The composition My Father’s Eyes (“Eyes of my father”) is connected with the sad events in the life of Eric Clapton (Eric Clapton). To better understand what the song My Father’s Eyes is about, let’s recall some facts from his biography.
When Eric was born, his mother, Mary Molly Clapton, was barely sixteen years old. The father, Canadian soldier Edward Walter Fryer, left with his unit before the boy was born, never met his son and died in 1985. Little Eric lived with his grandmother and her second husband, considering them to be his parents, and his real mother as his sister.
How hard it was for him to find out the truth – one can only guess, but Clapton coped with this and was able to achieve success in life. However, thoughts about his father, whom he had never seen, must have constantly visited him.
In 1986, he himself became a father when the Italian fashion model Lori del Santo gave birth to his son Conor. But fate was again cruel to Eric. Conor died after falling out of a skyscraper window. Coming out of a protracted depression, Clapton dedicated the song Tears in Heanen to him.
The history of creation and the meaning of the song My Father’s Eyes
But not only this composition was born because of the terrible tragedy that befell Eric. He suddenly realized that the son gave him the opportunity to establish a spiritual connection with his own father. However, no one can explain better than the author:
I had something like a revelation about my son. It’s very personal, but I never met my father and I realized that I came closest to looking into my father’s eyes when I looked into my son’s eyes. That’s what I wrote a song about.
Clapton performed the first acoustic version of the song on January 16, 1992 on MTV’s Unplugged.
He later played an electric version of it, but it wasn’t until six years later that the song was released as a single and included on the Pilgrim album. The reason for this delay lay in the fact that Eric, by his own admission, lacked the courage to record this composition. Plus, he couldn’t find the right arrangement for My Father’s Eyes.
Here’s what he had to say about working on the song:
This song was the hardest to record on the album. I completed it last. Circus was much easier to complete. My Father’s Eyes went through five incarnations, and every time I vetoed it, because, purely artistically, I said, “This is too fast. It’s too much fun. Or it’s too sad.” Now, in fact, I think that subconsciously I was not ready to let her go, because it meant – in a way – letting go of my son.
In 1998, My Father’s Eyes was released as a single and was included on the Pilgrim album. The official version of the song differed significantly from those previously performed by Clapton.
Eric performed it live until 2004, when he announced that he was dropping My Father’s Eyes and Tears in Heaven from his repertoire because he “no longer feels the bitterness of loss that is an integral part of playing these songs.” However, sometimes the song sounded at his concerts.
Clip My Father’s Eyes
The music video for the song My Father’s Eyes for Eric Clapton was directed by Kevin Godley.
Eric Clapton My Father’s Eyes Lyrics
Sailing down behind the sun
Waiting for my prince to come
Praying for the healing rain
To restore my soul again
Just a toe rag on the run
How did I get here?
What have I done?
When will all my hopes arise?
How will I know him?
When I look in my father’s eyes
My father’s eyes
When I look in my father’s eyes
My father’s eyes
Then the light begins to shine
And I hear those ancient lullabies
And as I watch this seedling grow,
Feel my heart start to overflow
Where do I find the words to say?
How do I teach him?
What do we play?
Bit by bit, I’ve realized
That’s when I need them,
That’s when I need my father’s eyes
My father’s eyes
That’s when I need my father’s eyes
My father’s eyes
Then the jagged edge appears
Through the distant clouds of tears
I’m like a bridge that was washed away
My foundations were made of clay
As my soul slides down to die
How could I lose him?
What did I try?
Bit by bit, I’ve realized
That he was here with me
I looked into my father’s eyes
My father’s eyes
I looked into my father’s eyes
My father’s eyes
My Father’s Eyes Lyrics – Eric Clapton
I’m sailing after the sun
Waiting for my prince
Pray for healing rain
that will revive my soul
Only a ragamuffin fleeing
How did I get here?
What I’ve done?
When will my hopes rise?
How do I recognize him?
When I look into my father’s eyes
My father’s eyes
When I look into my father’s eyes
My father’s eyes
Then the light starts to shine
And I hear those ancient lullabies
And when I see these seedlings grow
I feel my heart starts to overflow
Where can I get the right words?
What will I teach him?
What will we play?
Little by little I realized
That’s when I need them
That’s when I need my father’s eyes
My father’s eyes
That’s when I need my father’s eyes
My father’s eyes
Then through distant clouds of tears
A mountain pass looms
I’m like a bridge that’s been washed away
My foundations were made of clay
My soul slides towards death
How could I lose it?
What did I try to do?
Little by little I realized
that he was here with me
I looked into my father’s eyes
My father’s eyes
I looked into my father’s eyes
My father’s eyes
Song quote
In it, I tried to describe the parallel between looking into the eyes of my son and the eyes of a father whom I had never met, through the bonds of blood.
Eric Clapton
