Wonder's single "Fingertips" was a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1963, at the age of 13, making him the youngest artist ever to top the chart. Wonder's critical success was at its peak in the 1970s. His "classic period" began in 1972 with the releases of Music of My Mind and Talking Book, the latter featuring "Superstition", which is one of the most distinctive and famous examples of the sound of the Hohner Clavinet keyboard. His works Innervisions (1973), Fulfillingness' First Finale (1974) and Songs in the Key of Life (1976) all won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, making him the tied-record holder for the most Album of the Year wins, with three. He is also the only artist to have won the award with three consecutive album releases. Wonder began his "commercial period" in the 1980s; he achieved his biggest hits and highest level of fame, had increased album sales, charity participation, high-profile collaborations (including Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson), political impact, and television appearances. Wonder has continued to remain active in music and political causes.
Wonder is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with sales of over 100 million records worldwide. He has won 25 Grammy Awards (the most by a solo artist) and one Academy Award (Best Original Song, for the 1984 film The Woman in Red). Wonder has been inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame. He is also noted for his work as an activist for political causes, including his 1980 campaign to make Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday a federal holiday in the U.S. In 2009, he was named a United Nations Messenger of Peace, and in 2014, he was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Wonder was born Stevland Hardaway Judkins in Saginaw, Michigan, on May 13, 1950, the third of five children born to Lula Mae Hardaway, and the second of Hardaway's two children with Calvin Judkins. He was born six weeks premature which, along with the oxygen-rich atmosphere in the hospital incubator, resulted in retinopathy of prematurity, a condition in which the growth of the eyes is aborted and causes the retinas to detach, so he became blind.
I Can't Let My Heaven Walk Away
Stevie Wonder Lyrics
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Just cant let my heaven walk away
Gotta find a way to make her stay
I don't know what I've done wrong
Look up and find my heaven gone
Called her name but I called in vain
I know she can't answer from a picture frame
She just grabbed her coat and said please I've had enough
She gave me strength like a Sunday prayer
Just like my own right hand the girl was always there
To every man but me her eyes were blind
I was in the promise land long before my time
I can't let my heaven walk away
Just cant let my heaven walk away
Just gotta find a way to make her stay
I don't know what I've done wrong
Look up and find my heaven gone
I accused my angel of being a liar
I said the flesh is weak in God's key trial
I only accused her to hear her tell me no
But my question back-fired, I didn't expect her to go
Oh no, no
I cant let my heaven walk away
Just cant let my heaven walk away
Just gotta find a way to make her stay
I can't let her go
Don't you see I love her so
I can't let my heaven walk away from me, no no
Just can't let my lady walk away, no
Just gotta find a way to make her stay
I don't you see I love her so
I can't let my heaven walk away
I can't let my heaven walk away
Just gotta find a way to make her stay
I don't know where she has gone
Don't you see I love her so
I can't let my heaven walk away
Oh please don't walk away
I can't stand to let my baby walk away
Just gotta find a way to make her stay
Stevie Wonder's "I Can't Let My Heaven Walk Away" is a poignant ballad about the fear of losing the one you love. Wonder sings about how he's unable to let go of his significant other, who he calls his "heaven." He is desperately trying to find a way to keep her from leaving him, but he doesn't know what he has done wrong. It seems like his life is falling apart as she walks away, and he's left trying to figure out what went wrong.
Wonder's lyrics suggest that his love may have taken him for granted, which made him think he had all the time in the world to take care of her. However, he's now realizing that he should have paid more attention and taken more time to appreciate her. He remembers how he took care of her and how she always stood by him. Sadly, he also acknowledges that he may have accused her of being a liar in the past, which may have contributed to her leaving.
Overall, "I Can't Let My Heaven Walk Away" is a song about the profound helplessness that comes when you realize the one you love is slipping away. It's a raw and honest look at the fear of losing something valuable and treasured in your life.
Line by Line Meaning
I can't let my heaven walk away;
I cannot allow the person who means everything to me to leave;
Just can't let my heaven walk away.
I simply must find a way to make this person stay with me;
Just gotta find a way to make her stay.
I must find a solution that will convince them to not depart from me;
I don't know what I've done wrong.
I have no idea what I have done to cause them to want to leave me;
Look up and find my heaven gone.
I was not paying attention, and now the person who was my everything has left me;
Called her name, but I called in vain.
I attempted to contact her, but it was not successful;
I know she can't answer from a picture frame.
I have realized that I cannot bring her back through just looking at her picture;
Only an hour ago, I held her in real flesh and blood.
She was with me just a short time ago, in person;
She just grabbed her coat and said: "please, I've had enough."
She was feeling overwhelmed and needed to leave;
She kept me well like a Sunday prayer.
She took care of me like someone would take care of their spiritual wellbeing;
Just like my own right hand, the girl was always there.
She was always by my side and always there to help me;
To every man but me, her eyes were blind.
She did not pay attention to other men like she did to me;
I was in the promised land long before my time.
I was very happy before they left me, and I believed that heaven was already in my presence.
I accused my baby of being a liar.
I falsely accused my loved one of lying;
I said the flesh is weak in God's key trial.
I referenced a common phrase about the human's inability to resist temptation;
I only asked her to hear her tell me no,
I asked her a question just to see what she would say;
But my question back-fired; I didn't expect her to go.
She reacted in a way I did not anticipate, and it caused her to leave me.
[Chorus x 2]
The repetition of the chorus emphasizes the singer's desperation to keep his love in his life, and his desire to find a way to bring her back.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Hinton Joe, Joe Hinton, Pamela Joan Sawyer
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Cheryl Rowland Hall
on Isn't She Lovely
Dedicated to my lovely daughter, Amy Kathleen Rawson, the lovely child who helped mom to grow up!