Blue Heaven

Album: The Criminal Record (2017)

Songfacts®:

  • The song "Blue Heaven" was written in the band's first year of being together. Living in a loft building in Brooklyn, the amazing staircases allowed for beautiful acoustics where the group was able to play around with harmonies, and come up with possible instrumentation ideas.
  • Regina Strayhorn of Bandits On The Run talked about this song when they were guests on the Backstory Song podcast. "It's kind of an experiment on how can you talk about harder aspects of love and package it and a really fun, friendly, playful musical frame," she said. "When I was writing the words for it, it was coming from a point where my uncle had just passed away and my family was going through a hard time, and I had friends whose family members were also passing away. And it felt very much like there was just a bit of awareness of death, that sounds very heavy, but that's what was happening at the time. And it just made me rethink like certain relationships that I have in my family and you know, and things that are strained and things, you know that at the end of the day, like, what's most important is loving the people that you're with and being very generous with love."
  • The term "Blue Heaven" creates a clever contrast between the feeling of bliss and the sadness that comes with love. The upbeat/doo wop vibe of the song paired with its complex lyrics is a perfect portrayal of this. The lyrics center around both of those themes, as well as ones of loss, grief, relationships and family. As well as with this piece, Bandits On The Run strives to make music that is thought provoking, fosters change and connection, and makes space for self-reflection.

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