"Bright Eyes" is a song written by Mike Batt and performed by Art Garfunkel. It was used in the soundtrack of the 1978 British animated adventure drama film Watership Down and the later television series of the same name.
It is heard in the film in the scene where Fiver goes to look for his brother Hazel after he is shot. In the television series, this theme is heard in the opening, ending credits, and sung by Stephen Gately in the first 2 seasons.
The song relates to the transition from life to death. This is highlighted by Hazel, initially when wounded by a farmer's gun. Finally, at the end of the short animal life-span, Hazel (then Hazel-rah) departs his body and enters a spirit world.
Lyrics[]
From the film (Art Garfunkel):
Is it a kind of a dream
Floating out on the tide
Following the river of death downstream
Oh, is it a dream?
There's a fog along the horizon
A strange glow in the sky
And nobody seems to know where it goes
And what does it mean?
Oh, is it a dream?
Bright eyes, burning like fire
Bright eyes, how can you close and fail?
How can the light that burned so brightly
Suddenly burn so pale?
Bright eyes
Is it a kind of a shadow
Reaching into the night
Wandering over the hills unseen
Or is it a dream?
There's a high wind in the trees
A cold sound in the air
And nobody ever knows when you go
And where do you start?
Oh, into the dark
Bright eyes, burning like fire
Bright eyes, how can you close and fail?
How can the light that burned so brightly
Suddenly burn so pale?
Bright eyes
Bright eyes, burning like fire
Bright eyes, how can you close and fail?
How can the light that burned so brightly
Suddenly burn so pale?
Bright eyes.
From the TV Series (Stephen Gately):
Bright eyes, burning like fire
How can the light that burned so brightly
Suddenly burn so pale?
Bright eyes.