74 Songs About Heaven

Yesterday, I awoke to birds chirping, surrounded by four cats in my bed. All was right with the world. I yawned, my big orange tabby stretched and made biscuits on the fluffy blanket, and we all dozed off again. It was my version of heaven. What's yours?

Is heaven an earthly state, an emotional connection, or a spiritual destination for you? Is it a realistic state or an ideal to aspire to? Whatever the case, music has a variety of perspectives on heaven. Explore the concept of heaven through song and compile a playlist of pop, rock, country, and R&B tunes about heaven. We have a long list to start you out! Enjoy!

Even if you're not religious, it would be hard not to appreciate this Christian rock song from 2001. The narrator visualizes what it might be like to enter heaven and meet his Creator. He wonders whether he will

• dance for joy
• sing "Hallelujah"
• stand still in awestruck glory before his Maker
• fall to his knees, or
• find himself tongue-tied.

This heart-wrenching 1992 rock ballad was written after Clapton's four-year-old son, Conor, fell to his death from the balcony of the 53th floor of a Manhattan apartment building. Named by Rolling Stone as one of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time," it references both Clapton's sense of loss and the obligation he feels to continue living. He is comforted by the thought that they will be one day reunited.

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.

Everyone tells the guy in this 2017 country song that heaven will be so incredible and notes how they're looking forward to the trip. However, he claims that paradise couldn't possibly be better than lying next to his honey. She's his angel, and he feels so very blessed.

This iconic rock song from 1971 was named by Rolling Stone as one of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time." The classic tune describes a woman who has ignored all the signs and has taken one of two paths, hoping it will get her into heaven.

One path leads a life of spiritual righteousness and the other, which she has chosen, is to pursue a path of material worth. She endeavors to buy her admission to heaven. As the shadows grow longer, it becomes later in the journey and she is less able to easily switch courses to the wiser path.

What's with the attraction to bad boys? The girl in this 2018 pop song was attracted to a guy who was no good for her. It seemed like their chemistry was mostly physical. Although he left her, she doesn't regret their adventurous relationship: "All good boys go to heaven, but bad boys bring heaven to you." Looks like the perfect makings for toxic, on again/off again romance.

This heartfelt R&B 2007 ballad portrays a woman telling her lover that she wants to be the one he believes is heaven sent. She wants to be the one he loves, trusts, and needs, both here on earth and in the afterlife. After waiting her entire life, she has locked eyes with her soulmate and doesn't want to let this one go.

This upbeat pop song from 2016 is so special. Whereas many songs about missing a deceased loved one are understandably somber, this one is hopeful and insquisitive. The narrator asks her loved one what heaven is like, then proceeds to guess.

I hope you're dancing in the sky
And I hope you're singing in the angel's choir
And I hope the angels know what they have
I'll bet it's so nice up in heaven since you arrived.

In this 2013 pop song, a loved one who has struggled mightily is dying. The narrator is anguished at their impending death, but out of devotion encourages them to go "home." She justifies the unfairness of their death by saying that "heaven couldn't wait for you" and ends the song with the Lord's Prayer.

Although Bob Dylan originally released this song in 1973, the best-known version of it is the worldwide hit by Guns N' Roses in 1992. The hair metal tune describes a man who would rather lay down his arms and be killed than continue fighting. Although he realizes he's about to perish, he believes he is knocking on heaven's door, and he's waiting to be allowed in.

In this wistful country song from 2014, a narrator wonders what it would be like to reconnect with lost loved ones, however briefly. He imagines introducing his kids to his grandfather, finding his cousin who died in Vietnam to show him how well his daughter turned out, and hugging three high school classmates who died too young. The narrator also wishes he could reunite with his old dog, ask Hank Williams Sr. why he took those pills, and have Janis Joplin sing the second stanza of "Me and Bobby McGee." These are the things he'd do if heaven wasn't so far away. What would you do?

Just south of town, perched way up on a hill, there's a place where you can see for miles. Time stands still, and they call the scenic spot "heaven." The guy in this 2011 country tune wants to take his sweetheart there and promises to have her back home by tonight. Sounds like a perfect spot for romance.

This 2013 heavy metal song describes the conflicted feelings of a soldier who is doing his duty. In killing others—in doing what he was trained to do—he finds himself "on the wrong side of heaven and the righteous side of hell." He denies being a hero and reiterates that rather than being made of stone, he does indeed have feelings. Right now, he's stranded in an emotional no man's land that is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Imagine what you'd do if a deceased partner, friend, or relative returned from heaven to visit and you were granted just a little more time with them. How would you spend those precious moments? Would you let them return to heaven without you?

The tenderness in this 1994 country song is in part autobiographical. Lorrie Morgan lost her second husband, country music singer Keith Whitley, in 1989 to alcohol poisoning. She has been married six times but will be buried beside Whitley.

Having reached a very dark place in his life, the man in this Grammy Award-winning pop tune from 2004 appeals to God for help. He feels like he's in a prison of his own making and senses that there must be something better out there than this. The weary man asks God how far is heaven, hoping that will sustain him.

When the narrator in this 1993 pop song found his sweetheart, he found heaven, and he wouldn't know what to do if she went away. If she ever said goodbye, he's convinced that the sun would stop shining, the world would stop turning, and the stars would fall from the sky. That should really motivate him to treat her right.

In this 2018 pop song, the narrator expresses devotion to the woman he loves, but she doesn't necessarily return the intensity of his feelings. Her rejection has killed his spirit; he just wants her to be happy.

The narrator suggests that if she makes it to heaven, then at least she could sneak him a wristband or give him a boost over heaven's gate—meaning that even if they aren't lovers he'd like to at least be in her life somehow. He explains that she's the one habit he can't kick.

Willie Nelson's in his mid-80s and isn't ashamed to acknowledge being God's problem child. He's been married four times, fought the IRS, spent time in jail, and has long been an advocate for marijuana.

As someone who has lived a long and varied life, Willie figures in this 2018 country ditty that he may as well stay put in the lonely in-between world where he now resides. There may be little difference between heaven and hell anyhow.

Heaven is closed and hell's overcrowded
So I think I think I'll just stay where I am
So many people, well it sure is lonely
Who even gives a damn?

If you've never heard progressive gospel, stop and give this stirring 2011 tune a listen. It's uplifting, energetic, and sounds much like a pop song. The narrator describes how his goal is to live a purposeful life so that when he dies, he can make it to heaven. He just wants to hear the following feedback from God—"Well done"—as he is welcomed into everlasting peace.

This 2005 country song's protagonist doesn't fear death because he knows that heaven awaits. There, he expects to shed the sins and struggles that he's been battling here on Earth and bliss out as he reunites with loved ones who departed this life before him. He plans adventures we can only fantasize about (such as riding a raindrop), and he looks forward to standing in the light of his Maker forever.

Once the narrator in this reflective 1977 rock song has had a glimpse of the afterlife, he is in no hurry to rush to heaven. His realization that comfort waits for him after death prompts him to cling to life even more. He wants to take time to dream, sing, and appreciate life before he enters the everafter.