It’s not uncommon for a great song to be covered by many artists after its initial release. A case in point, Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah.
Less common is to have the exact same song as recorded by the original artist applied to multiple video subjects, and turn out pretty darn good each time. Not that difficult in this age of digital editing.
My favorite example of this is Peter Godwin’s, Images Of Heaven, released in 1983. I fell in love with Synth-Pop at the time, with such bands as Flock of Seagulls, Rational Youth, and Men Without Hats. From when I first heard it, Images Of Heaven was at the top of that list.
The lyrics to the song, to me anyways, are both haunting and disturbing, but also mysterious, which makes the song all the more attractive, but not knowing what inspired Godwin to write, it’s best not to over analyze, and enjoy it for what it is:
Nothing is sacred - so give me your soul my love
Nothing is wasted on someone like you
Somebody killed me - they tore out my heart my love
Somebody filled me with photos of you
And there's nothing I can do - the media made you
There's nothing I can do - cause you don't exist - you don't exist
Just images of heaven that take me to hell
Images of heaven - or something for sale
Oh images of heaven - images of heaven
Something possessed me - an image of you my love
Video visions that play on my mind
Nobody blessed me with power to reach my love
One cheap illusion can still be divine
And nobody believes in this new religion
Yes nobody believes - cause nobody sees-nobody sees
These images of heaven that take me to hell
Images of heaven - or something for sale
Oh images of heaven - images of heaven
And there's nothing I can do - the camera made you
There's nothing I can do - cause you don't exist - you don't exist
Just images of heaven that take me to hell
Images of heaven - or something for sale
Oh images of heaven - images of heaven
Before starting to write this piece, I already knew that at least three or four video versions existed for it, but upon researching on Youtube, I was both shocked and pleasantly surprised to discover multiple other versions.
Included below are three of my favorites, along with a nice cover arrangement by Eloquent, to close:
