Songs I Can't Stand #3 - "Tears in Heaven"
@teamfreak16 (43648)
Denver, Colorado
February 20, 2017 7:50am CST
This is a tough one. We're at #3 in my Songs I Can't Stand series, and it's a tune by a man making his first appearance on my music countdowns (unfortunately, it's a negative one:) "Tears in Heaven" by Eric Clapton.
Born in Surrey, England, Eric Clapton, CBE (Commander of the British Empire,) started in the music business in 1962, and is one of rock music's all time legends. One of the most influential guitarists in history, kids in the 1970's referred to Clapton as "God," (and for all I know, people still do.) Eric Clapton has won an astounding 18 Grammy Awards during his lengthy career, and is the only three time inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: as a solo artist and as a member of both Cream and The Yardbirds.
On a personal note, Clapton is the founder of the Crossroads Center, a substance abuse clinic in Antigua. The guitarist, himself a recovering alcoholic and addict, organizes, on a regular basis, the Crossroads Guitar Festival to raise money for the cause.
On March 20, 1991, Clapton's four year old son, Conor, fell to his death from the window of a 53rd floor New York apartment, not owned by Clapton, who was not there at the time.
To come to terms with his grief, Clapton wrote "Tears in Heaven" with Grammy and Academy Award winning songwriter Will Jennings, who also wrote the theme from the movie Titanic.
The 1992 single was intended for, and used as, part of Clapton's soundtrack for the movie Rush, and he also recorded an acoustic version of the song on MTV for their "Unplugged" series, which is also the title of the live album that resulted.
"Tears in Heaven" was HUGE. The song snagged three Grammy's, and check this out: peaking at #2 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart, it is Clapton's 2nd highest US charting, behind only his cover of Bob Marley's "I Shot the Sheriff." "Tears in Heaven" is also Clapton's biggest selling United States single, with over 2,800,000 copies sold. All told, the song has been certified as either gold, silver, platinum, or multi platinum in 16 countries (and that's just traditional formats. Digitally, the song has hit those numbers in four countries.)
That is a SERIOUS hit record!
And I cannot stand it. Remember, this is my point of view only, but this song is soooo boring. It's sad. It's depressing (I felt this way about "Tears in Heaven" before I ever learned of young Conor's tragic death. I wasn't able to change my feelings about the song even after I became aware of the song's backstory.)
When I get the links for the songs I use in these countdowns, very rarely do I listen to the entire song. I hear enough to ensure that it's what I need, copy the link, and get busy. I'll listen later.
In this case, since I don't like it, I haven't listened to "Tears in Heaven" in many, many years. So, before I did anything else, I listened to both the Rush and Unplugged versions, in their entirety, in order to reacquaint myself with the tune.
Nothing's changed; that was excruciating. It just does absolutely nothing for me. It never has. And I just don't see anything ever changing that.
(Parents: Please be sure to take the time and childproof your windows and stairs.)
(Info verified by Wikipedia)
"Tears in Heaven" is a ballad written by Eric Clapton and Will Jennings about the pain Clapton felt following the death of his four-year-old son, Conor, who ...
7 people like this
8 responses
@FourWalls (86812)
• United States
20 Feb 17
Musically, isn't this song basically note-for-note a rehash of "Wonderful Tonight"? I thought only Steve Miller ripped himself off (see: "My Dark Hour" and "Fly Like an Eagle").
3 people like this
@teamfreak16 (43648)
• Denver, Colorado
20 Feb 17
Yes, actually, "Wonderful Tonight" did pop into my head as I listened.
1 person likes this
@crossbones27 (52997)
• Mojave, California
20 Feb 17
I am not sure on this one because @FourWalls said, it sounds real close to wonderful tonight, obliviously different tone and lyrics which I love. I definitely would pick that song over this song.
2 people like this
@much2say (57760)
• Los Angeles, California
22 Feb 17
Although I totally get how this song came to be, and what a sad story, still I say this song never hit me. After I learned the background of it, I always thought this should be a sort of private song . . . almost like a private letter between him and his son - if that makes any sense. I could never get that tragic scenario out of my head hearing this song.
1 person likes this

@much2say (57760)
• Los Angeles, California
26 Feb 17
@teamfreak16 I was talking to Hubby about this - he pretty much agreed.
1 person likes this
@teamfreak16 (43648)
• Denver, Colorado
22 Feb 17
I respect his choice of method to deal with his grief, I just didn't like the end result.
1 person likes this

@andriaperry (118793)
• Anniston, Alabama
20 Feb 17
I dont know this one but I wont listen cause I do not like songs like that either.
1 person likes this
@teamfreak16 (43648)
• Denver, Colorado
20 Feb 17
No problem. From my point of view, you won't be missing much.
@teamfreak16 (43648)
• Denver, Colorado
20 Feb 17
Thankfully, I had left the radio business before this came out. I couldn't have stood to play this every hour.
1 person likes this
@AliCanary (4459)
•
21 Feb 17
I love Clapton. This song, not so much. I don't think it's so boring, although it's quite slow, for him. However, I did know the story (the DJs told it OVER AND OVER), so that made it sad, and then it became this massive hit and got overplayed, so that made it awful. And then I felt bad about hating it because of the sad story. Ugh.
1 person likes this
@teamfreak16 (43648)
• Denver, Colorado
21 Feb 17
I had a girlfriend that played it over and over and over. And over! After I posted this, I had to listen to a bunch of classic Clapton just to get this out of my head.
1 person likes this
@teamfreak16 (43648)
• Denver, Colorado
20 Feb 17
I honestly think a lot of people are going to agree with you on this one.
1 person likes this
@JohnRoberts (109841)
• Los Angeles, California
20 Feb 17
I agree with you. Clapton is a legend no question. I can appreciate his expressing his despair and sadness over his son. But that does not mean we have to like this song or deem it great.
1 person likes this
@teamfreak16 (43648)
• Denver, Colorado
20 Feb 17
Tragic and sad? Definitely. Understandable that he wrote the song and couldn't exactly rock out, yes. But it's just not for me.
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