What is it they say? The eyes are the windows of the soul? We can sometimes see something in people’s eyes that tells us about them.
Some people can have a cruel look of disdain; others are welcoming. Eyes can affect what we think of someone at a given time. But do the color of the eyes matter and have an impact on how we initially might view them? It is an interesting question.
Blue eyes always seem very appealing, so it is not a surprise that we have songs written about blue eyes. That is what we are going to do here, look for the best songs about blue eyes.
Why Do We Have Different Colored Eyes?
The color of your eyes is often decided by your ethnicity or race. Some ethnicities have predominantly dark eyes and other lighter shades. Blue eyes are found in many cultures and races but are most prevalent in Scandinavia and Europe.
Furthermore, over 80 percent of people in Finland and Estonia have blue eyes.
Blue eyes aren’t technically blue at all and have no blue pigment. They just lack the pigment that would make them brown.
An Interesting Fact
Something interesting about people with blue eyes is that they are all related. Researchers based at the University of Copenhagen have found that nearly 10,000 years ago, there was what they refer to as a “harmless genetic mutation.”
A baby was born with a lack of brown pigment, and the eyes were blue. That manifested itself occasionally through hundreds of years in their offspring. So, those with blue eyes all have a common ancestor.
Who Are They So Appealing?
This a difficult question to answer, but they seem to be in some people’s eyes, pardon the pun. It could be because they remind us of the sea or the sky.
Whatever the reason, they have been a subject for songwriters. So, let’s take a look at what they have come up with in my list of songs about blue eyes.
50 Most popular Songs About Blue Eyes
18 Between Blue Eyes And Jeans by Conway Twitty
Conway Twitty was always an interesting character when I was young. He arrived on the scene in the mid-fifties, having changed his name from Harold Lloyd Jenkins. That was a name that would probably not have helped create the right image or helped his career.
My older sister brought home one of his early records, Mona Lisa. My father jokingly said he was married to Kitty Lester, making her name Kitty Twitty.
I believed that for quite a while…
“Between Blue Eyes and Jeans” is a much later recording, though, and was released in 1985, going to #3 in America. It was taken from his album, Don’t Call Him A Cowboy.
In many ways, he was the consummate Country singer. He sang the right material, and a look with sideburns and plenty of rhinestones created the Country singer style. He enjoyed an amazingly successful career that included songs from Country, Pop, and Rock and Roll genres.
2 Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain by Willie Nelson
Let’s stay with Country music and go to Willie Nelson for our next song about blue eyes. This was a man who challenged the usually “conservative rules” of Nashville Country music. He established his own Country music genre that became known as “Outlaw Country.”
Now, at age 89, he is still going. He has acted in over 30 films, written books, and has been writing songs since he was ten years old. These days he is a prominent activist, but that is another story.
This song is not one of his…
It was written by Fred Rose in 1945 and was first recorded by Roy Acuff. Hank Williams, Sr. also released it, as did Don Williams. Nelson’s version came out in 1975 and was included on his album, Red Headed Stranger.
It was a significant song in Nelson’s career and was said to have re-established him as a big player in Country music circles. It reached #1 on the Country music chart.
The song is a very typical Country music theme of being separated from someone you love and missing them.
3 No Light, No Light by Florence And The Machine
This is a song from the second studio album Ceremonials, released in 2011.
Florence and the Machine were sometimes hard to categorize in the music they produced. I suppose you could call them a “polished punk band.” They had the flavor of Punk Rock but had a much more polished sound mixed in with little hints of Folk music.
A certain style…
One thing that they did create at times was quite dark lyrics, and this song is very much in that mold. This is a song that is about blue eyes. It commences, “No light, no light in your blue eyes – I never knew daylight could be so violent.”
The song talks about it being light, but she is still unable to see. But, it is all about the state of a fragile relationship she is in. It likens the feeling to being lost in the dark and unable to see. The single reached #50 in the UK.
4 Suite: Judy Blue Eyes by Crosby, Stills, Nash
This is a song written about Stephen Stills’s ex-girlfriend, singer Judy Collins. It was a track from their first album, Crosby, Stills & Nash. The single reached #21 in America.
The song is about a relationship that seems to be grinding to a halt. He is asking her to look into his eyes for just one last time.
Collins was performing in New York and had started a relationship with actor Stacey Keach. This song might have been an attempt to win her back, but one that didn’t work.
There are two versions of the song…
One is a radio edit, and the other is a longer version included on the album. The longer version is arranged like a suite in classical music might be with four distinct sections. Although, I have never understood the significance of the last one, which is about Cuba and in Spanish.
It became a popular song in the band’s repertoire and was always popular with live audiences. Not surprising since most songs about someone with blue eyes tend to be popular.
5 Pretty Blue Eyes by Steve Lawrence
This is a song written by Teddy Randazzo, and Bobby Weinstein that you could say had a successful history. It was first released in 1959 by Steve Lawrence. It reached #9 in America.
Cover versions followed quickly, which also saw some success. UK singer Craig Douglas did a version that peaked at #4 in the UK. The Lettermen also covered it in 1962 when it reached #8 in America. Further covers were also made by The Guess Who in 1967 and Donny Osmond in 1972.
The song is about a man who is infatuated with a girl who has blue eyes and can’t get her out of his mind. He gets the courage to tell her, but she rejects him. He still feels deeply, though, and hopes that one day she may change her mind. A classic pop song from the time.
6 Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue by Crystal Gayle
A little bit of a family affair now. This song came as a “sequel” to a song recorded by Crystal Gayle’s sister Loretta Lynn. That song was called “I’ve Cried The Blue Right Out of My Eyes” and was also later recorded by Crystal Gayle.
“Don’t Make It My Brown Eyes Blue” was written by Richard Leigh. It was the first single released from her album, We Must Believe In Magic.
The single became a big hit internationally…
And it introduced her to a new audience. I have to say, when I first heard it, I thought it was a decent enough song and recording. But, I hardly considered it a Country song; it was more like some very laid-back jazz.
It reached #5 in the UK and #1 in America and had success elsewhere. Crystal Gayle went on to have more chart success in later years. But this was her biggest-selling single.
Interestingly, the song was offered to Brenda Lee first. She couldn’t seem to make a decent recording of it which isn’t really surprising. Loretta Lynn was then offered it and recorded it, followed by Crystal Gayle.
7 I Still Miss Someone (Blue Eyes) by Stevie Nicks
Stevie Nicks started her solo career while she was still supposedly a member of Fleetwood Mac. Her first album was the successful Bella Donna. This song was recorded and released in 1989 from her fourth solo album, The Other Side of the Mirror.
It is an interesting song in that it is about someone she refers to as ‘Blue Eyes.’ Someone from her past she has never forgotten and thinks about often. The lyrics are full of nostalgia and, in a sense, longing for the past.
She rewrote the words, but the original song was called “I Still Miss Someone” and was written by Roy Cash Jr. and Johnny Cash. Essentially, it is a cover with a different lyric. The song was delivered in her inimitable style and remained a permanent fixture at her solo concerts.
8 Blue Eyes by Steve Miller Band
Steve Miller formed his band in 1966 in San Francisco, and he is still going. They were a hugely popular band and had success in the 70s. This track is one of their later tracks released in 1993 and taken from the album called Wide River.
If you are expecting a soft ballad, get ready for something completely different. It rocks along at a nice pace. Not sure how good the lead vocals are, but the backing vocals give it a Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young feel.
There are some interesting chord changes under the guitar solo that make you take notice. Not going to create a storm but a decent Rock song that takes us back twenty years in time to that California sound of the 70s.
9 Black Skin Blue-Eyed Boys by The Equals
The Equals were one of a series of British groups at the time in the 60s who were ethnically mixed. This release from the end of 1970 was written by the supremely talented band member Eddy Grant.
It was a step away from the usual Equals sound that had brought them success with songs like “Baby Come Back.”
The funky rhythm was not very far away from what the Motown group The Temptations were doing. The Temptations were by far the best thing that ever came out of Berry Gordy’s label, and they were doing similar things, like “Ball Of Confusion,” at the same time.
Stepping into uncharted territory…
Grant was not averse to getting the sound he wanted. He used a session bass player to give him the solid bottom end with the band’s drummer. And utilized a funky guitar riff that was also a new idea for them. It worked and gave them a Top 10 hit in the UK.
The song was a mix of social statements about race and culture. It was also a pop at the Vietnam war, which Grant was very much against personally.
Just one year after this was released, he suffered a huge heart attack. He survived, thankfully, and concentrated on establishing his own studio in North London. He moved to Barbados in 1982 and continued writing for albums and even films.
10 Blue Eyes by Elton John
Followers of Elton John might listen to this song dedicated to blue eyes and think there is something a little different about it. They would be right. He didn’t work with Bernie Taupin on the song.
He wrote the lyrics himself with some help from another English songwriter Gary Osbourne. It was taken from the 1982 album, Jump Up! The single reached #8 in the UK and #12 in America and charted well in half a dozen other countries.
For students of music…
You will immediately recognize the harmonic complexities of the song. The verses are in B-flat, and the chorus is in D-minor. An interesting change. The relative minor of B-flat major is G-minor, so you might expect it to go there for the chorus, but D-minor it is.
I suppose it is what you might expect from one of the greats of his generation. A nice song, not his best by a long way, but pleasant enough. And one of the best songs about blue eyes.
1 Behind Blue Eyes by The Who
By the start of the 70s, the symbolic smashing up of the equipment was only for the show at the end of the concert. A reminder of what used to go on.
For those of us that witnessed the original smashing-up sessions, the latter version was purely symbolic.
All the anger from Townshend and Daltrey, and it was anger at the time, wasn’t there anymore. Yes, the loony Moon was still destroying things, but it was all done with a smile on their faces.
Maturity
They had matured as songwriters and musicians, and none more so than Pete Townshend. This song was a great example of how good he was, and to an extent, they were.
People who never witnessed those early “Mod” days in and around London will not know they had a set that included plenty of Motown. “Dancing In The Street,” “Heatwave,” and “Get Ready” were all performed with great vocals. The vocals on this track remind me of those heady days.
“Behind Blue Eyes” was one of the songs from Pete Townshend’s “post-Tommy” project, Lifehouse. It was going to be another Rock Opera but with a science fiction twist.
Pete gave up on it in the end…
That’s because even the other band members couldn’t work out what it was all about. However, the result was possibly their greatest album, Who’s Next, where some of the songs ended up.
The album was released in 1971 and went to #1 in the UK and #4 in America. Townshend wouldn’t let the single be issued as a single in the UK. It went to #34 in America.
It is a typical Who track of the time in the way that Townshend constructed it. Writing the song in sections allowed plenty of scope for the highs and lows that are typical of a Who performance.
The song itself…
It is about a man who people view as bad but sees himself as good on the inside. And it is probably the most popular song about blue eyes. Some great Entwhistle bass, nice acoustic guitar, and some good electric guitar riffs make this a great song from a band nearing its best.
12Blue Eyes by Mika
13Blue Eyes by Cary Brothers
14Blue Eyes by Middle Brother
15Baby Blue Eyes by A Rocket to the Moon
16Blue Eyes Blue by Eric Clapton
17Those Blue Eyes by The Mavericks
18Blue Eyes by The Honeydogs
19Blue Eyed Soul by Simply Red
20Blue Eyed Boy by John Gorka
21Blue-Eyed Devil by Soul Coughing
22Blue-Eyed Blonde by Chrisean Malone
23Blue Eyes of a Georgia Woman by Aaron Neville
24Blue Eyed Suzy by Bob Dylan
25Blue Eyes Laughing in the Sun by The Flaming Lips
26Blue Eyes Shining in the Rain by George Strait
27Blue-Eyed Jill by Peter Case
28Blue Eyes Dancing by Natalie Imbruglia
29Blue Eyed Country Girl by Roy Orbison
30Blue Eyed Darlin’ by Emmylou Harris
31Blue Eyed Harp Player by Laura Nyro
32Blue Eyes of a Millionaire by Belle and Sebastian
33Blue Eyes Don’t Cry by Smokie
34Blue Eyed Heart by Bette Midler
35Blue-Eyed Lady by Jerry Jeff Walker
36Blue Eyed Witch by Hoodoo Gurus
37Blue Eyed Soul by James McCartney
38Blue Eyed Baby by Dave Matthews Band
39Blue Eyes by Jayhawks
40Blue Eyed Son by Alexi Murdoch
41Blue Eyes by Cary Ann Hearst
42Blue Eyed Baby by Ben Kweller
43Blue Eyed Baby Doll by Pat Green
44Blue Eyes by Pet Shop Boys
45Blue Eyed Lady by Uriah Heep
46Blue Eyed Blues by Michael Martin Murphey
47Blue Eyed Lucy by Michelle Shocked
48Blue Eyed Soul by Todd Rundgren
49Blue Eyes by Joe Sample
50Blue Eyed Blues by Joe Cocker
Want More Great Songs About Special People?
Well, take a look at our detailed articles on the Top Songs About Brown Eyes, the Best Songs About Brothers, the Best Songs About Daughters, the Top Songs with the Name Ruby in the Title, as well as the Top Songs about Old Love for more memorable musical selections.
Best Songs About Blue Eyes – Final Thoughts
It seems from the songs on this list that blue eyes do carry an impact. I suppose you could say that any eye color might. But, something is striking about the mutation that occurred about 10,000 years ago that became blue eyes.
Without question, blue eyes have captured the imagination of songwriters, and they have managed to use them in many ways in their writing.
Until next time, happy listening.
