Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you great songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the lyrics or title. Today, we feature Creed performing “Higher,” a song in which frontman/songwriter Scott Stapp dreams of a utopia, where the streets are paved with gold and love replaces hate.
Stapp sings, “Can you take me higher? / To the place where blind men see / Can you take me higher? / To the place with golden streets.”
In 2013, Stapp told Songfacts.com that “Higher” was about his idealistic dream of creating a heaven on Earth.
“I wanted the world, so to speak. I wanted to achieve every dream that I ever had,” he said. “At the time I penned that song, my view of what heaven on Earth meant was very narrow, very naïve, and very wrapped up in ego and self-fulfillment.”
In 2000, Stapp had revealed in a Spin magazine interview that “Higher” was his homage to the power of lucid dreaming. In a lucid dream, the dreamer can take control over the characters, the narrative and the environment.
“You’re physically asleep, but you’re awake in your mind,” he said.
Apparently, Stapp had been haunted by a recurring nightmare, in which the singer is running down a highway being chased by a gunman. He turns left and hides behind a pillar beneath an overpass, but he still gets shot. Stapp reported that once he was able to lucid-dream, he could alter the events, turning right, and escaping harm. The nightmares soon went away.
Released in 1999 as the first single from Creed’s album, Human Clay, “Higher” peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and was a breakthrough hit for the band. Human Clay made its debut at #1 on the Billboard 200 and sold more than 10 million copies. VH1 ranked “Higher” as the 95th greatest hard rock song of all time.
Founded in Tallahassee, FL, in 1994, Creed has sold more than 53 million albums worldwide. The band broke up in 2004, but then reunited briefly for tours in 2009 and again in 2012.
Please check out the video of Creed performing “Higher” on Late Night With David Letterman. The lyrics are below if you’d like to sing along…
“Higher”
Written by Scott A. Stapp and Mark T. Tremonti. Performed by Creed.
When dreaming I’m guided to another world
Time and time again
At sunrise I fight to stay asleep
‘Cause I don’t want to leave the comfort of this place
‘Cause there’s a hunger, a longing to escape
From the life I live when I’m awake
So let’s go there, let’s make our escape
Come on let’s go there, let’s ask, “Can we stay?”
Can you take me higher?
To the place where blind men see
Can you take me higher?
To the place with golden streets
Although I would like our world to change
It helps me to appreciate those nights and those dreams
But my friend, I’d sacrifice all those nights
If I could make the Earth and my dreams the same
The only difference is
To let love replace all our hate
So let’s go there, let’s make our escape
Come on let’s go there, let’s ask, “Can we stay?”
Can you take me higher?
To the place where blind men see
Can you take me higher?
To the place with golden streets
So let’s go there, let’s go there
Come on let’s go there, let’s ask, “Can we stay?”
Up high I feel like I’m
Alive for the very first time
Set up high I’m strong enough
To take these dreams and make them mine
Set up high I’m strong enough
To take these dreams and make them mine
Can you take me higher?
To the place where blind men see
Can you take me higher?
To the place with golden streets
Can you take me higher?
To a place where blind men see
Can you take me higher?
To the place with golden streets
Credits: Screen capture via YouTube.com.