My Father's Eyes

My Father's Eyes is a song written and performed by Eric Clapton and produced by Clapton himself and Simon Climie. It was released as a single in 1998 and was featured on the album Pilgrim. The song reached the top 40 and won a Grammy award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. The song is inspired by the fact that Clapton never met his father, who died in 1985. Clapton retired the song in 2004. Clapton performed this track for the first time in 1992 and 1996 in both electric and unplugged versions, which were totally different than the original 1998 release. In the music video, we see a dribbling basketball which dribbles seven times, the seventh dribble causing the basketball to break into pieces. This dribbling footage returns at the end of the video, without the basketball breaking.

[Verse 1] Sailing down behind the sun Waiting for my prince to come Praying for the healing rain To restore my soul again Just a toerag on the run How did I get here? What have I done? When will all my hopes arise? How will I know him? When I look in my father's eyes [Chorus] (Look into my father's eyes) My father's eyes When I look in my father's eyes (Look into my father's eyes) My father's eyes [Verse 2] Then the light begins to shine And I hear those ancient lullabies And as I watch this seedling grow Feel my heart start to overflow Where do I find the words to say? How do I teach him? What do we play? Bit by bit, I've realized That's when I need them That's when I need my father's eyes [Chorus] [Verse 3] Then the jagged edge appears Through the distant clouds of tears I'm like a bridge that was washed away My foundations were made of clay As my soul slides down to die How could I lose him? What did I try? Bit by bit, I've realized That he was here with me I look into my father's eyes [Chorus][x3]