Bright Eyes (song)

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Bright Eyes (song) - Wikipedia

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"Bright Eyes"

Single by Art Garfunkel

from the album Fate for Breakfast

B-side

"Kehaar's Theme"

Released

19 January 1979^[1]

Length

4:00

Art Garfunkel singles chronology

"In a Little While (I'll Be on My Way)"
(1979)

"Bright Eyes"
(1979)

"Since I Don't Have You"
(1979)

"Bright Eyes" is a song written by British songwriter Mike Batt and performed by Art Garfunkel. It was written for the soundtrack of the 1978 British animated adventure drama film Watership Down. Rearranged as a pop song from its original form in the film, the track appears on British and European versions of Garfunkel's 1979 Fate for Breakfast and on the US versions of his 1981 album Scissors Cut. "Bright Eyes" topped the UK Singles Chart for six weeks and became Britain's biggest-selling single of 1979, selling over a million copies. Richard Adams, author of the original novel, is reported to have hated the song.^[2] A cover of the song, performed by Stephen Gately, was later used explicitly in the Watership Down television series as its theme song.^[3]

Background

The song was written, produced and arranged by Mike Batt for Watership Down, with original director John Hubley requesting a song about death.^[4] It plays when the rabbit Hazel, the lead character in the film, almost dies after being wounded by a farmer's gun and Fiver, his little brother is led to him by the Black Rabbit of Inlé.^[5]

Batt described recording the song as "one of the most difficult sessions" of his career as he wrote the lyrics with his father in mind who was terminally ill with cancer at the time.

The pop single arrangement of the song was very successful in the United Kingdom, staying at number one in the UK Singles Chart for six weeks in 1979,^[6] selling over one million copies, becoming the biggest-selling single of the year.^[7]^[8] In the United States, it failed to reach the Billboard Hot 100. It reached No. 29 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.

Personnel

Art Garfunkel – vocals
Mike Batt – arranger producer
Chris Spedding – acoustic guitar
Roland Harker – lute guitar
Les Hurdle – bass guitar
Roy J. Morgan – drums
Edwin Roxburgh – oboe
Ray Cooper – percussion

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1979)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report)^[9]	2
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)^[10]	3
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)^[11]	1
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)^[12]	1
Netherlands (Single Top 100)^[13]	1
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)^[14]	2
Norway (VG-lista)^[15]	3
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)^[16]	3
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)^[17]	2
UK Singles (OCC)^[18]	1
West Germany (GfK)^[19]	3

Year-end charts

Chart (1979)	Position
Australia (Kent Music Report)^[20]^[21]	20
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)^[22]	12
Belgium (Ultratop Flanders)^[23]	5
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)^[24]	3
Netherlands (Single Top 100)^[25]	1
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)^[26]	3
West Germany (Official German Charts)^[27]	5

In popular culture

The song was briefly heard in the 2005 stop-motion animated film Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, when Gromit turn on the radio until he heard the were-rabbit approaching.

In 2023, the song featured heavily in the fifth episode of season six of the popular Netflix anthology series, Black Mirror , titled "Demon 79", which is set in 1979, the year of the song's release. The song serves as the episode's opening and closing theme.^[28]^[29]

References

^ "Art Garfunkel – Bright Eyes". 45cat.com. Archived from the original on 23 February 2020. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
^ "I HATE "Bright Eyes"!". lettersofnote.com. Archived from the original on 6 July 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
^ Doran, Sarah (25 December 2018). "Watership Down theme song: who sung the theme tune in new BBC/Netflix TV series?". Radio Times. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
^ Allen, Liam (3 March 2009). "Was it a kind of bad dream?". BBC News. Archived from the original on 6 July 2020. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
^ The, movie. YouTube.
^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. pp. 366–7. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
^ Sedghi, Ami (4 November 2012). "UK's million-selling singles: the full list". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 12 December 2016. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
^ Allen, Liam (3 March 2009). "Was it a kind of bad dream?". BBC. Archived from the original on 6 July 2020. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 121. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
^ "Art Garfunkel – Bright Eyes" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
^ "Art Garfunkel – Bright Eyes" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 22, 1979" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
^ "Art Garfunkel – Bright Eyes" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
^ "Art Garfunkel – Bright Eyes". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
^ "Art Garfunkel – Bright Eyes". VG-lista. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
^ "Art Garfunkel – Bright Eyes". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
^ "Art Garfunkel – Bright Eyes". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
^ "Art Garfunkel: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Art Garfunkel – Bright Eyes" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 431. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
^ "Kent Music Report No 288 – 31 December 1979 > National Top 100 Singles for 1979". Kent Music Report. Retrieved 10 January 2023 – via Imgur.com.
^ "Jahreshitparade Singles 1979". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
^ "Jaaroverzichten 1979". Ultratop. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
^ "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1979". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
^ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1979". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
^ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1979". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
^ "Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts". GfK Entertainment (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
^ Dodes, Rachel (16 June 2023). "Black Mirror Season 6: Every Episode, Reviewed". Esquire. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
^ "Listen to Art Garfunkel's 'Bright Eyes' from Black Mirror S6 Ep5 as Nida gets ready and goes to work". leosigh.com. 16 June 2023. Retrieved 27 June 2023.

v t e Best-selling singles by year in the United Kingdom
1950s	1952: "Here in My Heart" – Al Martino 1953: "I Believe" – Frankie Laine 1954: "Secret Love" – Doris Day 1955: "Rose Marie" – Slim Whitman 1956: "I'll Be Home" – Pat Boone 1957: "Diana" – Paul Anka 1958: "Jailhouse Rock" – Elvis Presley 1959: "Living Doll" – Cliff Richard (UK)
1960s	1960: "It's Now or Never" – Elvis Presley 1961: "Wooden Heart" – Elvis Presley 1962: "I Remember You" – Frank Ifield (UK) 1963: "She Loves You" – The Beatles (UK) 1964: "Can't Buy Me Love" – The Beatles (UK) 1965: "Tears" – Ken Dodd (UK) 1966: "Green, Green Grass of Home" – Tom Jones (UK) 1967: "Release Me" – Engelbert Humperdinck (UK) 1968: "Hey Jude" – The Beatles (UK) 1969: "Sugar, Sugar" – The Archies
1970s	1970: "The Wonder of You" – Elvis Presley / "In the Summertime" – Mungo Jerry (UK) 1971: "My Sweet Lord" – George Harrison (UK) 1972: "Amazing Grace" – Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (UK) 1973: "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" – Dawn featuring Tony Orlando 1974: "Tiger Feet" – Mud (UK) 1975: "Bye Bye Baby" – Bay City Rollers (UK) 1976: "Save Your Kisses for Me" – Brotherhood of Man (UK) 1977: "Mull of Kintyre" / "Girls' School" – Wings (UK) 1978: "Rivers of Babylon" / "Brown Girl in the Ring" – Boney M. 1979: "Bright Eyes" – Art Garfunkel
1980s	1980: "Don't Stand So Close to Me" – The Police (UK) 1981: "Tainted Love" – Soft Cell (UK) / "Don't You Want Me" – The Human League (UK) 1982: "Come On Eileen" – Dexys Midnight Runners (UK) 1983: "Karma Chameleon" – Culture Club (UK) 1984: "Do They Know It's Christmas?" – Band Aid (UK) 1985: "The Power of Love" – Jennifer Rush 1986: "Don't Leave Me This Way" – The Communards (UK) 1987: "Never Gonna Give You Up" – Rick Astley (UK) 1988: "Mistletoe and Wine" – Cliff Richard (UK) 1989: "Ride on Time" – Black Box
1990s	1990: "Unchained Melody" – The Righteous Brothers 1991: "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" – Bryan Adams 1992: "I Will Always Love You" – Whitney Houston 1993: "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)" – Meat Loaf 1994: "Love Is All Around" – Wet Wet Wet (UK) 1995: "Unchained Melody" – Robson & Jerome (UK) 1996: "Killing Me Softly" – Fugees 1997: "Something About the Way You Look Tonight" / "Candle in the Wind 1997" – Elton John (UK) 1998: "Believe" – Cher 1999: "...Baby One More Time" – Britney Spears
2000s	2000: "Can We Fix It?" – Bob the Builder (UK) 2001: "It Wasn't Me" – Shaggy featuring Rikrok (UK) 2002: "Anything Is Possible" / "Evergreen" – Will Young (UK) 2003: "Where Is the Love?" – Black Eyed Peas 2004: "Do They Know It's Christmas?" – Band Aid 20 (UK) 2005: "(Is This the Way to) Amarillo" – Tony Christie featuring Peter Kay (UK) 2006: "Crazy" – Gnarls Barkley 2007: "Bleeding Love" – Leona Lewis (UK) 2008: "Hallelujah" – Alexandra Burke (UK) 2009: "Poker Face" – Lady Gaga
2010s	2010: "Love the Way You Lie" – Eminem featuring Rihanna 2011: "Someone like You" – Adele (UK) 2012: "Somebody That I Used to Know" – Gotye featuring Kimbra 2013: "Blurred Lines" – Robin Thicke featuring T.I. & Pharrell Williams 2014: "Happy" – Pharrell Williams 2015: "Uptown Funk" – Mark Ronson (UK) featuring Bruno Mars 2016: "One Dance" – Drake featuring Wizkid and Kyla (UK) 2017: "Shape of You" – Ed Sheeran (UK) 2018: "One Kiss" – Calvin Harris and Dua Lipa (UK) 2019: "Someone You Loved" – Lewis Capaldi (UK)
2020s	2020: "Blinding Lights" – The Weeknd 2021: "Bad Habits" – Ed Sheeran (UK) 2022: "As It Was" – Harry Styles (UK) 2023: "Flowers" – Miley Cyrus

v t e Art Garfunkel
Studio albums	Angel Clare Breakaway Watermark Fate for Breakfast Scissors Cut The Animals' Christmas Lefty Songs from a Parent to a Child Everything Waits to Be Noticed Some Enchanted Evening
Live albums	Across America
Compilation albums	The Art Garfunkel Album Garfunkel Up 'til Now Simply the Best
Singles	"All I Know" "I Shall Sing" "Second Avenue" "I Only Have Eyes for You" "Break Away" "I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever)" "(What A) Wonderful World" "Since I Don't Have You" "Bright Eyes" "A Heart in New York" "So Much in Love" "When a Man Loves a Woman" "Crying in the Rain"
Other songs	"Looking for the Right One" "I Will"
Related articles	Discography Simon & Garfunkel
Category

v t e Watership Down by Richard Adams
Adaptations	Film 1999 TV series 2018 TV series
Related articles	Tales from Watership Down Lapine language "Bright Eyes" "Fire on Fire" Bunnies & Burrows Watership Down, Hampshire

v t e Pandora
Pandora discography
Studio albums	One of a Kind (1993) Tell the World (1995) Changes (1996) This Could Be Heaven (1997) Breathe (1999) No Regrets (1999) A Little Closer (2000) Won't Look Back (2002) 9 Lives (2003) Head Up High (2011)
Compilation albums	Best of Pandora (1997) Pandora's Hit Box (1998) Greatest Hits & Remixes (2005) Celebration (2007) (United DJs vs. Pandora)
Singles	"Trust Me" "Come On And Do It" "One of a Kind" "Something's Gone" "Tell the World" "Don't You Know" "The Naked Sun" "One of Us" "A Little Bit" "Smile 'n' Shine" "Bright Eyes" "You" "I'm Confused" "On a Night Like This" "Call Me" "Kitchy Kitchy" "You Believed"
Related articles	1998 Winter Olympic Games Melodifestivalen 2003 Melodifestivalen 2004

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