In Your Eyes (Peter Gabriel song)

Inspired by a trip to a cathedral in Barcelona, Spain, Gabriel wrote lyrics for another So era song, "Sagrada".{{Cite book|title=Experiencing Peter Gabriel: A Listener's Companion|last=Bowman|first=Durrell |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_o8BDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA136 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|date=2 September 2016|isbn=978-1-44225-199-1|location=Lanham, MD|pages=136–138}} Gabriel derived the lyrics from two sources: the Sagrada Família in Barcelona and the construction of the Winchester Mystery House, but he never finished the composition despite performing it live on a few occasions.{{cite AV media notes |title=So |others=Peter Gabriel |year=2012 |type=CD liner notes |publisher=Real World |id=PGCD 5 |location=United Kingdom}} "Sagrada" was scrapped early on, although some elements, including the vocal melody and chord changes, were transferred over to "In Your Eyes". The song was restructured on several occasions and required six reels of tape to piece together.{{Cite web |last=Hein |first=Ethan |date=9 July 2014 |title=Killen and Marotta |url=https://www.ethanhein.com/wp/2014/killen-and-marotta/ |access-date=2 June 2024 |website=The Ethan Hein Blog |language=en-US}}

When determining the track order for So, Gabriel wanted "In Your Eyes" to be the final track, but its prominent bassline meant it had to be placed earlier on the vinyl edition where the phonograph stylus had more room to vibrate. This restriction was no longer an issue for later CD releases, and the track was placed at the end of the album.{{cite AV media |people=Google; Gabriel, Peter |title=Peter Gabriel: "Back to Front", Talks at Google |date=22 October 2012 |medium=Interview |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPL7cebKI5o |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/xPL7cebKI5o |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live|access-date=12 August 2014 }}{{cbignore}} Gabriel refused to play "In Your Eyes" for any of the record company executives until the song was made more experimental.

The song incorporates vocals from Senegalese singer Youssou N'Dour.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/06/15/arts/peter-gabriel-sings-of-lost-ego.html|title=Peter Gabriel Sings of Lost Ego|last=Pareles|first=Jon|date=1986-06-15|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-12-06|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}} Gabriel invited N'Dour to his Ashcombe House for lunch and played him a demo of "In Your Eyes" with the intention of having N'Dour record some vocals in English. Instead, N'Dour translated certain lines of the song into his native Wolof language and improvised his parts on the spot, prompting Gabriel to join in. Jenny Cathcart, a BBC researcher who acted as N'Dour's interpreter, recalled that "everybody was incredibly uplifted that afternoon. Youssou didn't even know he was going to do this; it was as if it was meant to be".{{Cite book |last=Scarfe |first=Graeme |title=Peter Gabriel: Every Album, Every Song |publisher=SonicBond |year=2021 |isbn=978-1-78952-138-2 |location=United Kingdom |pages=51}} Jerry Marotta, who was one of the two drummers who played on "In Your Eyes", recalled that N'Dour was several hours late for the recording session and recorded his vocal take in thirty minutes.

Despite not being credited with the instrument in the album's liner notes,{{Cite AV media notes |title=Peter Gabriel (So)|others=Peter Gabriel |year=2010 |type=booklet |publisher=Real World Records |location=Wiltshire}} Daniel Lanois stated in a 2023 interview with Rick Beato that he played an acoustic twelve-string guitar on the song's chorus. Lanois was not impressed with the quality of the guitar and believed that it was "not a very nice instrument". He further stated that the guitar part provided "a support role that a drum might play. But in this case, the support was such that it was high frequency, harmonic, high-speed component underneath a relatively low slow phrasing from the vocal."{{Cite web |last=Laing |first=Rob|date=18 May 2023|title=Daniel Lanois talks producing and his memories of making So with Peter Gabriel: "If you don't get to a soulful place making a record, don't put it out" |url=https://www.musicradar.com/news/daniel-lanois-talks-producing-and-his-memories-of-making-so-with-peter-gabriel-if-you-dont-get-to-a-soulful-place-making-a-record-dont-put-it-out |access-date=10 December 2023|website=MusicRadar |language=en}} The arpeggiating guitar part during the chorus was a composite of two different tracks that were layered over chordal accompaniment from a piano and synthesiser. David Rhodes, who played the song's electric guitars, noted his preference for having "a lack of definition" between the synthesizers and guitars.{{Cite web |title=David Rhodes Archive - Guitar Player Magazine - September 1987 |url=http://davidrhodes-archive.org/GP1987.html |access-date=25 June 2024|website=David Rhodes Archive}}

Manu Katché was brought into the recording studio to play drums on "In Your Eyes", which was one of the first songs he worked on with Gabriel along with "Don't Give Up". Both Katche and Marotta played drums on the song, with the former also overdubbing a talking drum and additional percussion.{{Cite web |title=Peter Gabriel: "In Your Eyes"|url=https://drummercafe.com/education/lessons/peter-gabriel-in-your-eyes |access-date=25 June 2024|website=Drummer Cafe |language=en-gb}} Some of the drums were reinforced by a surdo sample, which was aligned with some of the kick drum hits. Katché recalled that he struggled to find a proper approach to the song, so Gabriel loosened him up by performing an African dance.

He was awkward, because he couldn't really dance. But if Peter, who didn't know me very well—because it was only the third or fourth day in the studio—tried to help me like that, then there was a message there. With that dance, that was [what] he wanted me to feel.{{Cite magazine |last=Stemkovsky |first=Ilya |date=December 2019 |title=Manu Katché: The drummer on many a classic rock album stays vital by avoiding the obvious, ignoring the plaudits, and always being himself |url=https://admin.manu-katche.com/files/uploads/newsFile/7/file/MODERN_DRUMMER_DECEMBER_2019_P60.pdf |magazine=Modern Drummer |pages=60}}

Cash Box called it a "sweet and tuneful ballad" and praised Gabriel's "plaintive voice and sensational spacious production work."{{cite magazine|title=Single Releases|magazine=Cash Box|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/80s/1986/CB-1986-08-30.pdf|date=30 August 1986|accessdate=4 August 2022|page=9}} Billboard called it a "dreamily textured mood piece."{{cite magazine|magazine=Billboard|date=30 August 1986|accessdate=4 August 2022|page=83|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GSQEAAAAMBAJ|title=Reviews}} Rolling Stone thought that "In Your Eyes" was "perhaps the closest thing to a conventional love ballad Gabriel has ever recorded."{{cite magazine|last1=Holmes|first1=Tim|title=So|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/so-19860814|access-date=30 July 2024|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=14 August 1986|archive-date=15 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140815221306/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/so-19860814|url-status=live}}

Writing for AllMusic, Stewart Mason called "In Your Eyes" the "finest pure love song Gabriel had ever written and one of his best songs."{{Cite web |last=Mason |first=Stewart|title=In Your Eyes - Peter Gabriel |website=AllMusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/song/in-your-eyes-mt0045458926 |access-date=25 June 2024 |language=en}} MusicHound has described the song as being flavoured by worldbeat influences.{{cite book|title=MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide|date=1996|publisher=Visible Ink Press|isbn=9780787610371|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1NjOldjR5J4C|accessdate=4 October 2024}}Far Out Magazine said "just like every other mid-1980s album, it [So] needed a big ballad at its centre in order to sell big. Luckily, Gabriel had just the thing with 'In Your Eyes'", and that the song "was the most nakedly emotional song that Gabriel had ever produced up to that point. The simplicity of the song's sentiment never gets compromised, with Gabriel filtering in poetic interpretations of love and devotion."{{Cite web|url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/peter-gabriel-isolated-vocal-on-in-your-eyes/|title=Listen to Peter Gabriel's isolated vocal on 'In Your Eyes'|date=3 December 2022|website=FarOutMagazine.co.uk}}

The song was used twice in the 1989 US Cameron Crowe film Say Anything..., as well as its trailer. A famous scene from the film occurs when broken-hearted Lloyd Dobler serenades his ex-girlfriend, Diane Court, outside her bedroom window by holding a boombox up above his head and playing the song for her. Repopularized by its usage in the film, the song reentered the Billboard Hot 100, reaching number 41. This release was shorter, with a length of 4:53.

Crowe says that Rosanna Arquette, who is believed to be the inspiration for the song, encouraged Peter Gabriel to consider allowing the film to use the song.{{cite magazine | last=Adams | first=Jason | date=3 November 2009 | title='Say Anything' turns 20: Cameron Crowe's crazy story behind 'In Your Eyes' and Lloyd Dobler's boom box | magazine=Entertainment Weekly | url=http://www.ew.com/article/2009/11/03/say-anything-cameron-crowe-in-your-eyes-interview | access-date=5 July 2016}} Gabriel asked to see Crowe's film and Crowe asked the production company to send Gabriel a rough cut. Gabriel rejected the use of his song, telling Crowe that he was uneasy about the overdose of the main character at the end; the studio had erroneously sent Gabriel the film Wired instead. He later approved the use of "In Your Eyes" upon seeing Say Anything....{{Cite web |date=6 April 2017|title=Why the Boombox Scene in Say Anything Almost Didn't Happen |url=https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/93981/why-boombox-scene-say-anything-almost-didnt-happen |access-date=30 May 2024 |website=Mental Floss |language=en-US}}

In a September 2012 interview with Rolling Stone, discussing the 25th anniversary of So, Gabriel commented on the cultural impact of the scene, "It definitely gave [the song] a second life, because now it's so often parodied in comedy shows and it is one of the modern day Romeo and Juliet balcony clichés. I've talked to John Cusack about that. We're sort of trapped together in a minuscule moment of contemporary culture."[https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/q-a-peter-gabriel-reflects-on-his-1986-landmark-album-so-20120904 Q&A: Peter Gabriel Reflects On His Landmark 1986 Album So] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120909224036/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/q-a-peter-gabriel-reflects-on-his-1986-landmark-album-so-20120904 |date=9 September 2012 }} Retrieved 4 September 2012 In October 2012, as Gabriel played the first few bars of the song during a performance at the Hollywood Bowl, Cusack walked onto the stage, handed him a boombox and took a bow, before quickly walking off again. Cameron Crowe was also present at the concert and later tweeted "Peter Gabriel and John Cusack on stage together at the Hollywood Bowl tonight. Won't forget that... ever."[http://gawker.com/5949918/peter-gabriels-performance-of-in-your-eyes-interrupted-by-john-cusack-holding-a-boombox Gawker.com: Peter Gabriel's Performance of In Your Eyes Interrupted By John Cusack Holding A Boombox] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130218212029/http://gawker.com/5949918/peter-gabriels-performance-of-in-your-eyes-interrupted-by-john-cusack-holding-a-boombox |date=18 February 2013 }} Retrieved 8 October 2012

{{div col}}

• Manu Katché – drums, talking drum, percussion
• Jerry Marotta – additional drums
• Larry Klein – bass
• Tony Levin – bass
• Daniel Lanois – 12-string guitar
• David Rhodes – guitars, backing vocals
• Peter Gabriel – lead and backing vocals, CMI, piano, synthesizer
• Richard Tee – piano
• Youssou N'Dour – guest vocals
• Michael Been – backing vocals
• Jim Kerr – backing vocals
• Ronnie Bright – bass vocals
• Kevin Killen – mixer

{{div col end}}

On the This Way Up Tour tour (1986–1987), it was performed with an extended vocal duet with Youssou N'Dour, mainly during his North American concerts.[https://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/jun/15/worldmusic.musicmonthly2 Soundtrack of my life: Youssou N'Dour] The Guardian. Retrieved 24 November 2011{{cite web |url=http://www.genesis-news.com/c-Peter-Gabriel-So-live-This-Way-Up-Tour-19861987-s479.html|title=Peter Gabriel On Tour (5): This Way Up Tour 1986–87: Big Time (Success)|publisher=genesis-news.com|access-date=25 October 2013}}

In 1993, Gabriel performed the song on Saturday Night Live, during its 18th season.[http://snlarc.jt.org/ep.php?i=199304108 SNL Archives | Episode.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926234841/http://snlarc.jt.org/ep.php?i=199304108 |date=26 September 2007 }} Retrieved 27 August 2007.

On 10 April 2014, Gabriel performed the song with an extended vocal duet with N'Dour as Gabriel was being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The event, which took place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, was filmed and was later televised in late May 2014 on the HBO cable channel.{{citation needed|date=May 2019}}

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Category:1985 songs

Category:1986 singles

Category:1980s ballads

Category:Geffen Records singles

Category:Peter Gabriel songs

Category:Rock ballads

Category:Song recordings produced by Daniel Lanois

Category:Song recordings produced by Bill Laswell

Category:Songs written by Peter Gabriel