Jeff Healey (born Norman Jeffrey Healey on March 25, 1966 in Toronto, Canad… Read Full Bio ↴Jeff Healey (born Norman Jeffrey Healey on March 25, 1966 in Toronto, Canada, died March 2, 2008) was a blues-rock guitarist and vocalist that fronted The Jeff Healey Band in Toronto, ON in 1985. The original lineup consisted of Jeff Healey, Joe Rockman on bass, Tom Stephen on drums.

Although blinded by eye cancer at the tender age of one, Jeff picked up his first guitar when he was three years-old and defied the odds and became a gifted and successful artist. He developed his own unique style of playing the guitar while it lay flat on his lap. Jeff quickly became a local guitar legend in his own right with his virtuosity. The group played around small Toronto-area clubs for a few years before eventually signing with BMG Canada and Arista Records for the rest of the world, and releasing their debut album See The Light in 1988, which featured the top charting hits "Angel Eyes" and "See The Light".

The Jeff Healey Band played and recorded Blues/Blues Rock-infused music along with many original-flavored covers. The band officially released five studio albums and one live recording including the sophomore Hell To Pay (1990), Feel This (1992), Cover To Cover (1995), Get Me Some (2000), and Live At Montreux 1999 (2005). There have also been some recent unofficial compilation releases without the consent of the artists.

Jeff and his band also performed a cameo role in the Patrick Swayze movie "Roadhouse" and they are featured in its official soundtrack.

The group split up in the late 2000, but Jeff continued performing as a solo artist and would later front Jeff Healey & The Jazz Wizards playing trumpet. He died on March 2, 2008 after a long battle with lung cancer, and is survived by his wife, Cristie, and two children.

Life Beyond The Sky
The Jeff Healey Band Lyrics

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I took a walk yesterday
And I'm sorry to say
The people were poor
In a world of war and doubt

There was no hope in sight
With the dark of the night
And while they dreamed

It seemed there was no way out

There's a time beyond us all
When you reach out to whomever falls
The worlds turn, and spirits fly
Rise together in a life beyond the sky

I was walkin' today
What a price people pay
Where the war is down
There's blood on the ground and hate

The environment of right
Is still under the night
And so on it goes
No one knows the children's fate

There's a time beyond us all
When you reach out to whomever falls
The worlds turn, and spirits fly
Rise together in a life beyond the sky
Yeah

I am walkin' tomorrow
Far away from the sorrow
I see all things
On the wings of the eternal dove

There's a time beyond us all
When you reach out to whomever falls
The worlds turn, and spirits fly
Rise together in a life beyond the sky
Yeah c'mon up with me baby

Come on up with me baby, hey
All right

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of "Life Beyond The Sky" by The Jeff Healey Band depict a bleak world filled with poverty, war, and hopelessness. The singer takes a walk and observes that the people around him are struggling and that there is seemingly no way out. Nonetheless, there is a sense of optimism in the chorus, which talks about a "time beyond us all" where people can come together and rise above their struggles. The lyrics suggest that this time might be accessed through reaching out to those who have fallen, and by doing so, spirits can fly up to a "life beyond the sky."

Overall, the song's message is one of hope in the face of adversity. The imagery of the dark night, blood on the ground, and hate suggests that the world presented in the song is a brutal one. However, the chorus offers a counterbalance to this by suggesting that there is always a chance for people to come together and find ways to transcend their situation. Ultimately, the song encourages listeners to find hope in the present by looking towards a brighter future.

Line by Line Meaning

I took a walk yesterday
I took a stroll recently

And I'm sorry to say
Unfortunately, what I saw wasn't good

The people were poor
Financially challenged individuals lived there

In a world of war and doubt
Amidst a society wrought with conflict and uncertainty

There was no hope in sight
Optimism was absent

With the dark of the night
As night fell

And while they dreamed
Even as they slept

It seemed there was no way out
There appeared to be no resolution in sight

There's a time beyond us all
There exists a moment that transcends us

When you reach out to whomever falls
When you offer aid to those in need

The worlds turn, and spirits fly
The universe revolves, and souls ascend