Tears in Heaven : Eric Clapton Coping with Loss Through Music and Words

Abstract

Tears in Heaven was a hit even before the Unplugged show. The pre-chorus/refrain structure suggests that Tears in Heaven is more like a pop song. While Tears in Heaven takes us to a meeting after life, Circus brings us back to the last evening at the circus. The melodic range spans from A2 to A3 which is lower than Tears in Heaven, and there are chords associated with jazz rather than pop or blues. In Tears in Heaven it was the father who needed support. The thought of an afterlife reconciliation in Tears in Heaven, the memory of the last evening and the wish to protect the son in Circus, and the critical reflection on the free life in Lonely Stranger. Lyrics and chord transcriptions for Tears in Heaven and Lonely Stranger are quoted from Eric Clapton Unplugged. As in numerous elegies the lost loved one is relocated to heaven.