Eric Clapton's Tears In Heaven

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On March 20, 1991, the 4 1/2-year-old son of the rock guitarist Eric Clapton was killed yesterday morning when he fell out an open bedroom window on the 53d floor of a Manhattan apartment building.
The unplugged version of “Tears in Heaven”, performed in 1992 at MTV Unplugged, won 3 Grammys in 1993: Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance Male. The song was introduced into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of the Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll in 2004.

Listen to poem:

unable to wither away 
and crawl under bedrock
wanting to clam up
turn off all the lights
you the grieving father
in unfathomable anguish

the tragedy shakes the world
leaving it breathless
connecting each one of us
through your heartache 
compelled to share the burden
immeasurable in its wake

the world not done with
the grieving and mourning 
wanting more from you
more than you thought you had left
then unplugged you let us have it
the fruit of pain and suffering

crying collective tears from within
partaking in agony that is yours
poignant in the haunting
of unimaginable despair
moving us all with a ballad meant
to help in our collective process of healing



Read on air by invitation  ~  May 17, 2020  'LATE NIGHT POETS'

AP: Honorable Mention 2020

Posted on May 5, 2020

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Timothy Mcguire

Date: 5/10/2020 10:44:00 PM

true story ad memory a little boy falling out a five story window. A sad lifetime of what ifs, well written Line

Line Gauthier
Date: 5/10/2020 11:02:00 PM

heartbreaking ~

Gershon Wolf

Date: 5/7/2020 11:55:00 AM

Poignant penning, Line... and didn't I hear that Clapton himself recently passed away? (Not sure). ~ Gershon

Line Gauthier
Date: 5/7/2020 8:16:00 PM

No ~ alive and kicking. Going through Covid with the rest of us.

Ilene Bauer

Date: 5/6/2020 2:26:00 PM

one of the most beautiful and saddest songs ever written, line. your tribute is very touching...

Line Gauthier
Date: 5/6/2020 3:09:00 PM

Thank, Ilene. Certainly is.

Tom Cunningham

Date: 5/6/2020 9:45:00 AM

I remember that tragic incident Line, no parent should have to bury their child, heartbreaking. Your poem captures the parents dispair and anguish well. Tom

Line Gauthier
Date: 5/6/2020 1:12:00 PM

Thanks, Tom. Who could ever imagine such a tragedy and living with that anguish. But the tragedy of losing a child happens everyday... I don't know how parents survive.

John Watt

Date: 5/6/2020 1:55:00 AM

"Time can bring you down, time can bend your knees / Time can break your heart, have you begging please". I can't imagine how hard it must have been to sing that song and get through it that first time, or any time. No parent should have to go through that kind of tragedy, yet as a public figure, he turned it into an opportunity for sharing his pain and offering healing to everyone who has been dealt that kind of a blow. Thank you for this beautiful commemoration, Line!

Line Gauthier
Date: 5/6/2020 9:21:00 AM

The world grieves with him indeed, still does. Thanks, John.