Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven, a Song by Joakim Thåström

Dreams, success, identity, and the human desire to escape our own limitations.

Photo © Anette Karlsen/NTB Scanpix

A few lines in a song can sometimes open a door to questions much larger than the song itself. In “Alla vill till himlen” (“Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven”), Joakim Thåström writes about dreams, success, identity, and the human desire to escape our own limitations. The image of becoming a star that no one can take down may at first sound like a fantasy about fame, but beneath the surface lies a deeper question: How do we find a place in the world where we can truly be ourselves?

The interesting thing about Joakim Thåström’s lyrics is precisely that he uses an image that is both a dream and an escape at the same time.

The star up there can be interpreted in several ways.

On the surface, it may sound like the great dream of success:

Become something great. Be seen. Become immortal. Hang up there where no one can touch you.

But underneath, there is something more vulnerable. Why would a human being want to become a star that no one can take down? Perhaps because they know how painful it is to be judged, rejected, overlooked, criticised, or not understood. The star is not only a symbol of fame. It is also a symbol of a place where you are finally safe.

But the paradox is that we humans can never live up there.

We have to live down here.

We have to be vulnerable. We have to try, fail, love, be misunderstood, and continue anyway. Perhaps true liberation is not becoming a star that no one can take down, but reaching a point where it no longer destroys us if someone tries.

I think this connects with much of what you yourself have written about ageing, creative work, and finding meaning. When we are young, it is easy to think:

“I have to show the world who I am.”

Later in life, perhaps we can arrive at something different:

“I have to discover who I am, regardless of what the world thinks.”

There is a great difference between the two.

The first struggle is about being seen. The second is about seeing.

And perhaps this is where the deeper interpretation of Thåström lies: “Changing planet” does not have to mean running away from life. It can mean moving yourself mentally. Leaving behind a place where you constantly measure yourself through the eyes of others.

You no longer need to ask:

How high am I hanging in the sky?

Instead, you can ask:

Am I shining where I am?

Then perhaps you do not become the star that everyone sees. But you become a star that can no longer be taken down, because your value is no longer attached to applause from the outside.

In fact, this is quite close to Albert Camus’ way of thinking: Sisyphus does not triumph because he reaches the top and receives recognition. He triumphs because he finds a way to own his own life while carrying the stone.

I also think this is why song lyrics like these can strike us more deeply than long philosophical texts. A few lines can open up an entire room of thought. Thåström writes about the star in the sky, but perhaps what he is really writing about is the long journey back down again — towards daring to be human.

“Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven”

— English translation

[Verse 1] If you can’t change your name, then change your planet You can become a star that they can never take down Imagine hanging highest up there and looking down at people and smiling I want it, you want it

[Verse 2] A happy person never knows who he is stepping on He knows the mirror is the best friend he’ll ever have He looks one more time and John Wayne has become two I want it, you want it

[Chorus] Everybody wants to go to heaven and Ride in a limousine, of course Everybody wants to go to heaven, to heaven Ow

[Verse 3] Jesus walked on water, there’s something special about that idea With two empty hands he built his moon rocket A simple man like you and me, but with somewhat better manners I want it, you want it

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Original text

“Alla vill till himlen”

[Vers 1] Kan du inte byta ut ditt namn så byt planet Du kan bli en stjärna som dom aldrig kan ta ner Tänk att hänga högst där uppe o titta ner på folk o le Jag vill, du vill [Vers 2] En lycklig mänska vet aldrig om på vem han slår Han vet att spegeln är den bästa vän han nånsin får Han tittar en gång till o John Wayne har blivit två Jag vill, du vill [Refräng] Alla vill till himlen och Åka limousine förståss Alla vill till himlen, till himlen Ow [Vers 3] Jesus gick på vattnet det är nåt visst med den iden Med två tomma händer byggde han sin månraket En enkel man som du o jag fast med något bättre manér Jag vill, du vill