"If Heaven" is the title of a song written by Gretchen Peters

Gretchen Peters

Gretchen Peters is a singer-songwriter in the folk/country genre. She was born in New York and raised in Boulder, Colorado, but moved to Nashville in the late 1980s...

 and recorded by American country music

Country music

Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

 singer Andy Griggs

Andy Griggs

Andrew Tyler "Andy" Griggs is an American country music artist. He has released three albums for RCA Records Nashville and a fourth for Montage Music Group...

. It was released in October 2004 as the second single from his 2004 album This I Gotta See

This I Gotta See

This I Gotta See is the third album by country music singer Andy Griggs. Released in 2004 as his final album for RCA Records, the album produced three singles: "She Things She Needs Me", "If Heaven" and the title track. These first two singles each reached No. 5 on the Hot Country Songs charts,...

. Griggs' eleventh single on the Billboard

Billboard (magazine)

Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

country singles charts, it is also the final Top 40 country hit of his career, peaking at #5 in mid-2005.

Content

Written by Gretchen Peters

Gretchen Peters

Gretchen Peters is a singer-songwriter in the folk/country genre. She was born in New York and raised in Boulder, Colorado, but moved to Nashville in the late 1980s...

, "If Heaven" is a ballad in which the narrator offers up possible images of heaven, each based on an idealized moment of everyday life, such as "If heaven was an hour, it would be twilight". In the chorus, he sings, "If that's what heaven's made of / You know, I ain't afraid to die."

Griggs said that he was emotionally moved by the song, which made him recall his father and brother, both of whom died during Griggs' childhood. His mother has asked him to perform the song for him, and refers to it as "the song."

Critical reception

Deborah Evans Price, of Billboard

Billboard (magazine)

Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

magazine reviewed the song favorably, calling it "one of those beautiful, understated ballads that will have listeners heaving a thoughtful sigh." She goes on to say that Griggs' "warm, muscular baritone gently breathes life into each line, evoking emotions both sad and hopeful."

Chart performance

"If Heaven" debuted at number 59 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the week of October 16, 2004. > >

Chart (2004-2005)	Peak position