Bright Eyes (Art Garfunkel song) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids "Bright Eyes" |
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| Single by Art Garfunkel | ||||
| from the album Fate for Breakfast | ||||
| B-side | "When Someone Doesn't Want You" | |||
| Released | 19 Jan 1979 | |||
| Genre | Pop ballad | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Mike Batt | |||
| Producer(s) | Mike Batt | |||
| Art Garfunkel singles chronology | ||||
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"Bright Eyes" is a famous song sung by Art Garfunkel. It was written by British songwriter Mike Batt. The song was first created for the 1978 animated movie Watership Down. This film is an adventure story about rabbits.
The song became very popular after the movie. It was changed a bit to be a pop song. You can find "Bright Eyes" on some of Art Garfunkel's albums. These include Fate for Breakfast (in Europe) and Scissors Cut (in the US).
"Bright Eyes" was a huge hit in the United Kingdom. It stayed at the top of the music charts for six weeks! It was also the best-selling song in Britain in 1979. Over a million copies were sold. Interestingly, Richard Adams, who wrote the original Watership Down book, reportedly didn't like the song. Later, a new version of "Bright Eyes" was used as the main theme song for the television series.
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How "Bright Eyes" Was Made
The song "Bright Eyes" was written, produced, and arranged by Mike Batt. He made it specifically for the Watership Down movie. The director of the film, John Hubley, asked for a song about death.
In the movie, the song plays during an important scene. The main rabbit character, Hazel, gets badly hurt. His younger brother, Fiver, helps him when he is close to dying. The song adds a lot of emotion to this part of the story.
The Song's Big Success
The pop version of "Bright Eyes" was incredibly successful in the United Kingdom. It reached number one on the UK Singles Chart in 1979. It stayed there for six weeks, which is a long time! More than one million copies of the song were sold. This made it the biggest-selling single of that year in the UK.
In the United States, the song was not as big a hit. It did not reach the main Billboard Hot 100 chart. However, it did well on the Adult Contemporary chart, reaching number 27.
Where "Bright Eyes" Charted
"Bright Eyes" was a hit in many countries around the world. Here are some of the places where it reached the top of the charts or was very popular:
- Australia: Reached number 2
- Austria: Reached number 3
- Netherlands: Reached number 1
- Germany: Reached number 3
- Ireland: Reached number 1
- New Zealand: Reached number 2
- Norway: Reached number 3
- Sweden: Reached number 3
- Switzerland: Reached number 2
- United Kingdom: Reached number 1
Who Worked on the Song
Many talented people helped create "Bright Eyes":
- Art Garfunkel – He sang the main vocals.
- Mike Batt – He wrote the song, arranged the music, and produced it.
- Chris Spedding – Played the acoustic guitar.
- Roland Harker – Played the lute guitar.
- Les Hurdle – Played the bass guitar.
- Roy J. Morgan – Played the drums.
- Edwin Roxburgh – Played the oboe.
- Ray Cooper – Played percussion instruments.
Other Versions of the Song
Because "Bright Eyes" was so popular, many other artists have recorded their own versions. Here are a few examples:
- In 1979, the British band The Shadows made an instrumental version. This means it had no singing, just music.
- British pop group The Nolans also recorded the song in 1979 for their album.
- A five-year-old child performer named Matthew Butler sang a version on the TV show Tiswas in 1980. He even wore a rabbit costume!
- The British pop group Brotherhood of Man recorded it in 1980.
- In 1989, Justin Hayward, Mike Batt, and the London Philharmonic Orchestra recorded it.
- Australian children's pop group The Tin Lids sang this song in 1992.
- The British band Manic Street Preachers released a live version in 1996.
- Swedish singer Pandora released her version as a single in 1998.
- Irish singer Stephen Gately covered the song in 2000. This version became the theme song for the Watership Down animated TV series.
- New Zealand singer Hayley Westenra recorded it in 2001.
- British singer and actor Joseph McManners recorded a version in 2005.
- British singer Declan Galbraith recorded a version in 2006.
- In 2012, Adam Young from Owl City covered the song. He is a big fan of Watership Down.
- Welsh singer Elan Catrin Parry covered the song for her first album in 2018.
- On February 22, 2020, Mike Batt himself performed the song on the TV show Pointless.
- Full lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
