"The Bluest Eyes in Texas" (originally released as "Bluest Eyes in Texas") is a song written by Tim DuBois, Dave Robbins and Van Stephenson, and recorded by American country music group Restless Heart. It was released in May 1988 as the lead single from Restless Heart's album Big Dreams in a Small Town.
| "The Bluest Eyes in Texas" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Restless Heart | ||||
| from the album Big Dreams in a Small Town | ||||
| B-side | "El Dorado" | |||
| Released | May 13, 1988 | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 3:54 (single version) 4:45 (album version) | |||
| Label | RCA Nashville | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Tim DuBois Dave Robbins Van Stephenson | |||
| Producer(s) | Tim DuBois, Scott Hendricks, Restless Heart | |||
| Restless Heart singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Background
editIn the United States, the single reached the top position in the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in 1988.[1] In Canada, the single peaked at the number-two position on the RPM Country Tracks chart.
Bill Balsley directed the song's music video, which premiered in early 1988.
Song co-writers Robbins and Stephenson later joined with Henry Paul to form the country group BlackHawk in 1992.
Content
editIn the song, the narrator sings that he has just left his girlfriend. He questions the reason for their break-up, but says that he is trying to move on. He bemoans that can't forget her blue eyes, and that they haunt him.
Inspiration
editIn an interview with The Boot, Robbins said that Van Stephenson provided the idea of the song when he started telling them about an old girlfriend from high school who he bumped into recently. He dated her until her family moved to Texas. When they reunited, all he could think about was how blue her eyes were.[2]
Chart performance
edit| Chart (1988) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[3] | 1 |
| Canadian RPM Country Tracks | 2 |
Year-end charts
edit| Chart (1988) | Position |
|---|---|
| Canadian RPM Country Tracks[4] | 32 |
| US Hot Country Songs (Billboard) | 5 |
Cover versions
editChloë Sevigny sang a cover version in her role as Lana Tisdel in Kimberly Peirce's 1999 film Boys Don't Cry. A Camp (Nina Persson and Nathan Larson) also covered the song in a studio recording for the film's closing credits and soundtrack album.[5]
References
edit- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 348.
- ^ Conaway, Alanna (4 November 2010). "Restless Heart, 'The Bluest Eyes in Texas' — Story Behind the Lyrics". The Boot. Retrieved 3 December 2010.
- ^ "Restless Heart Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
- ^ "Top 100 Country Singles of '88" (PDF). RPM. December 24, 1988. p. 15.
- ^ Boys Don't Cry (Music from the Motion Picture Soundtrack) at Discogs. Retrieved October 7, 2012.