Clapton - Tears In Heaven (ARIA). Australian Charts, accessed July 7, 2015 .
- ↑ Eric Clapton - Tears In Heaven (Ultratop). Ultratop, accessed July 7, 2015 .
- ↑ Eric Clapton - Tears In Heaven (Dutch). Dutch Charts, accessed July 7, 2015 .
- ^ Eric Clapton - Tears in Heaven (Swedish). Swedish Charts, accessed July 7, 2015 .
- ^ Eric Clapton - Tears in Heaven (RMNZ). Recorded Music NZ, accessed July 7, 2015 .
- ↑ All there is to know. The Irish Charts, accessed July 7, 2015 .
- ^ Adult Contemporary Tracks. (No longer available online.) RPM, May 9, 1992, archived from the original on January 12, 2016 ; Retrieved July 7, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ 100 hot tracks. (No longer available online.) RPM April 18, 1992, archived from the original July 8, 2015 ; Retrieved July 7, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Eric Clapton - Tears in Heaven (SNEP). Les Charts, accessed July 7, 2015 .
- ^ Official German charts. Media Control, accessed July 7, 2015 .
- ^ Eric Clapton - Tears in Heaven (Switzerland). Swiss hit parade, accessed on July 7, 2015 .
- ^ Eric Clapton - Tears in Heaven (Ö3). Austrian Charts, accessed on July 7, 2015 .
- ^ Tears in Heaven Full Chart History. Official Charts Company, accessed July 7, 2015 .
- ^ Eric Clapton - Chart history (Adult Contemporary). Billboard, accessed July 7, 2015 .
- ^ Eric Clapton - Chart history (Hot 100). Billboard, accessed July 7, 2015 .
- ^ Eric Clapton - Chart history (Mainstream Rock Songs). Billboard, accessed July 7, 2015 .
- ^ Eric Clapton - Chart history (Radio Songs). Billboard, accessed July 7, 2015 .
- ↑ Top Selling Singles of 1992. The Official New Zealand Music Chart, accessed July 7, 2015 .
- ↑ End of Year Charts - Top 50 Singles 1993. ARIA Charts, accessed July 7, 2015 .
- ↑ Sales for Tears in Heaven in the United States ( January 8, 2020 memento on the Internet Archive )
- ^ Matthew Greenwald: Eric Clapton / Tears in Heaven. In: Song Review. AllMusic , accessed October 20, 2018 .
Web links
- Tears in Heaven at songfacts.com (English)