Heaven Only Knows
Shangri Las Lyrics

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I dream about you all the time, yes I do
And I can't sleep at night
(Heaven only Knows, mm hmm)
I dream about makin' you mine, yes I do
And of holding you tight
(Heaven only knows, mm hmm)

I've never been sure 'bout a boy before

But I want you to know...(Heaven only Knows, mm hmm)
Given you my heart and my soul and my love
Cause I trust you so
(Heaven only Knows, mm hmm)

Heaven only knows that I want you Baby
Everytime I see you it drives me crazy
You're the only boy that my heart wants to know
Whoah yeah

Tell me what you want and I'll do it for you
Baby let me show you that I adore you
Baby let me go everywhere you go
Whoah yeah

Never been sure 'bout a boy before
But I want you to know...(Heaven only Knows, mm hmm)
Given you my heart and my soul and my love
Cause I trust you so
(Heaven only Knows, mm hmm)

Heaven only knows that I want you (Baby)
Heaven only knows that I need you (Baby)

Overall Meaning

In "Heaven Only Knows," The Shangri-Las sing about their intense longing for a specific boy. They dream about him constantly and cannot sleep at night because they are consumed by their desire for him. They are willing to give him their heart, soul, and love without reservation because they trust him. They are not sure about him, but they still want him to know how they feel. They yearn to be with him, to go everywhere he goes, and to show him how much they adore him.

The song expresses the raw passion and vulnerability of teenage love. The Shangri-Las lay bare their emotions and reveal their innermost desires. Despite their uncertainty, they are willing to take a leap of faith and give their all to the boy they want. The repetition of the phrase "Heaven only knows" emphasizes the notion that their love is pure and sincere, and that only a higher power truly understands the depth of their feelings.

In summary, "Heaven Only Knows" is a powerful love song that captures the intensity and uncertainty of teenage romance. The Shangri-Las are unafraid to reveal their deepest desires and trust that their love will not be in vain.

Line by Line Meaning

I dream about you all the time, yes I do
I think about you continuously and cannot stop myself from doing so.

And I can't sleep at night
The mere thought of being with you keeps me up all night.

(Heaven only Knows, mm hmm)
The future is uncertain and only time will tell if we are meant to be together.

I dream about makin' you mine, yes I do
I fantasize about making you mine and being in a committed relationship with you.

And of holding you tight
I yearn to hold you in my arms and never let go.

I've never been sure 'bout a boy before
I have never been certain about my feelings towards anyone else.

But I want you to know...(Heaven only Knows, mm hmm)
However, I am absolutely certain that I want to be with you, though it may end in either way.

Given you my heart and my soul and my love
I have offered you all my affection, my innermost feelings, and my soul to hold onto.

Cause I trust you so
I trust you and believe that you will take care of what I have given you.

Heaven only knows that I want you Baby
I genuinely desire to be with you, and the future is unknown to anyone but the heavens.

Everytime I see you it drives me crazy
I get attracted to you every time I am around you, and I cannot control my feelings.

You're the only boy that my heart wants to know
You are the only person I am interested in and I would like to know more about you.

Tell me what you want and I'll do it for you
If you want anything, let me know, and I will try my best to make it happen.

Baby let me show you that I adore you
I would like to display my love and affection for you in more ways than one.

Baby let me go everywhere you go
I would love to be with you whenever and wherever you are.

Heaven only knows that I need you (Baby)
I am genuinely dependent on you, and nobody but the heavens knows how much I do.

Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC , Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ELLIE GREENWICH, JEFF BARRY

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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Comments from YouTube:

The Outsider

4y↑16

Incredible vocal harmony ….. the finest, but very sadly much under rated group of their time.

John Sherrod

4y↑10

I simply love this tune. can't get enough. Purely heaven.

Michael Paranormal

3y↑9

How can music get any better than this!!!!!!

Taishi Singleton

8y↑23

Everytime I hear Heaven Only Knows, it gives me goosebumps. Beautiful harmonization

Donald Fewell

Me too! :)

Wayne Garrard

4y↑3

I can never go home does it for me👍

Dan Maurer

2y↑5

It's of its time yet somehow timeless. Magic...

Marc Noack

11y↑11

For many years now I am a huge fan of sixties girl groups. Thanks god there are a lot of them. The Shangri-Las are one of my very favourite groups of that era. I love "Give Him a Great Big Kiss", "Lead of the Pack", "The Train From Kansas City", but especially "Heaven Only Knows". It is so lovely. It should have been a single! It is such a catchy tune....

Charles Quinn Warwick

4y↑10

This will never grow old.

strictlynorton

9y↑38

Mary's voice here.... pure bliss. The Shangri Las were amazing. Ripe for rediscovery.

Alonso C

3y↑1

estoy de acuerdo.

Paul Maney

4y↑20

I have a 20 year old college student of mine who lately has become enamoured of "girl groups." He asked me for some recommendations that aren't too obvious and I came here first. I've loved this song for 55 years now and it sounds as good in 2020 as it did in 1965!

Alonso C

3y↑1

nunca había escuchado o leído el término "enamoured" , pero lo entiendo, sé que nace del latin. saludos, gran y bella anécdota contada en 3 parrafos, sería un placer que mis hermanos y yo fuésemos tus alumnos y compartir esta gran música, saludos desde la bella ciudad de los aztecas.

Paul Weaver

5y↑10

I've never heard this one before. Great!

DomenicDee

8y↑12

GREAT STUFF! Definitely one of their best.

DRKru matters

8y↑3

I Agree. Somewhere i remember hearing that these girls did a lot of singing together in the tunnels of New York before they were even famous. (working on there harmonizing) all the hard work really shows in this song.

Wayne Garrard

4y↑13

The best all female band ever

Donald Fewell

My favorite

J.D. Waterhouse

8y↑13

I'm suddenly fascinated with this group. Some songs are good, some are bad, and some are so 'bad' that they're good. Grew up in the 60's, but didn't know who they were until recently and, other than 'Leader of the Pack', wasn't familiar with anything they had recorded. I was into Beatles, Hendrix, Santana, etc. If I had heard one of their songs on the radio I probably assumed it was some 50's group and tuned it out immediately. It sounds like the writing and the recording happened almost spontaneously in the studio. Background singing and other parts of songs probably spur of the moment ideas someone had, and they threw it in.. Now I see them as the world's first 50's retro band.

Mark J. Rockman

@Donald Fewell, the fourth member was Mary Weiss' older sister Betty, who sometimes sang with the group and sometimes didn't.

Donald Fewell

@Michelle Henson Were they a quartet at some point? Who was their fourth member then? Thanks.

Michelle Henson

5y↑4

They were a girl group of the 1960's. They were on a independent label REDBIRD. Thier producer made tons of money of them & ripped these Girls from New York city off. Mary Weiss lead singer. Mary Ann Ganser and sister Marge Gasner died. These girls were DA BOMB. Ripped off and broke. Mary Weiss is still singing out there. They don't make this original ROCK N ROLL like they used too.

KJ 104 UK

8y↑6

This is one of my favourites. So much love.

Norman Bommarito

3y↑3

Fantastic as Always

Alonso C

3y↑2

cielo mío, que hermosura de mujeres.

joseph mazzotta

2y↑2

These girls are going to heaven 🙏

popbottle

5y↑6

i love them like i love love itself. they ARE love

Have Faith

6y↑8

A little late here but 1965 walking back from lunch in school leader of the pack came on the loudspeaker stopped me in my tracks now I know why Mary's voice. I was 12 years old still in love with Mary

Walter Fechter

9y↑11

For My Barbra Rose and her eternal love for me - on earth and in Heaven (My Barbra's home since Nov. 22, 2010). I miss you more with each passing day, My Forever Baby-Love. Barb -- Heaven only knows, and you know (because you're in Heaven) how much I love you!

mike stratocaster

7y↑5

B-sides are awesome! Rock on, children......

Soul Vaccination

6y↑4

I’m still in love with these girls.Hey I met Veronica at the time..

KittyKat65Austin

10y↑8

@ Marc Noack: This was the B-side to the "Give Us Your Blessings" single on the Red Bird label.

MrMartybearass

5y↑2

Mary has such a very imature voice even overdubbed as it was BUT it made for such a success for the group part is what it made them so popular

Donald Fewell

10y↑3

@Marc Noack: I never knew that this wasn't a single. Thanks for the info, and for your whole comment! :)

steelydon19

10y

correction: that this song wasn't a pushed hit.

Arty Sal

5y↑6

need mary back again

Davey England

4y↑1

The way she sang “I’ve never been sure ‘bout a boy before...”, she pronounced it wrong, so it doesn’t rhyme. She should’ve pronounced it as “shore” so it rhymed with before.

MackerelCat

2y↑2

That’s the charm

M Mckissack

9y↑8

Johnny Thunders brought me here, hell yeah!

strictlynorton

5y↑1

JT got it... joint top girl group of all time sharing honours with the Ronettes!

M Mckissack

8y↑1

+Ant ant Hey!

Ant ant

9y↑1

Oh yeah man

Vans Hayrapetyan

2y↑1

Increadiblea

Patrick Fallon

5y↑3

Cool

Vans Hayrapetyan

2y↑1

Heaven only now's

John1948ThirteenC

7y↑3

My only objection to this recording is that the background singers are much louder than Mary's lead. A little better sound man could have made this one great IMO.