Three Dog Night is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California best … Read Full Bio ↴Three Dog Night is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California best known for their music from 1968 to 1975, during which time they achieved twenty-one consecutive Billboard Top 40 Hits and 12 consecutive Gold Albums. Three Dog Night are still active in 2012, touring and recording 43 years after their first album was released. The first of the band's 7 million-selling singles was One in 1969. They scored three number one singles: Mama Told Me (Not to Come), Joy to the World and Black and White.

The original lineup included three lead vocalists — Danny Hutton, Chuck Negron, and Cory Wells — along with Michael Allsup on guitar, Jimmy Greenspoon on keyboards Floyd Sneed on drums and Joe Schermie (from the Cory Wells Blues Band) on bass.

Three Dog Night recorded some tracks with Beach Boys producer, composer, vocalist, and instrumentalist Brian Wilson before signing with Dunhill Records and at the time went under the name Redwood. The band changed their name based on an article describing how Australian Aborigines slept with their dogs for warmth on cold nights, the coldest being a "three-dog night."

Heaven Is In Your Mind
Three Dog Night Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

You ride on the swing
In and out of the bars
Capturing moments of life in a jar
Playing with children,

Acting as stars
Guiding your visions to heaven
And heaven is in your mind

Take extra care not

To lose what up feel
The apple you're eating
Is simple and real
Water the flowers

That grow at you heel

Guiding your visions to heaven
And heaven is in your mind

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Three Dog Night's song "Heaven Is In Your Mind" talk about finding happiness and peace within oneself by focusing on the beauty of life around them. The first verse describes the singer "riding on a swing" and "capturing moments of life in a jar" while "playing with children" and "guiding their visions" towards heaven. This imagery suggests that the singer is able to find joy in simple pleasures and experiences, and is able to share that joy with others.

The second verse encourages the listener to "take extra care not to lose what [they] feel" and to appreciate the "simple and real" things in life, like an apple or growing flowers. The repetition of the phrase "guiding your visions to heaven" reinforces the idea that one's outlook and attitude can shape their experience of the world, and that by focusing on positive things, one can find a sense of heaven or happiness within themselves.

Line by Line Meaning

You ride on the swing
You experience the ups and downs of life

In and out of the bars
You move in and out of different places and experiences

Capturing moments of life in a jar
You treasure and hold onto memories that are important to you

Playing with children, acting as stars
You have fun and play with those who look up to you

Guiding your visions to heaven
You lead your thoughts and aspirations towards something greater

And heaven is in your mind
You realize that true happiness and fulfillment come from within

Take extra care not to lose what you feel
You value your emotions and make an effort to maintain them

The apple you're eating is simple and real
You appreciate the simple pleasures in life

Water the flowers that grow at your heel
You show kindness and care towards those around you

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., BMG Rights Management
Written by: STEVE WINWOOD, CHRIS WOOD, JIM CAPALDI

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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