Bright Eyes (Art Garfunkel song)

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"Bright Eyes"
Art Garfunkel Bright Eyes.png
Single by Art Garfunkel
from the album Fate for Breakfast
B-side"When Someone Doesn't Want You"
Released19 January 1979 (19 January 1979)[1]
GenrePop ballad
Length4:00
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)Mike Batt
Producer(s)Mike Batt
Art Garfunkel singles chronology
"In a Little While (I'll Be on My Way)"
(1979) 		"Bright Eyes"
(1979) 		"Since I Don't Have You"
(1979)

"Bright Eyes" is a song written by British songwriter Mike Batt and performed by Art Garfunkel. It was written for the soundtrack of the 1978 British animated adventure drama film Watership Down. Rearranged as a pop song from its original form in the film, the track appears on British and European versions of Garfunkel's 1979 Fate for Breakfast and on the US versions of his 1981 album Scissors Cut. "Bright Eyes" topped the UK Singles Chart for six weeks and became Britain's biggest-selling single of 1979, selling over a million copies. Richard Adams, author of the original novel is reported to have hated the song.[2] A cover of the song was later used in the television series of the same name explicitly as its theme song.

Background[]

The song was written, produced and arranged by Mike Batt for Watership Down, with original director John Hubley requesting a song about death.[3] It plays when the rabbit Hazel, the lead character in the film, almost dies after being wounded by a farmer's gun and Fiver, his little brother is led to him by the Black Rabbit of Inlé.[citation needed] Batt described recording the song as "one of the most difficult sessions" of his career.[4]

The pop single arrangement of the song was very successful in the United Kingdom, staying at number one in the UK Singles Chart for six weeks in 1979,[5] selling over one million copies, becoming the biggest-selling single of the year.[6][4] In the United States, it failed to reach the Billboard Hot 100. It reached No. 29 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.

Charts[]

Personnel[]

Other versions[]

  • British band The Shadows recorded an instrumental version in 1979 on the album String of Hits.
  • British pop group The Nolans recorded the song for their 1979 album Nolan Sisters.
  • In 1979, It Ain't Half Hot, Mum actor Don Estelle covered the song in his album Time After Time.[25]
  • In 1980, five-year-old child performer Matthew Butler performed a version of the song on the ITV children's series Tiswas dressed in a grey furry rabbit costume. Butler, his costume and his rendition of the song (which was released as a single by CBS Records) became a staple part of the programme for the rest of its duration.[26]
  • British pop group Brotherhood of Man recorded the song for their Sing 20 Number One Hits album in 1980
  • In 1987, child performer Toni Warne recorded the song as the B-side of her single Ben.[27]
  • In 1989, Justin Hayward, Mike Batt and London Philharmonic Orchestra recorded the song on the covers album Classic Blue.
  • Australian children's pop group The Tin Lids member Eliza-Jane 'E.J.' Barnes sang this song in the band's album Snakes & Ladders which was released in July 1992 and nominated for the ARIA Award for Best Children's Album in 1993.
  • British band Manic Street Preachers released a live version as a b-side on the cassette version of their "A Design for Life" single in 1996.[28]
  • In March 1998, Swedish singer Pandora released a version as a single, taken from her album Pandora's Hit Box.[29]
  • The song was later covered by Irish singer Stephen Gately in 2000 and used as the theme song of the Watership Down animated television series. It was released as a double A-side with his single "New Beginning". While Mike Batt, who wrote the original song, composed an entire new score. This new cover went on to earn the TV show a nomination for a Gemini Award, for best original score.[citation needed]
  • New Zealand singer Hayley Westenra recorded a version for her 2001 self-titled studio album.
  • British singer and actor Joseph McManners recorded a version for his 2005 album In Dreams, with music provided by the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra.
  • British singer Declan Galbraith recorded a version in his album Thank You in 2006.
  • In 2012, Adam Young of Owl City covered the song and released it to his SoundCloud.[30] Young himself is a big fan of Watership Down.[31][32]
  • Welsh singer Elan Catrin Parry covered the song for her 2018 debut album 'Angel'.
  • On 22 February 2020, Mike Batt performed the song at the end of an episode of Pointless which he had just won.

References[]

  1. ^ "Art Garfunkel – Bright Eyes". 45cat.com. Archived from the original on 23 February 2020. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  2. ^ "I HATE "Bright Eyes"!". lettersofnote.com. Archived from the original on 6 July 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  3. ^ Allen, Liam (3 March 2009). "Was it a kind of bad dream?". BBC News. Archived from the original on 6 July 2020. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b Allen, Liam (3 March 2009). "Was it a kind of bad dream?". BBC. Archived from the original on 6 July 2020. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  5. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. pp. 366–7. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  6. ^ Sedghi, Ami (4 November 2012). "UK's million-selling singles: the full list". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 12 December 2016. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  7. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 121. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  8. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Art Garfunkel – Bright Eyes" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  9. ^ "Ultratop.be – Art Garfunkel – Bright Eyes" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  10. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 22, 1979" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  11. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Art Garfunkel – Bright Eyes" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  12. ^ "Charts.nz – Art Garfunkel – Bright Eyes". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  13. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Art Garfunkel – Bright Eyes". VG-lista. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  14. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Art Garfunkel – Bright Eyes". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  15. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Art Garfunkel – Bright Eyes". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  16. ^ "Art Garfunkel: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  17. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Art Garfunkel – Bright Eyes". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  18. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 431. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  19. ^ "Jahreshitparade Singles 1979". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  20. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 1979". Ultratop. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  21. ^ "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1979". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  22. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1979". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  23. ^ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1979". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  24. ^ "Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts". GfK Entertainment (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  25. ^ "Don Estelle – Time After Time". discogs. Archived from the original on 28 July 2018. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  26. ^ Lockley, Mike. "Staffordshire man reveals the seedy truth behind living life as the Tiswas Bunny". Birmingham Mail. Archived from the original on 1 August 2016. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  27. ^ "Toni Warne Bright Eyes".
  28. ^ "Manic Street Preachers – A Design For Life (Cassette Single) at Discogs". discogs. 2010. Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
  29. ^ "Pandora – Bright Eyes (CD) at Discogs". discogs. 21 March 1998. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  30. ^ "Bright Eyes (Adam Young cover)". SoundCloud. Archived from the original on 25 September 2014. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
  31. ^ "A Q&A with Owl City". 4music.com. Archived from the original on 28 January 2015. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
  32. ^ "2011 interview with Owl City". Jesusfreakhideout.com. Archived from the original on 28 January 2015. Retrieved 25 September 2014. Probably the book that is super inspiring is a book called Watership Down by Richard Adams. It's from the late 70s, about talking rabbits, and it's a very grounded-in-reality book. It's not a kids' book, but it has to do with these talking rabbits and their adventure, and there's a lot of metaphors and crazy stuff. And that's always been a very inspiring thing. If ever I'm feeling dry, or going through writer's block or something, I just even leaf through some pages of that book and I'm like "Whoa, I have to go make music!"

External links[]

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