"Vision of Love" received universal acclaim from the music critics. While the song's production was typical of late 1980s pop, the vocals were not, being much more showy and expressing a wider range than artists popular at the time such as Paula Abdul and Debbie Gibson. It has been credited with popularizing the use of melisma in contemporary popular music and for inspiring several artists to pursue a music career. The New Yorker named "Vision of Love" the "Magna Carta of melisma" for its and Carey's influence on pop and R&B singers and American Idol contestants. Additionally, Rolling Stone said that "the fluttering strings of notes that decorate songs like "Vision of Love," inspired the entire American Idol vocal school, for better or worse, and virtually every other female R&B singer since the nineties." The song topped the singles charts in Canada, New Zealand, and the United States, where it spent four weeks atop the chart.
The accompanying music video for "Vision of Love" was filmed in April 1990. It features Carey in a large cathedral, where she meditates and sings by a large picture window. "Vision of Love" was performed on several television and award show ceremonies, such as The Arsenio Hall Show, Good Morning America, and the 33rd Annual Grammy Awards. It has been performed at almost every one of Carey's concerts and tours, and is featured on Carey's live album MTV Unplugged (1992) and on many of her compilation albums including #1's (1998), Greatest Hits (2001) and The Ballads (2008).
Vision Of Love
Mariah Carey Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Sweet destiny
Carried me through desperation
To the one that was waiting for me
It took so long
Still I believed
Somehow, the one that I needed
Would find me eventually
I had a vision of love
And it was all that you've given to me
Prayed through the nights
Felt so alone
Suffered from alienation
Carried the weight on my own
Had to be strong
So I believed
And now I know I've succeeded
In finding the place I conceived
I had a vision of love
And it was all that you've given to me
I had a vision of love
And it was all that you've given me
I've realized a dream
And I visualized
The love that came to be
Feel so alive
I'm so thankful that I've received
The answer that heaven has sent down to me
You treated me kind (yeah)
Sweet destiny (and you know that you did)
And I'll be eternally grateful
Holding you so close to me (prayed through the nights)
Prayed through the nights (so faithfully)
So faithfully (faithfully)
Knowing the one that I needed
Would find me eventually (he would find me)
I had a vision of love
And it was all that you've given to me
I had a vision of love
And it was all that you turned out to be, yeah, mmm
The lyrics to Mariah Carey's song "Vision of Love" speak to a journey of perseverance through difficult times in hopes of finding true love. Carey begins by acknowledging that destiny has been kind to her, guiding her through despair until she finally found the person meant for her. She admits that it took a long time to find this person, but she never stopped believing that they would eventually cross paths. Carey had a "vision of love" that was fulfilled by this partner whom she considers to be her destiny.
Throughout her journey, Carey faced feelings of loneliness and isolation which she coped with by praying during the night. She had to be strong and believe that eventually, she would find the love she sought. Carey credits this mindset for her ultimate success in finding love, something that she had imagined for herself for a long time. She now feels alive, grateful for the love she has received, and considers it a gift from heaven.
Overall, Carey's "Vision of Love" is both an anthem of perseverance and a romantic ballad expressing gratitude for having found true love after a difficult journey of loneliness and heartbreak.
Line by Line Meaning
Treated me kind
You showed me kindness and love
Sweet destiny
It was fate that brought us together
Carried me through desperation
During my tough times, you were my support
To the one that was waiting for me
I finally found the one I was destined to be with
It took so long
I waited patiently for my true love
Still I believed
I never lost faith in finding true love
Somehow the one that I needed
I knew I would find the person I needed in my life, somehow
Would find me eventually
I knew that destiny would bring us together eventually
I had a vision of love
I had a clear idea of what true love should be
And it was all that you've given to me
You have given me everything I ever wanted in love
Prayed through the nights
I prayed for a loving partner all night long
Felt so alone
I felt lonely and lost without my true love
Suffered from alienation
I felt like an outsider without my soulmate
Carried the weight on my own
I shouldered the burden of finding true love alone
Had to be strong
I had to remain strong and resilient
And now I know I've succeeded
I have finally found true love
In finding the place I conceived
I have found the place I've longed for in my heart
I've realized a dream
I am fulfilling a long-held dream of finding true love
And I visualized
I always imagined finding someone like you
The love that came to be
The love we share is beyond my wildest dreams
Feel so alive
I feel alive and happy with you by my side
I'm so thankful that I've received
I am grateful for having you in my life
The answer that heaven has sent down to me
You are the love that I believe was sent down to me from heaven
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Abkco Music Inc.
Written by: Mariah Carey, Ben Margulies
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@fervidamidthedandelions3405
+meegikwang That is just plain wrong. Mariah sang this in the same key for several performances (the last performance in the studio key was her Thanksgiving Concert, and her Daydream performances that were not in the studio key were some of her best in her entire career, the key is irrelevant). She has added three different varieties of intro whistles only heard live for the VoL performances of 1990 GMA, 1999 Homecoming Special, and 2005 BET Blueprint. She even recreated the 1999 intro whistle in 2015 and 2016. In 2006 Pepsi Smash, she did phrased whistles for "sweet" and "Yes you did!" She doesn't phrase anything in the whistle register in this studio version, only live. The Pepsi Smash performance has literally 3 different whistles in it. In her Charmbracelet tour she did end whistles in basically every performance of the tour after the sustained belt. In many 1990 performances, she does a 10-note legato arpeggio in under 3 seconds on the final climatic "love". She extended the 3:01 "all" cyclic runs in her 1990 GMA and 1990 Tattoo Club performance where she did it much longer, showing even more stamina than she does in the studio version. In one of the two Arsenio Hall performances she ends the cyclic runs with an even faster inflection with this sequence (B4-B4-C5-B4-G#4-F#4-E4-F#4-F#4-E4-C#4) and then descends the run down to E3 that is perfectly timed and done in under 5 seconds, no amateur singer like Regine Velasquez could do that. And these are all from undubbed, 100% live performances, so you'd be delusional to deny. Besides, she has a beautifully done acapella that you can hear nothing but her beautiful voice that you so want to delegitimize.
You can see for yourself:
1990 GMA: /watch?v=yAuYu9n48WU
1999 Homecoming Special: /watch?v=tXcLnDh26Kg
2005 BET Blueprint Special: /watch?v=bb7WIjXSI_A
2015 recreation of 1999 intro: /watch?v=U59y8ZjDl-s
2016 recreation of 1999 intro: /watch?v=CnQ2MRerORk
2006 Pepsi Smash: /watch?v=R_NyeF2UNuI
[check any Charmbracelet tour performance of the many with ending whistles]
[check 1990 Grammys and Apollo Theatre performances for legato arpeggios and other ones in Arsenio]
1990 Tattoo Club undubbed: /watch?v=rSiAt2QB2XY
Arsenio Hall breakdown: /watch?v=zBoiejGUnVU
VoL acapella: /watch?v=wadgbF5laWo
Many great acapellas here but a VoL semiacapella/acoustic at 2:05: /watch?v=WbamxLthW3Q
@waters228_91
Not only is this her first single ever released, it's also the first track on the album. This was literally the song that started it all.
@msjaaye423
yep the sky opened up for her when she released this.
@SavageHand
Yeah she was my teenage crush.
@josl1345
I was 8 when this came out and it will forever be a favorite of mine.
@carolynfager5045
And I still love it as much as I did then!
@LeopoldMaysonet
She was that chick back in the day👍🏼
@joemoha
Who else just randomly felt like listening to this song?
@EJM659
Me, whilst reading her book. She explains when she first showed her father this song. Just had to listen to it. She's amazing
@ark2550
me i'm inluv with curly mariah than her looks in 2000's
@ginahouston9352
March 11, 2021... original Mimi...