Leaving Eden

Album: Leaving Eden (2010)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This is the title track of Contemporary Christian musician Brandon Heath's third studio album. Heath penned the song with country music Lee Thomas Miller whose credits include the #1 country hits "The World" and "I'm Still a Guy" for Brad Paisley and "You're Gonna Miss This" for Trace Adkins.
  • In our interview with Brandon Heath, he told us the story of the song. Said Heath: "The idea was borne out of a conversation with my counselor. There's a guy that meets with a bunch of us in Nashville, his name is Al. And I sat down with Al one day and he mentioned mourning the loss of Eden. And I'd never really thought about that. That's way in the past and it was somebody else's problem. But it really was my problem and your problem and everybody else that followed, because it was kind of the beginning of our separation, if you want to call it, from God. And later Jesus would arrive and everything would be set right.

    But there was this birthplace of all things going awry. And so for me, I'd never really thought about it, but I needed to mourn the loss of Eden, because I feel the effects of it. I feel the effects of living in an imperfect world. And the easiest way to see that is to watch the news. But the reality is there are good things happening in the world that you don't often hear about and they don't always make great sensational news stories so you don't hear about them.

    I didn't want to depress anybody, but I think it's good to look at the state of the world and say, Well, this is the world that we live in. But then also to look at Eden like Ground Zero; it's where everything changed. But we can't stay there; we should mourn what we lost there, but we have to move on. And we make our own decisions and our own choices, that's another great gift that God gave us. But that's kind of what I was thinking."
  • Heath has applied the song's message in his own life by limiting the time he spends online and, instead, putting energy into cultivating relationships with both God, and people. "I want to go to God and not to Google," he quipped to Crosswalk. "I feel like we've replaced God with so many things, and I just want him back—not that he's gone anywhere—but I want my allegiance to God back."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

The Untold Story Of Fiona Apple's Extraordinary Machine

The Untold Story Of Fiona Apple's Extraordinary MachineSong Writing

Fiona's highly-anticipated third album almost didn't make it. Here's how it finally came together after two years and a leak.

Brian Kehew: The Man Behind The Remasters

Brian Kehew: The Man Behind The RemastersSong Writing

Brian has unearthed outtakes by Fleetwood Mac, Aretha Franklin, Elvis Costello and hundreds of other artists for reissues. Here's how he does it.

Glen Phillips of Toad the Wet Sprocket

Glen Phillips of Toad the Wet SprocketSongwriter Interviews

The "All I Want" singer went through a long depression, playing some shows when he didn't want to be alive.

Marvin Gaye

Marvin GayeFact or Fiction

Did Marvin try out with the Detroit Lions? Did he fake crazy to get out of military service? And what about the cross-dressing?

Steve Morse of Deep Purple

Steve Morse of Deep PurpleSongwriter Interviews

Deep Purple's guitarist since 1994, Steve talks about writing songs with the band and how he puts his own spin on "Smoke On The Water."

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: '80s Edition

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: '80s EditionMusic Quiz

You know the scenes - Tom Cruise in his own pants-off dance off, Molly Ringwald celebrating her birthday - but do you remember what song is playing?