Uploaded March 2025 | Updated September 2026, 15 hours ago
On 20 March 1991, Clapton's four-year-old son, Conor, whom he had with Lory Del Santo, died after falling from the 53rd-floor window of a New York City apartment belonging to a friend of Conor’s mother. After isolating himself for a period, Clapton began working again, writing music for the film Rush (1991). He dealt with his grief by co-writing "Tears in Heaven", with Will Jennings, for the soundtrack. Clapton said he admired Jennings' work with Steve Winwood.
According to Jennings, Clapton wrote the lyrics for the first verse, and asked him to write the rest. Jennings urged Clapton to write the entire song due to the personal subject matter, but eventually agreed. He said it was "a song so personal and so sad that it is unique in my experience of writing songs".
In an interview in 1992, Clapton said the song "was in the back of my head but it didn't really have a reason for being until I was scoring this movie ... And it is a little ambiguous because it could be taken to be about Conor but it also is meant to be part of the film."[5] In another interview, he said: "I almost subconsciously used music for myself as a healing agent, and lo and behold, it worked... I have got a great deal of happiness and a great deal of healing from music."
On 20 March 1991, Clapton's four-year-old son, Conor, whom he had with Lory Del Santo, died after falling from the 53rd-floor window of a New York City apartment belonging to a friend of Conor’s mother. After isolating himself for a period, Clapton began working again, writing music for the film Rush (1991). He dealt with his grief by co-writing "Tears in Heaven", with Will Jennings, for the soundtrack. Clapton said he admired Jennings' work with Steve Winwood.
According to Jennings, Clapton wrote the lyrics for the first verse, and asked him to write the rest. Jennings urged Clapton to write the entire song due to the personal subject matter, but eventually agreed. He said it was "a song so personal and so sad that it is unique in my experience of writing songs".
In an interview in 1992, Clapton said the song "was in the back of my head but it didn't really have a reason for being until I was scoring this movie ... And it is a little ambiguous because it could be taken to be about Conor but it also is meant to be part of the film."[5] In another interview, he said: "I almost subconsciously used music for myself as a healing agent, and lo and behold, it worked... I have got a great deal of happiness and a great deal of healing from music."
