I don't believe in Heaven anymore but I still love the idea of it.
It's comforting to think that there's a 'perfect' place for the dearly departed.
I wouldn't mind being completely wrong about it..afterall I would be reunited with my Dad, my brother Jamie, My Grandparents, and far too many Friends and Pets...quit snickering I might squeak past the Pearly Gates!
As far as metaphors go, Heaven is a beauty. The eternal, redemptive, reward for living a decent life. The worries of this world washed away. Peace Out.
I also love the idea of Hell as a final destination of eternal torment for all of the monstrously twisted, psychotic, assholes who do such a great job of making Life a "Living" Hell for the rest of us...that would be too good to be true.
Anyway back to the metaphor thingamabob. I was curious to see how many songs that I had in my Music Library that used Heaven as a reference. I suppose that the generic version(s) of Heaven has been commercially Hallmark'd and Kitschified into something less regal than our predecessors had imagined it, but what are ya gonna do?
Anyway here is my list..
BeBop Deluxe: Maid In Heaven
Bee Gees: Too Much Heaven
Belinda Carlisle: Heaven
Bob Dylan/ Eric Clapton/ Guns N Roses:
Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door
The Cure/Taking Back Sunday: Just Like Heaven
The Fray: Heaven Forbid
Fall Out Boy: Seven Minutes In Heaven
Gorillaz: Don’t Get Lost In Heaven
K-OS: Heaven Only Knows
Lacuna Coil: Heaven’s A Lie
Led Zeppelin/Jimmy Page/Techno Trance:
Stairway To Heaven
Phil Collins: Something Happened On The Way To Heaven
The Pixies: This Monkey Gone To Heaven
Psychedelic Furs: Heaven
REM: Near Wild Heaven
The Tea Party: Heaven Coming Down
Tears For Fears: Closest Thing To Heaven
Toad The Wet Sprocket: Little Heaven
Bee Gees: Too Much Heaven
Belinda Carlisle: Heaven
Bob Dylan/ Eric Clapton/ Guns N Roses:
Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door
The Cure/Taking Back Sunday: Just Like Heaven
The Fray: Heaven Forbid
Fall Out Boy: Seven Minutes In Heaven
Gorillaz: Don’t Get Lost In Heaven
K-OS: Heaven Only Knows
Lacuna Coil: Heaven’s A Lie
Led Zeppelin/Jimmy Page/Techno Trance:
Stairway To Heaven
Phil Collins: Something Happened On The Way To Heaven
The Pixies: This Monkey Gone To Heaven
Psychedelic Furs: Heaven
REM: Near Wild Heaven
The Tea Party: Heaven Coming Down
Tears For Fears: Closest Thing To Heaven
Toad The Wet Sprocket: Little Heaven
Do you know of any others?
(PP..it's OK if you ixnay the obvious Classical, Gangsta Crap, and 80s Christian Pop stuff ..no really)
Talking Heads: Heaven.
ReplyDelete"Everyone is trying to get to the bar.
The name of the bar, the bar is called heaven."
Disco flashback, y'all.
ReplyDelete"Heaven on the 7th Floor" by ???
Heaven on the 7th floor
(Hey baby)
Heaven on the 7th floor
(I ain't complainin)
But I've never been so high before
So please don't rescue me
Never set me free
Hey, hey, hey
Is it true you're going to be buried alongside WW?
ReplyDelete"Heaven Must Have Sent You From Above"
Ixnays the Bryan Adams song.
ReplyDeleteOkay, I'm spent.
I don't even know half of the songs you listed. My bad.
ReplyDeleteSomeone once told me that maybe hell is not the place that most people imagine it to be. It is just the absence of heaven.
heavens, haven't you got anything better to do with your time?!
ReplyDeleteYou be Fred and I'll be Ginger...
ReplyDeleteCHEEK TO CHEEK
Heaven... I'm in heaven,
And my heart beats so that I can hardly speak.
And I seem to find the happiness I seek,
When we're out together dancing cheek to cheek.
Donovan: "Wear Your Love Like Heaven."
ReplyDeleteMAKE ME STOP!!!
Okay, okay, last one.
ReplyDeleteManhattan Transfer: "Operator"
Operator
Give me information
Information
Give me long distance
Long distance
Give me heaven...
"Pennies From Heaven"
ReplyDeleteI can stop anytime!
Heaven Up Here by Echo & The Bunnymen (wonderful album)
ReplyDeleteUm ... Heaven Knows I'm MIserable Now by The Smiths? Misery probably would be like Heaven to Morrissey.
Heaven (must be there) -a 1984 hit for aussie band eurogliders. A half decent song.
ReplyDeleteI agree with whoever said "hell is other people". I also think that heaven is the lack of other people. Well, MOST other people.
ReplyDelete'Heaven must be Missing an Angel' (Tavares).
ReplyDeleteBut Belinda said "Heaven is a Place on Earth" - so stick around for a while.
Three Steps To Heaven by Eddie Cochran or Showaddywaddy who give me nightmares.
ReplyDeleteElderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town by Pearl Jam.
ReplyDeleteWait...what were the rules? Is this another double-entendre thing?
You forgot Tears in Heaven by Eric Clapton.
ReplyDeleteTears In Heaven
by Eric Clapton and Will Jennings
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 stand
If I saw you in heaven?
I'll find my way
Through night and day,
'Cause I know I just can't stay
Here in heaven.
Time can bring you down,
Time can bend your knees.
Time can break your heart,
Have you begging please, begging please.
Beyond the door,
There's peace I'm sure,
And I know there'll be no more
Tears in heaven.
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.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And I had thought I would not comment on this post!
You'll Never Get To Heaven If You Break My Heart.
ReplyDeleteStylistics or Dionne Warwick.
Something a little more obscure: Joe Jackson's 10 year old experimental album "Heaven & Hell" where each piece of music (it would be insulting to call them mere *songs* :) is devoted to one of the seven deadly sins. I first heard this music live, almost exactly 10 years ago, at the Vogue Theatre on Granville Street and was totally blown away by it. It's still one of my favourite albums but not for mainstream taste.
ReplyDeleteok Im not going to c all the other comments: Here is some Heaven songs from my billions of mpthree tracks.
ReplyDelete(1) Queen - Heaven for everyone....
hmmmm...ooookay. It seems i dont have any other heaven song! godammit!
:(
Are you spying on my head HE? I'm currently having a typical "OH MY GOD I'M GOING TO DIE AND THERE'S NOTHING I CAN DO ABOUT IT" drama, and really wishing I believed stoically in heaven. :(
ReplyDeleteI'll have forgotten about it in a couple of weeks, mark my words...
Any list that starts with Be Bop Deluxe is heavenly! Wanna be a no-pay DJ? We have openings!
ReplyDelete"The Concept of Irony with Continual Reference to Socrates" by SĆøren Kierkegaard
ReplyDeleteDid I get it right? Do I win?
dammit!
HE love,
ReplyDeleteI got nothin'. But I thought it would be nice to make an appearance. ::hipshake::
I alsp must say that each time you used the word screw in the post before this gave me shivers.
::double hipshake::
Soft love,
T
Have I died and gone to Heaven?
ReplyDelete(That was a question,not a song)
Paradise by the Dashboard Light
ReplyDeleteMeatloaf.
Hey, paradise is heaven.
fine, i got nothin.
Over at Vicus' blog you mentioned Maurice Chevalier who sang "Thank Heaven For Leetle Girls."
ReplyDeleteJot that one down for the record.
Meatloaf evidently likes his paradise: "Heaven Can Wait."
ReplyDeleteAccording to my media player, there is also the little-known and probably sweet rubbish "just like heaven" by katie melua, although knowing her it's probably someone else's song.
I also have "Christmas in Heaven" by the Monty Python guys. good shizzle homeboi.
I was already singing "oooooh heaven is a plce on earth" today before I popped over to tell you something interesting, but I think that was your Belinda C
ReplyDeletethe something interesting was about celebrity worship (well, not really, it was a little more neurobiological than that - right up your street! go buy New Scientist and read the article on primate porn)
WOW! I missed some obvious songs and some obscure ones..but these would be songs that I actually listen to from time to time..well that's not entirely true either.
ReplyDeleteClapton's Tears in Heaven is way too depressing and I try to limit my intake of Disco.
MJ,
I am thrilled that you had the opportunity to parade your formidable powers of recollection.
I want you on my Trivia Team!
Thank You
Thank You
Thank You
Thank You
Thank You
Thank You
Thank You
Thank You
menchie,
The abscence of Heaven eh? Well I suppose that you can't have Good without Evil..we Westerners demand a Dichotomy.
ziggay,
No.
Actually I don't have 'any-othing' better to do in the middle of the night.
betty,
My music afficianado..
Morrissey should legally change his name to Missorry!
lee,
Good One! We actually had that song on the airwaves back in the day...I don't want to live in this place.
stace,
La Di Da, quoting Sartre are we? I agree that the ratio of Charming to Tedious people is depressingly out of whack.
KAZ,
"must be missin' an an-gel"
Now I can't get that melody out of me 'ead..D'OH!
geoff,
Musicologist Meister..hmm you make it sound crappy..still I must search for it and take my chances.
rimster,
ReplyDeleteFantastic. You really have to get up early in the morning to pull one over on you. Go back to bed now, sweet dreams.
*tip toes over the eggshells
gautami,
Oh yeah but it is so depressing and I get sick just thinking about his son's death. Waaaaaaaaaaa.
I can't imagine the horror and I understand that it was therapeutic to write but Waaaaaaaaaaa.
geoff
Go You!
Ah the Stylistics were smoooooooooth. Whitney's auntie had a great voice but all of her psychic hotline shenanigans makes my brain pucker.
awndrayah,
You really are kewl! I remember how badly everyone behaved when Joe gave up his Pop for his new persona..
Everything
Everything
Gives You Cancer
Theres no cure
Theres no answer
Is She really goin' out-with-him..
they are both great.
Sunday Papers..
OK gotta stop.
ghostay!
A-HA..surprising isn't it. Most of mine are from New Bands..well newish. If it was a song with Heaven in the Lyrics you would prolly have plenty.
cheval gras,
I am already well ensconced in YOUR HEAD and I have no intentions of leaving...
EVER!
"Heaven 'n Hell" by Black Sabbath (RJ Dio vocals). Ronnie's
ReplyDeleteroughly nine-ninths windpipes, by volume.
"Pennies from Heaven" -Johnston & Burke. Stan Getz rendition, but there are probably other cover arrangements around.
that's hell of alot of heaven in here.
ReplyDeleteHeaven is my woman's love....Col Joye and the Joyboys (Oz singer):
ReplyDelete**Heaven is my woman's love
Gently risin' with the su-un
She gives me cause to face the day
And brings me joy when day is do-one
Heaven is my woman's love
Heaven is the way I li-ive
She gives me all the love she can
And then somehow finds more to give
And when I see her in the mornin' light
I feel the same as in the dark of night
She is my everything that I'm proud of
The heaven of my woman's lo-o-o-ove**
It's really catchy, and a very old song now, but still gets played on the rural radio.
Rolf Harris (Tie me kangaroo down sport) did a version of Stairway to Heaven too ...some trivia :)
**Imagine there's no heaven**...John Lennon
Will The Roses Bloom In Heaven?
Words and Music by Chas. K. Harris.
Published 1911 by Chas. K. Harris.
[Verse 1]
In a cold and cheerless garret,
In a room so dim so lone,
Mid the frosty wint'ry silence,
There is heard a little moan.
And a little child is asking,
At the break of day,
Will the roses bloom in Heaven,
Tell me mother, teel me pray.
[Chorus]
Will the roses bloom in Heaven,
Are there any gardens there?
Any violets and clover,
Way up with the Angels fair?
Will the branches fill with blossoms,
And in winter fill with snow?
Will the roses bloom in Heaven?
Tell me Mamma, ere I go.
[Verse 2]
Now the room grows light and lighter,
Ev'ry thing has caught a glow.
Heaven seems to stretch about her,
And dream faces come and go.
Then she whispers birds are singing,
Songs of melody,
And I see the roses blooming,
While the Angels beckon me.
[Chorus]
Johnny Cash: **You're the nearest thing to Heaven**
Connie Smith: **Jesus is your ticket to heaven**
Are You From Heaven?
By L. Wolfe Gilbert & Anatol Friedland
Published 1917 by Gilbert & Friedland, Inc.
[Verse 1]
I hold your little photograph
Because you are not here;
I sit and wonder
'bout you little dear!
You're just as near perfection
as most anyone could be,
My dream girl, Won't you tell me:
[Chorus]
Are you from Heaven? My glad heart sings,
Are you an angel? Where are your wings?
Who were you sent for? Who were you meant for?
I'll tell you, I'll tell you, For me alone!
**I Found Heaven**
Woah, woah, woah, woah, woah, yeah, woah, yeah
(Take That)
Did we get Heaven Sent by INXS?
Wear Your Love Like Heaven
Color in sky prussian blue
Scarlet fleece changes hue
Crimson ball sinks from view
Chorus
Wear your love like heaven
Wear your love like heaven
Wear your love like heaven
Sarah Mclachlan:**Wear your love like heaven**
The great Bob Dylan:
**Tryin' To Get To Heaven**
**When did you leave heaven?**
Rolling Stones:
HEAVEN (off Tattoo album)
(M. Jagger/K. Richards)
Smell of you baby, my senses, my senses be praised
Smell of you baby, my senses, my senses be praised
Kissing and running, kissing and running away
Kissing and running, kissing and running away
Senses be praised
Senses be praised..
Joan Baez:
**Heaven help us all**
**Only Heaven Knows**
I might have doubled up a little, got a little excited.
Pam
I hope there is a heaven, because some people I look after deserve a better place to go to when they die...better than the way they have to live with their illnesses anyway. And, I ope I have helped them be comfortable, as much as possible anyway...before they do indeed go..hopefully, to heaven.
ReplyDeleteI love the song list btw.
allan,
ReplyDeleteYES I wanna be a DJ!!!
"I am a DJ
I am what I play"
To paraphrase Be Bop..
It would be cool to live
"Life ON the Air Age"
rimster,
Whatever it is that you are taking, cut the dosage by half.
tara,
Thank You for dropping by and the hippy hippy shake. You must have a heaven song somehwere?
c'mon?
preposterous ponderings,
Yes as a matter of fact this is Heaven...
table for 8?
first nations,
Da na na NAH! I love Ellen Foley on that song..what's it gonna be boy? She did a big rock play-it-at-11 anthem called Young Lust that back around '80.
MJ,
Shhh..it is so uncool to know about cheesy musical numbers..I'm gonna lose all of my street cred!
fathorse,
O M G how could I forget that one. I loved that big Vegas ending. They always did such funny American accents.
I still like your view too,
Primate Porn!? Heart be still.
Has there ever been a Celebrity who looked as ALL AMERICAN as Belinda? No of course not it was a trick question.
hello fssschtick!
ReplyDeleteBlack Sabbath and Stan Getz, how eclectic. I love your 9/9ths explanation..Ronnie wasn't using his diaphragm eh, tsk tsk.
Pam,
WOW! You really went to town! Did you know these off of the top of your head? I want you on my trivia team.
cazzie,
Far too many 'good' people have such a terrible time in this world...so I hope that you are right.
I think of heaven and hell as states of mind that you expereince in the moment. Not places you go after you die. But that's just me.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe in an afterlife.To me, "heaven" and "hell" occur while alive here, not in some imagined place.
ReplyDeleteAs always, your music list intrigues me. I was about to add a song I don't like "Tears in Heaven", but saw that G already commented on that. The only song on your list that I have in my music collection is "Stairway to Heaven." mmmmmmm!
gel
Good heavens, HE, everythings gone down to hell in a hand basket.
ReplyDeletehey - i have some too- cool, i usually hit a complete blank on these!!!
ReplyDelete"the edge of heaven" (wham)
"heaven" (live)