Back in 2024, while binging numerous movies and shows, I came across Twinkling Watermelon, a K-drama. I went into it without much expectation, especially since it was quite long, but Episode 1 hooked me right in.
I was especially drawn to what Grandpa Viva said:
"A guitar is exactly like a woman. It cries when you cry, gets angry when you are mad, and smiles when you are happy. If you treat it with love, it will return that love with a beautiful sound.”
That was the first time I heard the masterpiece of a song ‘Tears in Heaven’. Although Eric Clapton came into my life quite late, this song solidified his position for me. It’s not just the song itself, but the memory itself attached to it. And you know what? Grandfather was right, it really is quite a song to seduce a woman with (it certainly worked for the protagonist after all)
Life was all going well, but then.….
well, well, well. I learned about the heartbreaking and emotional circumstances that led to the creation of the song.
In March 1991, Eric Clapton’s four-year-old son, Conor, tragic fell to his death from a 53rd-floor apartment window in New York City.
Devastated, Clapton temporarily stepped away from the world. When he slowly returned to music, he partnered with songwriter Will Jennings to write "Tears in Heaven" for the soundtrack of the film Rush (1991).
The song captures that loss through delicate acoustic guitar and poignant lyrics, anchored right from the opening lines -
"Would you know my name
If I saw you in heaven?"
Clapton didn't scream or play loud, distorted riffs. Instead, he reached for an acoustic guitar and let the soft, delicate strings hold his grief. The instrument truly became a vehicle for his sorrow.
Interestingly, Clapton decided to stop performing the song live in 2004. He explained that he no longer felt the intense loss that fueled its creation, and because his soul had moved toward peace, he felt it wouldn't be authentic to keep performing it for audiences. Although there have been instances where he performed the song live again, like -
The Lady in the Balcony : Lockdown sessions (2021)
To save the child : An intimate Live Concert (2024)
What makes the song so important and perhaps why it resonated so strongly with me is that I was drawing parallels to my own experiences where I felt the helplessness of losing someone important when it's already too late. Paired with that line from Twinkling Watermelon and all the emotions I felt while watching it, I'm left in quite a strange and beautiful predicament.
While knowing the tragedy behind the track makes me wonder whether listening to it now feels different or just even more profound and heartbreakingly sad, remembering all the blushing, giggling, and laughing out loud I did while watching the show brings back pure nostalgia and puts a wide smile on my face.
I don't think I’ll ever have a clear answer to that, but I know for sure that this song can make me smile when I need to and cry when the moment calls for it.
Comments2
Hauntingly Beautiful
oh this is such gorgeous writing! i fell in love with this kdrama when it came out 🥹