Jump to content

Bright Eyes (song)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Egghead06 (talk | contribs) at 16:07, 10 October 2021 (→Other versions: WP: SONGCOVER). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

"Bright Eyes"
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

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. ^ 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. ^ "Art Garfunkel – Bright Eyes" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  9. ^ "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. ^ "Art Garfunkel – Bright Eyes" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  12. ^ "Art Garfunkel – Bright Eyes". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  13. ^ "Art Garfunkel – Bright Eyes". VG-lista. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  14. ^ "Art Garfunkel – Bright Eyes". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  15. ^ "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" (in German). 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.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Bright_Eyes_(song)&oldid=1049224173"