He has never toured the United States, where he is best known for the 1978 single "Fool (If You Think It's Over)", which reached No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent three weeks at No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart, earning him a Grammy nomination as Best New Artist in 1978. A decade later, "Working On It" topped the Mainstream Rock chart. He has sold more than 40 million records worldwide.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Rea
Studio albums
Whatever Happened to Benny Santini? (Magnet, 1978)
Deltics (Magnet, 1979)
Tennis (Magnet, 1980)
Chris Rea (Magnet, 1981)
Water Sign (Magnet, 1983)
Wired to the Moon (Magnet, 1984)
Shamrock Diaries (Magnet, 1985)
On the Beach (Magnet, 1986)
Dancing with Strangers (Magnet, 1987)
The Road to Hell (WEA, 1989)
Auberge (EastWest, 1991)
God's Great Banana Skin (EastWest, 1992)
Espresso Logic (EastWest, 1993)
La Passione (soundtrack, EastWest, 1996)
The Blue Cafe (EastWest, 1998)
The Road to Hell: Part 2 (EastWest, 1999)
King of the Beach (EastWest, 2000)
Dancing Down the Stony Road/Stony Road (Jazzee Blue, 2002
Blue Street (Five Guitars) (Jazzee Blue, 2003)
Hofner Blue Notes (Jazzee Blue, 2003)
The Blue Jukebox (Jazzee Blue, 2004)
Blue Guitars (Jazzee Blue, 2005)
The Return of the Fabulous Hofner Bluenotes (Jazzee Blue, 2008)
Santo Spirito Blues (Jazzee Blue, 2011)
Road Songs for Lovers (Jazzee Blue, 2017)
One Fine Day (Rhino, limited release, 2019)
Tell Me There's a Heaven
Chris Rea Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
What are these things that I can see
Each night when I come home from school
And mama calls me in for tea
Oh every night a baby dies
And every night a mama cries
What makes those men do what they do
Grandpa says their happy now
They sit with God in paradise
With angels' wings and still somehow
It makes me feel like ice
Tell me there's a heaven
Tell me that it's true
Tell me there's a reason
Why I'm seeing what I do
Tell me there's a heaven
Where all those people go
Tell me they're all happy now
Papa tell me that it's so
So do I tell her that it's true
That there's a place for me and you
Where hungry children smile and say
We wouldn't have no other way
That every painful crack of bones
Is a step along the way
Every wrong done is a game plan
To that great and joyful day
And I'm looking at the father and the son
And I'm looking at the mother and the daughter
And I'm watching them in tears of pain
And I'm watching them suffer
Don't tell that little girl
Tell me
Tell me there's a heaven
Tell me that it's true
Tell me there's a reason
Why I'm seeing what I do
Tell me there's a heaven
Where all those people go
Tell me they're all happy now
Papa tell me that it's so
The lyrics to Chris Rea’s song “Tell Me There’s a Heaven” speak of the confusion and sadness that one feels in the face of the harsh realities of the world. It is a lament for the suffering of innocent people, particularly children, and the cruelty that causes it. The little girl in the song is asking questions that are very difficult to answer: why do people hurt each other? Is there a way for the suffering to end?
The line "Oh every night a baby dies, And every night a mama cries" speaks to the heart-wrenching reality of infant mortality and the pain that families experience as a result. The song also explores the idea of heaven as a place of solace and comfort, a place where those who have suffered in life can find peace. However, the lyrics also acknowledge the difficulty in believing in such a place given the atrocities witnessed in the world.
Ultimately, the main message of the song seems to be that we must hold on to hope and faith in the face of suffering, even when it seems impossible. The final lines of the song - "Don't tell that little girl, tell me" - suggest a plea to the universe to offer some kind of explanation or comfort for the pain in the world.
Line by Line Meaning
The little girl she said to me
A little girl asked me a question
What are these things that I can see
She inquired about something she sees
Each night when I come home from school
The little girl sees this thing every night she comes home from school
And mama calls me in for tea
Her mother then calls her in for tea
Oh every night a baby dies
Every night, a baby passes away
And every night a mama cries
Every night, a mother weeps
What makes those men do what they do
She wondered why men do bad things
To make that person black and blue
Their actions cause another person to be physically hurt
Grandpa says their happy now
Grandpa says that those who pass away are now happy
They sit with God in paradise
Those who have passed away are in heaven with God
With angels' wings and still somehow
They have angel-like wings and are still happy
It makes me feel like ice
The little girl has a sense of dread despite her grandpa's words
Tell me there's a heaven
She asks if heaven exists
Tell me that it's true
She wants to know if what her grandpa said is true
Tell me there's a reason
She asks if there's a reason behind the pain and suffering she sees
Why I'm seeing what I do
She wonders why she has to witness grief and tragedy
Tell me there's a heaven
She repeats her question about the existence of heaven
Where all those people go
She wonders where the people who have passed away have gone
Tell me they're all happy now
She wants to know if those who have passed away are now happy
Papa tell me that it's so
She looks to her father for answers
So do I tell her that it's true
The artist wonders if they should tell her the truth
That there's a place for me and you
That there's a place for everyone who has passed away
Where hungry children smile and say
A place where even hungry children are happy
We wouldn't have no other way
A place where everyone is content
That every painful crack of bones
Every instance of physical pain
Is a step along the way
Is a part of a greater journey
Every wrong done is a game plan
Every instance of wrongdoing is part of a larger strategy
To that great and joyful day
Leading towards a day of celebration and happiness
And I'm looking at the father and the son
The artist observes a father and his son
And I'm looking at the mother and the daughter
The singer observes a mother and her daughter
And I'm watching them in tears of pain
The singer is witnessing their expressions of sadness
And I'm watching them suffer
The artist acknowledges their suffering
Don't tell that little girl
The artist advises not to tell the little girl the truth
Tell me
Instead, tell the artist
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: CHRISTOPHER ANTON REA
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@njourney9667
Tell me there's a heaven
Tell me that it's true
Tell me there's a reason
Why I'm seeing what I do
Tell me there's a heaven
Where all those people go
Tell me they're all happy now
Papa, tell me that it's so
Bless Chris for connecting genuine emotions caused by grief & hurt with the words we often can't find or express in all those hurtful moments
@MalcolmXpat
My dad died last week. he was a roofer for 40 years. so Dad if your up there, this song is for you.
@kevingill648
Chris Rea is probably the most underrated musician I have ever heard! love his music, always will.
@richardculbertson2618
agreed
@davidshipley694
From a true audiophile - I couldn't agree more.
@johnscott7195
If you look@ his biography he is not underated@all..in fact he has sold 40million albums and he is a millionaire
@robstammers7149
Chris, I don't know how you sang this song without breaking down, what an anthem, excruciatingly painful for me after the loss of my first daughter from the big C in '85 at the age of just 3. This song brings me hope, love ya Chris.
@jeffreyfairclough5054
Feel you. So much.
@cymro6537
🙏
@paulwood9486
I cannot listen without crying, and I have no special reason, I am lucky not to have been affected in life, but this song is so beautiful ❤️
@gyorgyneharangvolgyi9888
Gyönyörű érzelmes dal, szívesen hallgatjuk.