I wrote In Your Eyes (working title: Manage) on July 20th 2009, after witnessing a couple with an unmanaged relationship, business involved, and yet in my memory they didn’t change – in an everlasting nostalgic memory: a smile. It’s a harder song to explain than others on Observe because there’s different concepts blended together, while it’s all the same story, perhaps one that’s relatable: One is an existential observation of a person broken down sitting on a corporate floor after climbing ladders and losing themselves. Taking time to recuperate but losing time and health – seeing flashes of their memories. Another is a contrasting hopeful concept of “even then”, within the eye of the changed person – the smile remains. A third is a concept of being unable to manage a company workforce. Perhaps in addition, an unresolved wound within a relationship that cannot be managed from the foreseeable standpoint:
“how do you find it simple to manage
the pain that will not go away”
The song evolved over the years to somehow lose the above lyric. The Feb 3rd 2011 recording is what you hear. I came up with these track effects while working on What’s My Role and came back to turn the reverb-type effects way up as the wild acoustic guitar seemed to sound well in the combination. That’s really all there is for this track, it’s a 1 track acoustic+vocal recording, put through effects. I wasn’t sure of this track as it may be the odd one of the album with the heavy reverb, but hearing as it’s some people’s 2nd favorite following Wintertime, I’m reassured that it has a place. Personally it reminds me a lot of Pink Floyd‘s music style, the vocals especially. After all, I did start playing Wish You Were Here and Comfortably Numb when I started learning to play guitar. The acoustic guitar in this song is intentionally wild with many breakdowns and suspensions. This style comes easy to me, almost as playing drums on a guitar – rhythm and fills all throughout freeform. I’m surprised I don’t have more old recordings like this, then again I do – just not as good, I suppose. This song in particular is a good example of why drums seem to be the hardest part of music making for me – I wouldn’t know where to start trying to come up with drums like this song’s changing rhythm. But that’s my focus also on my next album project..
Thanks for the read and listen, hope you enjoy it. 🙂 The very last original song off the Observe album is next wednesday! A song called: What’s My Role