Last night as Anne and I sat down for dinner, Eric Clapton's Tears in Heaven started playing from my "liked" Spotify playlist. Anne started to mouth along to the song, which is unusual since she doesn't listen to much music, especially classic rock. I asked her how she knew the song, though I've played it plenty of times, and she said it was because of lot of her customers ordered it as their wedding song through her custom print business.
I was a bit shocked since I'm very familiar with the inspiration of the song. I remember watching Eric Clapton perform it on MTV's Unplugged decades ago and seeing that there was some true emotion there. It was only more than a decade later when "googling" became a thing where I found out the inspiration of the song.
Released in 1991, Tears in Heaven was inspired by maybe the most horrific tragedy that any parent could think of. On March 20, 1991, Eric Clapton's 4 year-old-son, Connor, accidentally fell to his death at his mother's New York City apartment after a window was left open after janitorial work. It's such a tragic story that it's hard to even think about, but you can read more about it on biography.com.
That being said, a wedding song is between the two people coming together and so what's ultimately important is what the song means to them and not anyone else.
But, if you are reconsidering, then here are a few suggestions:
Anne & I's unoffical wedding song: The Hollies "The Air That I Breathe." It's a certified love song and longing for family. Albert Hammond, who co-wrote the song, moved to Los Angeles to be with a woman he fell in love with. He didn't quiet like Los Angeles. The "air" that's being sung about is the Los Angeles smog. He also missed his family back in London. Nonetheless, the song talks about how he doesn't need cigarettes, sleep, light, sound, food, and books as long as he's with this woman.
John Lennon's "Oh My Love": While there's a certain generation who is against John and Yoko Ono's union, there's no way to deny that they were really deeply in love and connected on a level that a lot of people don't. BTW, John Lennon, in interviews, credited Yoko Ono as being a co-writer of Imagine. Anyway, "Oh My Love," is basic and raw, simply talking about the love between two people and how that makes one see and sense things for the first time because of that.
The Beatle's "In My Life": Goosebumps, that's all I can say. It's been a while since I listened to this song and I just got goosebumps listening to it. It's a simple song talking about wonderful memories, but the best is yet to come since "they" are not together.
Elton John's "Your Song": Not sure there's much to say about this song. It's the song that made Elton John, "Elton John." It's one of the most popular songs that Anne prints for her business and you can't fault any couple for choosing it.
Check out Anne Wesley's custom wedding vowel and song prints here.
