In the late sixties I was drawn to a song by British composer Leslie Bricusse, “When I Look in Your Eyes.” The music was haunting, the lyrics discomforting. They spoke of a depth of feeling and life experience I did not have.
Sometimes now I’ll hear teens debate the “best” eye color—hazel? blue? green? brown?—or the color they wish they’d been born with. I smile. I know someday they’ll understand. The loveliest eyes are simply and always the ones that love yours back.
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In your eyes
I see the deepness of the sea
I see the deepness of the love,
The love I feel you feel for me.
Autumn comes, summer dies
I see the passing of the years in your eyes
And when we part there’ll be no tears, no goodbyes,
I’ll just look into your eyes.
Those eyes, so wise, so warm, so real
How I love the world your eyes reveal.
Susan BennetI'm so happy to have joined the gracious Retro family. The basics:
I have a background in marketing and museums.
I come alive when the leaves turn red.
I regret every tech mistake I have made or will ever make on this site.
I want a dog.
I’ve been spared the conversations among kids about which eye color they would prefer to have or plan to acquire. But I like the sentiment of your submission.
A girl thing, Dale. Thanks!
Thanx Susan for your lovely story.
I didn’t know that song, thank you for sharing it and for your sweet sentiments about what’s really important in our sometimes sorry world.
Thank you for reading, Dana. I looked further into the song, which was written for the movie Doctor Doolittle. Rex Harrison sang it — to a seal who had charming eyes indeed.
I didn’t know the song lyrics either, Susan (I missed Doctor Doolittle), but I do like the sentiment very much. My eyes are gray-green, depending on my mood and what is reflected around them. My original lenses were gray, my alternative pair were green; it didn’t matter much. But I’ve always like the color of my eyes. I thought they were sort of different and exotic, except they are quite sensitive to light.
As a “blue,” I find special beauty in green and hazel. Yours sound lovely!
A beautiful song that cuts through the superficial to the heart of life. Thanks for sharing it; I’d never heard of it or the singer before.
I hesitated because as we get older we realize its sadness too. Thank you for reading.
Thanks for reminding me of the depth of feeling felt by looking into the eyes of someone I love. Even masks can’t take that away from me.
Yes Laurie, during our extended “masque,” I was caught off guard that people would recognize me, and I them. As our prompt suggests, the eyes have it!
I love Leslie Bricusse, he collaborated with Anthony Newley on two of my favorite musicals – Stop the World I Want to Get Off, and The Roar of the Greasepaint, The Smell of the Crowd. Now I need to find this song that you wrote about.
Yes, two of my favorite scores as well. Leslie Bricusse’s score for the 1970 television film Scrooge delighted me so much I bought the video. Some years later I introduced it to my little nephew, who also was charmed. To this day (in his thirties) it is part of his holiday tradition.
Short and very sweet—and oh so true. Really enjoyed this, and I also learned a new song.
Thank you, Khati.