Got off a plane to the countryside
I drove to the mountain and holding the ground
There was crack on the corner and someone dead
And fire coming out of the monkey's head

Don't get lost in heaven, eh
They got locks on the gate, hey
Don't go over the edge, eh
You'll make a big mistake, hey

Put me in a cab to suburbia
I just took a line but I wasn't with you
There was more of it there, when I got back home
But you had left me, you don't know my soul
You're a whole bad mistake, yeah, you're a whole one

Don't get lost in heaven, eh
They got locks on the gate, hey
Don't go over the edge, eh
You'll make a big mistake, hey (big mistake)

Aah
You'll make a big mistake
Aah
You'll make a big mistake
Aah
You'll make a big mistake
Aah


Lyrics submitted by adamr, edited by Zeekar

Don't Get Lost in Heaven Lyrics as written by Jamie Hewlett Damon Albarn

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

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Don't Get Lost in Heaven song meanings
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  • +5
    General Comment

    This song takes place after the "Fire Comming out of a Monkey's Head" song. Actually, the other song spills it's track into this one.

    In it, the "Strange People" mine the mountain "where all good souls come to rest." This place is heaven. The Strange People mine heaven. They have a war there (with those in heaven?). This is stated in the previous song with

    "Fallin' out of aeroplanes and hidin' out in holes Waiting for the sunset to come, people growing old Jump back from behind them and shoot them in the head Now everybody's dancing the dance of the dead"

    I believe this new song centers on the Strange People. These are the greedy people who mine the mountain and hide behind camouflage. The song shows how the people are corrupt by displaying how their cities have "crack on the corner", dead in the streets, and how they abuse substances in their cities only to run to the suburbs later.

    Anyway during the war in heaven, the song warns them not to go to get lost in the enemy territory they are mining because "They got lots of them there," referring to the enemy (the people of heaven?).

    "Don't go over the edge." You know, take things too far. That happened already in the last song with the Monkey's fire killing everything. The Strange People took their greed over the edge and upset the god.

    One wonders if the strange people are the demons that define the time as "demon days." Who else would war with heaven but a demon? The line about "you don't know my soul" makes me wonder.

    rhavinon August 12, 2005   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    I think there is a fact that a lot of people end up overlooking about Religious interpretations in Gorillaz songs; the songwriters are an Athiest and a Pagan. The "heaven" they make reference to is not the "kingdom of a god" but rather it is the earth we live on. The entire album is Damion making a prophecy about the end of mans influence on mother earth. The "Demons" are mankind; the "Demon Days" are the days man inhabits the earth.

    TheNNon February 23, 2010   Link
  • +2
    My Interpretation

    This song is either about drug overdose or drug induced psychosis.

    The drug use is obvious. He talks about nice places that drugs make you want to go to (e.g., Got off a plane to the country sound, put me in a cab to suburbia).

    The chorus says "don't get lost in heaven, they got locks on the gate". heaven is a place of paradise, and drugs can make you feel like you're in there. If you take too much, you could get so deep in that you might get permafried, so you won't be able to get past the locks on the gate to get back to sanity.

    The meaning doesn't really matter, it's a great song. I just haven't seen anyone else post the same meaning.

    w0lfloveon February 14, 2011   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    Seriously every song in this album ties together, its AMAZING!

    Although some disagree with me, "White Light", I think is a song about cocaine, and here we hear about "crack on the corner". Maybe DARE is where someone dies, but I can't really interpet that song and even then I don't think thats what happens. "Fire coming out of a Monkey's Head" is a SPECIFIC reference to the previous song.

    I think this song, like "Demon Days", is about coming out of the darkness, but whereas "Demon Days" feels more about rejoicing that you're finally free and in the son, this feels more like the actual path to freedom. "Dont get lost in heaven", to me, feels kinda like saying, don't look back.

    Anyways, I really like this song, it really does remind me of heaven.

    Beautiful singing from the choir.

    RTBRAND1on May 26, 2005   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    I think this song has to do with cocaine. That's what my guess is.

    "Put me in a cab to suburbia I just took a line but I wasn't with you There was more of it there, when I got back home But you'd left me, you don't know my soul... You're a whole bad mistake, yeah, you're a hoe girl, yeah you're a hobo"

    That one line thing is about cocaine, obvisouly, I think. "there was more of it there when i got back home" he had more cocaine at home... basically the whole city is full of crack-heads. dead people. he says "There was crack on the corner and someone dead, and fire coming out of a monkey's head" which he found someone dead... crack dealers on the corner. or smoking crack on the corner. whatever.

    "Don't get lost in heaven They got lots of them there Don't go over the edge You'll make a big mistake"

    That, I think means... that don't get lost with your high...don't go too high, 'don't go over the edge, you'll make a big mistake.' I guess when you go over the edge, you'll get addicted, and end up dead. That's what I think this song is about. I have no idea what else it'd be about.

    mystidelicon August 02, 2005   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    This song is kinda like a story of hypocrites.

    "Mountain and a hole in the ground" mountain being a skyscraper, holes are portrayed as bad, saying that it is a rundown part of a town.

    "Crack on the Corner, and someone dead" It sounds like a drug dealer was shot and the crack was dropped. The song is saying that the person singing was part of the gang.

    "Fire coming out of the monkey's head" a direct reference to the previous song and signifying chaos during the shooting.

    "Don't get lost in heaven" The person is at a funeral service for the dead drug dealer, and their singing a song.

    " Took a line; More of it at home" his crack of course.

    "But you left me" the rest is about him losing his girlfriend.

    Basically, Damon Albarn is portraying life on the street.

    Doublebass22on May 17, 2010   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    If you haven't done drugs, then you wouldn't understand the whole feel of this song. The choppy piano is beautiful and relaxed, and is like reality, while the strings over head are the intensity that's always overhead when you're on heavy drugs. In this song, even though it might be the most comforting thing to the whole song, it's representative of the feelings of content and wanting to stay. Like giving in when you're strung out on drugs.

    enigmagrizon January 03, 2013   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    the song is part of the album Demon Days. The whole album is a story. The song before this one is "Fire Coming out of the Monkey's Head" (Monkey's Head being a volcano). The one after is Demon Days, the song the album was named after. This is somewhat telling what happened to the "Happy People" town after the deity(Monkey) blew up. It blew up because people were mining into it's jewels overcome with greed. The "crack on the corner and someone dead" is the affect of the eruption. If you want more information on "Fire Coming out of the Monkey's Head go to songfacts.com and search it up or wikipedia and search up the whole album for the story. It is really all just one big story after an apocolypse.

    lily2greendayon February 16, 2014   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    This is the penultimate song on the album and for some reason, for me, reminds me of the ending of the Wizard of Oz where everyone is getting ready to go home, but with more (:p) drug references.

    Also points out in this song how heaven could be seen as relative, in the way that the Choir refer to heaven as the hedonism of this song. A huge reference to "fire coming out of a monkey's head" leads us back through the album and reflects on it.

    Mantinonon May 25, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    i think this song is about being high on coke. or at least this part is "I just took a line but I wasn't with you"

    Tobb555on June 28, 2005   Link

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