Leaving Heaven

Album: The Heart Of Christmas (2011)
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Songfacts®:

  • This track from Contemporary Christian singer-songwriter Matthew West's first Christmas album, The Heart Of Christmas is a duet with the Country artist Vince Gill, who also contributes guitar. West previously linked up Gill's wife, Amy Grant, for the song "Give This Christmas Away," which served as the theme song for the charity, Operation Christmas Child.
  • West explained the song's meaning to The Boot: "The perspective of that song is different. It's Jesus talking about how it's been real nice living up in heaven, but he can't stay long, [saying] 'I'm leaving heaven today.' The chorus goes on to say how He's trading in the streets of gold for a broken earth and then by the end it says, 'if you ever wonder how much you're worth, you're the reason why I'm leaving heaven.' It's a reminder of why God sent His son to earth and why we celebrate Christmas."

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