Wear Your Love Like Heaven by Donovan

Album: Gift From A Flower To A Garden (1967)

Charted: 23

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Songfacts®:

This very psychedelic song is a nod to the divine, conjuring up images of nature's colors and invoking both God and Allah. Heavy stuff.
In a Songfacts interview with Donovan, we asked how he came up with the vibrant images that appear in the lyric. Lines like:

Color sky Havana lake
Color sky rose carmethene
Alizarian crimson

Donovan explained that like many great songwriters - Joni Mitchell, John Lennon, Bob Dylan among them - he dabbled in art and thought in terms of paintings. This song is an example of translating images on a canvas into words. "'Wear Your Love Like Heaven' was really a paint-ily song - watching a sunset go down," he said.
This song was used in the Simpsons episode "Weekend at Bernsie's" when Homer is partaking in Medicinal Marijuana. >>
Suggestion credit:
D - Richmond, VA
"Wear Your Love Like Heaven" is the opening track of Donovan's 1967 double-disc album A Gift from a Flower to a Garden. The singer conceptually divided the album into two halves.

The first half, titled "Wear Your Love Like Heaven," was aimed at Donovan's generation. Themes of love, peace, and social change, staples of the counterculture movement, permeated these songs. A stark contrast awaited listeners on the flip side: "For Little Ones." On that side, Donovan unveiled a collection of gentler tunes aimed at children, reflecting his evolving perspective towards family and a brighter future.

The format itself was groundbreaking. A Gift from a Flower to a Garden is considered an early example of a pop music box set, boasting a grand presentation and a hefty double-disc format.
Despite initial concerns from Epic Records boss Clive Davis, who worried about sales and pushed for a split release in the US, A Gift from a Flower to a Garden ultimately found its audience. The original boxed set enjoyed steady sales, reaching #19 in the US and achieving Gold record status in 1970.

Donovan recalled to Uncut magazine in 2024: "The actual shock for the label and management was: 'You're at the top of your game, you're having hit singles. Why are you doing this?' and I told them it was a mission, and intention: 'Society's mentally ill, there's a lot of young people wanting to change things. And the Revolution is on. Now millions of young people in the pop music world NEED these lyrics.'"

"It was too brave, going into literature and poetry, and there was no real hit single. But they released a box set in January or February of 68 and it went Gold."

Comments: 13

Faith from OhioI also remember the song being used in advertising for Love beauty products and fragrance. Beautiful song. One of my favorites.
Dianne from New YorkThis song, Wear Your Love Like Heaven was also used in a commercial for the “Love” fragrance. A lemony fragrance that was popular in the 70’s.
Terry S from Missouri It was used in the LOVE cosmetics ads
Wear your LOVE like heaven. Not for Heaven Scent cologne.
Beautiful melody. Great song.
Rob from Pasadena, CaDonovan, his personage, lifestyle, and music, pretty much embodied what was uniquely beautiful about the 1960s. I especially like the verse, "Cannot believe what I see, All I have wished for will be, All of our race proud and free". By "race" I'm certain he is referring to the Human Race. His mention of Allah is consistent with how most Muslims think in terms of God/Allah representing poetic inspiration and the intense beauty of colors in the sky at sunset. This was a time before the Christian Fundamentalist movement had set their eyes on recruiting the vast numbers of vulnerable young people embarking on the world in search of something, and it was possible to regard established religions as simply different paths of a universal spiritual quest inherent in all humans. He sang about the lost continent of Atlantis and the Ante Diluvian world (as the elders of our time choose to remain blind) -- something never before mentioned in a serious way in the lexicon of commercial popular music. He was a close friend and confidante of the Beatles, having accompanied them on their famous trip to India which occasioned his writing 'Hurdy Gurdy Man'. This quiet poetic song gets carried into a wonderful Rock groove by none other than Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, and John Bonham who were at the time studio session players and later to become three of the four members of Led Zeppelin.
Mavis from Upper MidwestI thought the song was used for LOVE products, not Heaven Scent. I recall a totally different Heaven Scent tune.
Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn November 19th 1967, "Wear Your Love Like Heaven" by Donovan entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart at position #74; and five weeks later on December 24th, 1967 it peaked at #23 {for 2 weeks} and spent 7 weeks on the Top 100...
And amazingly, the second week it was at #23 on the Top 100 was also its 7th and last week on the chart...
It was his third Top 100 record for the year 1967; "Epistle to Dippy" reached #19 and "There Is a Mountain" peaked at #11...
Between 1965 and 1973 the Scot had seventeen Top 100 records; four*made the Top 10 with one reaching #1, "Sunshine Superman" for 1 week in 1966...
Just missed having a second #1 when "Mellow Yellow" peaked at #2 for 3 weeks later in 1966...
Donovan Philips Leitch will celebrate his 69th birthday come next May 10th {2015}...
* He almost had five Top 10 records when the fore mentioned "There Is a Mountain" reached #11 in 1967.
Stormy from Kokomo, InThis song was used in a cosmetics commercial for a perfume called "Heaven Scent" in the late 60s. I'll always remember that because a girl (Ellen Kilcline) asked me to a Kokomo High School prom called a "Ytrap" which is "party" spelled backwards. Your date arranged the date and bought you a flower, picked you up, paid for dinner and all of that! She sprayed "Heaven Scent" on my nosegay that was my flower!
Splunge from Tampa, FlThis sweet song of peace and love appears on what I consider to be Donovan's best album, and one of the best ever recorded by anyone. It is called "A Gift From a Flower to a Garden". Few would know any of the other songs, but trust me, they are awesome! For the most part, they are accoustical ballads and musical "paintings" of people, places and things quite ordinary, yet all very special in Donovan's mind. Donovan's guitar-playing style on this album is as good as it gets. I highly recommend this album if you need something refreshing and want something different.
Nady from Adelaide, AustraliaUgh this song is just the prettiest thing, love it dearly:)))
Mandy from CalgaryWow, am I glad I came here! I never understood what he was trying to sing about before. But now I know it's about colors. Wow, what a simple concept. Haha. This is a GREAT song!
Johnny from Los Angeles, CaOMG if this is what i think it is then I've been looking for this song for years!
Michael from Plymouth, MaThe words were inspired by names of painting colors, which seemed so poetic. Although he says
a color - Rose Carmethene. I only find it as Rose
Cartheme. Did he miss pronounce it ? There is
another color mentioned at the very end. Carmine!
Andrew from Gold Coast, AustraliaGreat song. It was also used in the Beverly Hills 90210 episode "Time has Come Today"

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