"These Eyes" is a song by the Canadian

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band

The Guess Who The Guess Who was a Canadian rock band formed in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1965. The band found their greatest success in the late 1960s and early 1970s, under the leadership of singer/keyboardist Burton Cummings and guitarist Randy Bachman, wit ...

. The song was co-written by the group's lead guitarist

Randy Bachman Randolph Charles Bachman ( ; born September 27, 1943) is a Canadian guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He was a founding member of the bands The Guess Who and Bachman–Turner Overdrive. He was the writer and singer of several hit rock songs, ...

and lead singer

Burton Cummings Burton Lorne Cummings (born December 31, 1947) is a Canadian musician and songwriter. He is best known for leading the Guess Who during that band's most successful period from 1965 to 1975, and for a lengthy solo career. Cummings has been induc ...

and originally included on the band's 1969 album '' Wheatfield Soul''. It was first released as a single (backed by a tribute to

Gordon Lightfoot Gordon Meredith Lightfoot Jr. (November 17, 1938 – May 1, 2023) was a Canadian singer-songwriter who achieved worldwide success and helped define the singer-songwriter era of the 1970s. Widely considered one of Canada's greatest songwriters, ...

titled "Lightfoot"), in their native Canada, where its chart success (#7), along with the influence of CKLW-AM Windsor's radio station music director

Rosalie Trombley Rosalie Trombley (September 18, 1939 – November 23, 2021) was a Canadian music director of Windsor, Ontario AM Top 40 radio station CKLW, also known as "The Big 8". She was known for her ability to select songs that would later become big hit ...

, helped land them a U.S. distribution deal with

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...

. It was subsequently released in the U.S. in March 1969, and became a breakthrough success for the group (and for Canadian music in general, which would see a sudden rise in popularity throughout North America); it would be their first single to reach the top ten on the ''Billboard'' Pop Singles chart, peaking at number six, and would eventually be certified gold by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

for sales of over one million copies. It was also a top ten hit in South Africa. While it was actually the 18th single released by the band overall, it was the first from the line-up of Cummings, Bachman, Jim Kale, and

Garry Peterson Garry Denis Peterson (born May 26, 1945) is a Canadian-American drummer. Peterson was originally a "child prodigy" drummer, backing many popular acts in the 1950s, but is best remembered as an original member of The Guess Who. He served as the ban ...

as produced by Jack Richardson.

Background and writing

Bachman had the original piano chords with an original title of "These Arms". Cummings changed the title to "These Eyes" and added the middle eight. At first, the band didn't even want to release the song considering the gentle ballad too great a departure from their hard rock roots. The song features an orchestral arrangement by

Ben McPeek Benjamin Dewey McPeek (28 August 1934 – 14 January 1981) was a Canadians, Canadian composer, arranger,Jeanette Leech. Seasons They Change: The Story of Acid and Psychedelic Folk'. Jawbone Press; 2010. . p. 80–. conducting, conductor, an ...

Content

The song is noted for its repeated long section which starts in

C major C major is a major scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. C major is one of the most common keys used in music. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative minor is A minor and its parallel min ...

, then goes up a whole tone to

D major D major is a major scale based on D (musical note), D, consisting of the pitches D, E (musical note), E, F♯ (musical note), F, G (musical note), G, A (musical note), A, B (musical note), B, and C♯ (musical note), C. Its key signature has two S ...

, then up a whole tone again in

E major E major is a major scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has four sharps. Its relative minor is C-sharp minor and its parallel minor is E minor. Its enharmonic equivalent, F-flat maj ...

, and finally in the coda to

F-sharp major F-sharp major is a major scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has six sharps. Its relative minor is D-sharp minor (or enharmonically E-flat minor) and its parallel minor is F-sharp min ...

, before the fade.

Personnel

- lead vocals,

Hohner Pianet The Hohner Pianet is a type of electric piano, electro-mechanical piano built by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany and designed by Ernst Zacharias. The Pianet was a variant of his earlier reed-based Hohner electric piano, the Cemba ...

electric piano *

- guitar *

Jim Kale Michael James Kale (born August 11, 1943) is a Canadian rock musician, best known as the original bassist for the rock band The Guess Who. He was also a member of the band Scrubbaloe Caine. In 1987, he was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall ...

- bass *

- drums

Covers

Among the many cover versions released over the years,

Junior Walker & the All-Stars Autry DeWalt Mixon Jr. (June 14, 1931 – November 23, 1995), known professionally as Junior Walker, was an American multi-instrumentalist (primarily saxophonist) and vocalist who recorded for Motown during the 1960s. He also performed as a sess ...

' version reached number three on the

R&B Singles Chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 po ...

, number 16 on the ''Billboard'' Pop Singles in October 1969, and number 28 in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Alton Ellis Alton Nehemiah Ellis (1 September 1938 – 10 October 2008)Godfather ...

' cover of this song is featured on his 1970 album '' Sunday Coming''. This reggae arrangement was produced by

Coxsone Dodd Clement Seymour "Coxsone" Dodd (26 January 1932 – 4 May 2004) was a Jamaican record producer who was influential in the development of ska and reggae in the 1950s, 1960s and beyond. He was nicknamed "Coxsone" at school due to his talent ...

. In 1971 another reggae adaptation followed: "These Eyes (Crying every night)" by

Stranger Cole Stranger Cole, also known as StrangeJah Cole (born Wilburn Theodore Cole, 26 June 1942)Thompson, Dave (2002) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books, , p. 335 is a Jamaican singer whose long recording career dates from the early days of sk ...

(produced by Byron Smith) followed by Tommy McCook and the Supersonics instrumental version titled "Mighty Alley". Subsequently

U-Roy Ewart Beckford OD (21 September 1942 – 17 February 2021), known by the stage name U-Roy, was a Jamaican vocalist and pioneer of toasting.Jo-Ann GreeneU-Roy Biography, AllMusic. Retrieved 11 April 2013. U-Roy was known for a melodic style ...

and

Hopeton Lewis Hopeton Lewis (3 October 1947 – 4 September 2014) was a Jamaican born singer of rocksteady and reggae, an arranger, and radio music presenter. Biography Lewis was born in Kingston, Jamaica. He sang in church from an early age, and started ...

sang and toasted new lyrics over "Mighty Alley" to create the recording "Tom Drunk", both recordings produced by

Duke Reid Arthur "Duke" Reid CD (21 July 1915 – 1 January 1975) was a Jamaican record producer, DJ and record label owner. He ran one of the most popular sound systems of the 1950s called Reid's Sound System, whilst Duke himself was known as The Tr ...

Herman Marquis Herman Marquis is a Jamaican saxophone musician who has played with many reggae artists including Burning Spear. He recorded for Arthur "Duke" Reid in the 1960s and was a member of The Revolutionaries and The Upsetters in the 1970s.Barrow, Steve ...

also issued an instrumental version titled "Tom's Version", produced by Byron Smith.

Michael Bolton Michael Bolotin (born February 26, 1953), known professionally as Michael Bolton, is an American singer and songwriter. Bolton performed in the hard rock and heavy metal music genres from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, both on his early solo a ...

, then known as Michael Bolotin, covered the song on his 1976 sophomore solo album '' Everyday of My Life''.

Natalie Cole Natalie Maria Cole (February 6, 1950 – December 31, 2015) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She was the daughter of singer and jazz pianist Nat King Cole. She rose to prominence in the mid-1970s, with the release of her debut ...

covered the song on her 1981 album '' Happy Love'', her final album under her

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

contract. Canadian hip-hop artist

Maestro Fresh Wes Wesley "Wes" Williams (born March 31, 1968) is a Canadian rapper, singer, record producer, actor, and author. He is known professionally by his stage names Maestro Fresh Wes (formerly Maestro Fresh-Wes) or Maestro as a musician, and is credited ...

sampled this song for his 1998 Canadian hit " Stick to Your Vision" from the ''

Built to Last ''Built to Last'' is the thirteenth and final studio album by the Grateful Dead (their twentieth album overall). It was recorded between February 1 and October 20, 1989, and originally released on October 31, 1989. The album was released on ...

'' album. In addition, the chorus (of which the first part states "These eyes/Seen a lot of shame in the game/These eyes/Seen a lot of pain in the fame/These eyes/Seen a lot of highs and lows/But that's just the way life goes") uses Burton Cummings' vocals for the words "these eyes" in a call-and-response manner. Canadian musician

Lawrence Gowan Lawrence Henry Gowan (born 22 November 1956) is a Scottish people, Scottish born Canadians, Canadian singer and keyboardist. Gowan is a solo artist and has also been vocalist and keyboardist of the band Styx (band), Styx since May 1999. His mus ...

released a cover of the song on his ''Best of...'' greatest hits release in 1997 as a tribute to the Guess Who being the first concert he ever saw when he was a child. The song was also covered by

jacksoul Jacksoul, sometimes stylized as jackSOUL, was a Canadian soul and R&B music group formed in 1992 in Toronto. The band was fronted by singer Haydain Neale and was a multi-recipient of the Juno Award. Biography In 1994, jacksoul independently re ...

on their 2006 album '' mySOUL''. The song was also featured in the 2007 American comedy film ''

Superbad ''Superbad'' is a 2007 American coming-of-age teen buddy comedy film directed by Greg Mottola, written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, and produced by Judd Apatow. It stars Jonah Hill and Michael Cera as Seth and Evan, two teenagers about ...

'' where it is sung by

Michael Cera Michael Austin Cera ( ; ; born June 7, 1988) is a Canadian actor. Over his career he has received nominations for a British Academy Film Award, three Critics' Choice Movie Awards, four Screen Actors Guild Awards, and a Tony Award. Cera beca ...

. The band Ween would often perform a humorous cover of the song live called "Deez Nutz". In 2008, Gregg Gillis, better known to the public as Girl Talk, sampled the song for the track entitled "Set It Off" from his fourth album, '' Feed the Animals''. The song is briefly sung by

Donkey The donkey or ass is a domesticated equine. It derives from the African wild ass, ''Equus africanus'', and may be classified either as a subspecies thereof, ''Equus africanus asinus'', or as a separate species, ''Equus asinus''. It was domes ...

at one point in the 2010

DreamWorks Animation DreamWorks Animation LLC (DWA, also known as DreamWorks Animation Studios or simply DreamWorks) is an American animation studio, owned by Comcast's NBCUniversal as part of Universal Pictures, a division of Universal Studios, Inc, Universal Stud ...

film, ''

Shrek Forever After ''Shrek Forever After'' is a 2010 American animated comedy film loosely based on the 1990 children's picture book '' Shrek!'' by William Steig. Directed by Mike Mitchell (in his animated directorial debut) and written by Josh Klausner and ...

''.

Angie Stone Angela Laverne Stone (née Brown; December 18, 1961 – March 1, 2025) was an American singer-songwriter, rapper, actress, and record producer. With a career spanning over four decades, she has been credited with revolutionizing the sound of Ol ...

did a soulful version of the song on her 2016 ''Covered in Soul'' album.

Other uses in popular culture

The Guess Who's version appears in a

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

TV commercial A television advertisement (also called a commercial, spot, break, advert, or ad) is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization. It conveys a message promoting, and aiming to market, a product, service or idea. ...

for

JBL JBL is an American audio equipment manufacturer headquartered in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California. The company was founded in 1946 by James Bullough Lansing, an American audio engineer and loudspeaker designer. JBL currently serves the ho ...

. This version was also used in the 2005

psychological thriller Psychological thriller is a Film genre, genre combining the thriller (genre), thriller and psychological fiction genres. It is commonly used to describe literature or films that deal with psychological narratives in a thriller or thrilling setting ...

film ''

Stay Stay may refer to: Places * Stay, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in the US Law * Stay of execution, a ruling to temporarily suspend the enforcement of a court judgment * Stay of proceedings, a ruling halting further legal process in a tr ...

'', directed by

Marc Forster Marc Forster (born 30 November 1969) is a German-Swiss filmmaker. He is best known for directing the feature films ''Monster's Ball'', ''Finding Neverland (film), Finding Neverland'', ''Stranger than Fiction (2006 film), Stranger than Fiction'' ...

. The song is also featured in the 2007 comedy film ''

'' and the 2024 Canadian comedy-drama film ''

Universal Language Universal language may refer to a hypothetical or historical language spoken and understood by all or most of the world's people. In some contexts, it refers to a means of communication said to be understood by all humans. It may be the idea o ...

''. Labatt USA used These Eyes for their advertisement for

Labatt Blue Labatt Brewing Company Limited () is a Anheuser-Busch InBev-owned brewery headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1847, Labatt is the largest brewer in Canada. In 1995, it was purchased by Belgian brewer Interbrew. In 2004, Interb ...

in 2015.Archived a
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Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 1960s ballads 1968 songs 1968 singles 1969 singles Baroque pop songs Songs written by Randy Bachman Songs written by Burton Cummings The Guess Who songs Junior Walker songs Michael Bolton songs Maestro Fresh-Wes songs Song recordings produced by Jack Richardson (record producer) RCA Records singles RCA Victor singles Angie Stone songs Pop ballads Soul ballads