Heaven Lyrics
Will you recognize me
In the flashing lights?
I try to keep my heart clean
But I can't get it right
Will you recognize me
When I'm lying on my back?
Something's gone inside me
And I can't get it back
[Pre-Chorus: Emeli Sandé]
Oh heaven, oh heaven
I wake with good intentions
But the day, it always lasts too long
Then I'm gone
Oh heaven, oh heaven
I wake with good intentions
But the day, it always lasts too long
[Chorus: Emeli Sandé]
Then I'm gone
Then I'm gone
Then I'm gone
Then I'm gone
Then I'm gone
Then I'm gone
Then I'm gone
Then I'm gone
Will you recognize me
When I'm stealing from the poor?
You're not gonna like me
I'm nothing like before
Will you recognize me
When I lose another friend?
Will you learn to leave me?
Oh, give me one more try again
[Pre-Chorus: Emeli Sande & Choir]
Oh heaven, oh heaven
I wake with good intentions
But the day, it always lasts too long
Then I'm gone
Oh heaven, oh heaven
I wake with good intentions
But the day, it always lasts too long (Ooh-ooh-ooh)
[Chorus: Emeli Sandé & Choir]
Then I'm gone
Then I'm gone
Then I'm gone
Then I'm gone
Then I'm gone
Then I'm gone
Then I'm gone
Then I'm gone
Oh heaven, oh heaven
I wake with good intentions
Oh heaven, oh heaven
I wake with good intentions
Oh heaven, oh heaven
I wake with good intentions
You say that you will wait
I try, but always break
'Cause the day always lasts too long
[Chorus: Emeli Sandé & Choir]
Then I'm gone
Then I'm gone
Then I'm gone
Then I'm gone
Then I'm gone
Then I'm gone
Then I'm gone
Then I'm gone
Then I'm gone
Then I'm gone
Then I'm gone
Then I'm gone
About
Kicking off Emeli Sandé’s solo career, “Heaven” explores the concept of life after death, and mulling over the bad things that she has done throughout her daily life. The song draws influence from drum ‘n’ bass, sampling James Brown’s “Funky Drummer”. Its release came after Sandé penned a record deal with Virgin EMI when she helped put together Chip’s platinum-selling track “Diamond Rings”.
The music video for “Heaven”, directed by Jake Nava, was released on 22 July 2011. Filmed in Bethnal Green, London, the video shows frequent shots of people praying and carrying a statue of Mary and God.
The track peaked at number 1 on the UK Dance Charts, and reached number 2 on the UK Singles Charts.
When speaking to Digital Spy about the track, Emeli said:
A lot of people when they first hear it immediately think early ‘90s, that kind of era, strings with the “Funky Drummer” [by James Brown] underneath them, quite epic sounding I guess. The song was written after a very long conversation I had with [producer] Naughty Boy. We got into a very deep conversation about religion and how to be good—what we all try to do in this day and age and how difficult it is. He said, “I guess you just have to keep your heart clean” and that sparked the whole song. It was done really quickly and we knew it was a special one as soon as it was done.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
Speaking to Music Radar five years on, in 2017, Naughty Boy said the following:
It’s all about not knowing if you’re good enough for a lot of things. The conversations we were having were quite deep.
When I was in sixth form, I was obsessed with breakbeats and would listen to a lot of Nitin Sawhney. I like to think that “Heaven” inspired a whole wave of breakbeat tracks and changed a lot in terms of the sound of UK radio.
Emeli Sandé also spoke to Daily Record about the success of the song:
“Heaven” is getting on all the playlists and I’m really happy. It is on the A-list at Radio 1, which is amazing. “Heaven” has also topped the Shazam chart, which is based on millions of daily requests for the names of songs played on the radio and in bars and clubs. It has been number one on Shazam for weeks. People just want to know what it is they are hearing, which is really exciting. […] “Heaven” is a good representation lyrically of how I write. The whole album [Our Version of Events]’s going to be quite honest, and I really want to be accurate with my lyrics and hopefully write lyrics that everyone can relate to. Musically it’s going to be very different. It’s not all going to be that early ‘90s sound at all."
There’s nobody to share the pressure with, it’s all on you. Also it’s very exciting to have complete say over what’s being said in the song–to have the whole song to express yourself.
—Via Daily Record
