James Taylor - You Can Close Your Eyes | The Story Behind The Song

[@TheRozberry]

This is truly a beautiful and deep song and one of my all time favorites.

[@RDVaughans]

I sang this song to my kids each night at bedtime. I tear up when I hear it. Thanks, JT!

[@amain325]

Same here. And to my mother after she passed, and with my friends at my wife's memorial service. James has blessed many of us with this song.

[@25pamjan]

Sang it to my babies

[@christinebehner5928]

Me too ☺️

[@70260j]

It was Sweet Baby James with my kids, but this would have been great too

[@brucethompson4011]

Me too and I don't know why.

[@SavoirRare]

As a huge fan of Two-Lane Blacktop, it’s so heartening to hear James giving a brief “special feature” interview about it considering he has never given one directly for the film on any Blu-Ray or DVD. So thank you for that! You’d be surprised how many actors have never seen their own films! He’s definitely not the only one who hasn’t. I’m a huge fan of his music also so this is just marvelous.

[@alvb9125]

This song was my dad's night time lullaby for us kids, now that he's gone I song it to my kids.

[@okonspruce]

Wonderfully expressed. Thank you James for this beautiful, timeless song.

[@martindanburen1994]

One of the absolute best tunes he's ever written. Every so often it just starts bouncing around in my head all by itself. Even woke up a couple of times with it. lol. Weird right?

[@jillsalkin7389]

Not weird at all. :-)

[@jeffreysimmons1084]

Perfect

[@geraldpribula4911]

Martin Danburen, not weird at all☺️. It's always been one of my favorite tunes James has ever done. It says so much without saying too much. I love it❤️!

[@liddlekiddle1962]

Wow, amazing, thank you. Loved listening to him for about 50 years now.

[@dclate62]

Saw you in London and Auckland James. Front row seats in London,..it was emotional to say the least. Your music takes me to a higher place... Thankyou, God Bless, shine on...

[@fritzcat6198]

One of the greatest song writers in America.

[@MarkusBoettner]

I finally got to see James live in concert in Frankfurt, Germany, in November 2022. I have seen Mark Knopfler (5 times), I have seen Jamie Cullum and Norah Jones (on the same evening), have seen many more artists live in concert; however, JT was one of a kind. In times of uncertainty, James Taylor's music is like a familiar cuddly blanket to wrap up in and know for a moment that everything is fine. "You can close your eyes" was the last song of the concert, and there couldn't have been a better last song. A fellow member of my men's choir was at the same concert and asked me if I think this would be possible with the choir… And now I'm writing my first ever choir arrangement of "You can close your eyes". :) #ChallengeAccepted

[@MayaBlock-d7f]

One of my all time favorite songs.

[@drvee1983]

When I first heard this tune it was on the Disney Channel ending a James Taylor documentary. I had recorded it, and played it for my girlfriend the next day, thinking how beautiful it was. She cried after hearing and watching it. We were beginning our end of the relationship. That was over 20 years ago. It's OK to cry again when listening to it. . "...you can close your eyes, it's alright..." I think it's probably the most beautiful song he ever wrote.

[@irmabigler3516]

Love the harmony in this sweet song

[@marilynarnold1363]

Makes me cry every time!

[@weiloong7]

Outstanding Man, Outstanding Song, with marvellous story behind it!!

[@josephbuczek9949]

Enjoyed his own view on his own songs you can see and hear the honesty in what hes revealing its not made up or pre rehersed to sound good for critics ! Thats Admirable

[@geraldillo]

My favourite J.T. song! Nice to see the story behind the song!

[@robtgoldstein]

Mine also. Every time I have seen him in concert, JT closes his shows with this song. This year he plays it with his son Henry.

[@carolynledford6484]

This is definitely one of my personal favorites. I, too sang it to my daughter as a lullaby. I saw the movie Two Lane Blacktop years ago. Don’t remember a lot about it. I just know I loved the music!! James you sir are a treasure!!

[@Sibo10]

Bought it in 1971. Bought the DVD of the concert years ago and have watched it dozens of times.

[@dclate62]

I believe the likes of JT, CSN and many others are channels for a higher vibration to come through....God knows we need it !!

[@SteveRaab100]

I have always really loved this song....I first heard it played by Linda Ronstadt (cover) back in the '70s, even before I heard James Taylor play it....so great !!!

[@nonniejill]

"We assemble ourselves from things around us, they are the architecture of our being, perceptions of the world around us" Sounds like A Master artist holding the brush putting colors to canvas, painting the previously mentioned words by JT. He's just using the guitar, his vocals as his brush, paint colors and canvas. Thank you, James.

[@voodudrew1]

that was wonderful. James always seems so very happy to be singing. Watch his face, look at his eyes and smile, he seems transformed and in the "happy" place. And who would have known Warren Oates was this cool ass guy, right? Then again, everybody seems cool on mescaline!

[@deborahsmith1639]

I always love to watch his face when he sings pure joy

[@da5idnz]

I always loved this song. I always thought it was a hidden gem on _Mud Slide Slim_ . I can play it on guitar now, almost like the recorded version.

[@marshallaw531]

Me too ! It's a very personal and relatable song. I wanted to learn it and play it exactly like James. I'd get the intro and verse half heartedly then wonder off onto something else. I kept coming back to it and finally finished the song. It's so cool to play it anywhere, anytime, forever. (My wife loves it as much as I do, if only she could carry a tune 😔)

[@johedges5946]

@@marshallaw531 to be able to play like JT is a true gift

[@timschwab7503]

I have always told my wife this is my #1 funeral song

[@stevecannon4780]

I love this song but want "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life " for my funeral.

[@70260j]

Same. Also Ben Folds' 'The Luckiest'. Beautiful songs both.

[@justcalllmegrace]

I sang this song to my husband as he lay dying. We both loved JT and saw him in concert well over 50 times. I felt it so appropriate and comforting.

[@donny3648]

I told my wife that, and she left me...😢

[@timschwab7503]

Update: In fact, I play guitar and I play this song. My wife wants to video record me while playing "You Can Close Your Eyes" and then play it at my funeral. How sweet ... 💞

[@mostguitarswins]

This is one of my favorite JT songs; really interesting to hear him talk about his process 👏👏👏👏

[@rjalvarezbigote]

love all his songs

[@happyhippie8339]

I have wished many times during my many years driving around the south east, that James would have been my father. I would have turned out so much better….. as would have my 2 sons and their 2 sons. I’ve listened to most of his songs and he would have prevented many of my sorrows and heartaches. James Taylor can calm you.

[@michaeldezego340]

I saw an interview on tv once with JT and Carly Simon who was his wife at the time. They sang this song and it’s my favorite version of it. It’s the version I have on my iPhone. The interview can be found on KZbin.

[@Michael65429]

I saw JT and Carole King perform this about 20 years ago. It's a great version...

[@diorme7510]

Sweet Sweet Baby James♥

[@1974doubled]

I saw an interview where JT said that he was in a hotel room with Joni Mitchell. She was sleeping in bed and he was sitting on the side of the bed with his guitar and he wrote this song for her. They were a couple at the time.

[@roberthurley6860]

Please listen to this. Audio of James and Joni singing You Can Close Your Eyes together at a convert they did in Paris in 1970. A sweet sound indeed, Especially the beginning when they are talking. kzbin.info/www/bejne/qXLLdYGrj7-erZI

[@newiberian]

beautiful lullaby; and looks like many have experienced it that way.

[@robertewalt7789]

I think it can also be a love song, as for a couple.

[@PeterStrachanMusic]

The world is getting more and more confusing.. This song is not.

[@marshallaw531]

I love artists telling the story about a songs 🎵 creation. Every one so different. ' woke up and wrote about this dream I had ' or ' I saw this sign ' ' read this article ' ' I overheard....' I've read countless inspiring stories. I really, truly appreciate them all BUT I'll always be envious of the artist (and there's many of them out there) who said, " I don't know, just came to me and I wrote it down in like TEN minutes ". That kills me 😊.Or my favorite, " I wrote it on a break between takes ". And of course it turns out to be the best. ✂️ What ever it is , fell from the sky, brain wired for music/lyrics, childhood trauma? We salute you all ! 🙏 👏 🙌 💯 👌

[@jackvai2681]

rap is nonsense... jt is glorious and intimate brilliance.

[@chikkipop]

Rap isn't nonsense. It's very creative.

[@jackvai2681]

@@chikkipop RAP IS UTTER NONSENSE... RHYMING DICTIONARIES AND CANNED MUZAK TRACKS!

[@theloniouscoltrane3778]

Rap is when you can't put music to lousy poetry.

[@thomtammaro4283]

What a lullaby!

[@simplethings474]

Love his view of rap. He hit the nail on the head.

[@Jojo-zl2rg]

He is a National Treasure

[@CoZmicShReddeR]

Interesting technique now that I have heard where he was when he wrote it! It's like he wrote a song about music that explains his journey that he had been through but in a blissful way...

[@bobsquires4521]

Brad was right, "Is there anyone who plays and sings more soulful than James?"

[@britturk123]

Aretha Franklin ? LOL.

[@area49g12]

Two Lane Blacktop was a great movie, especially if you were a gear head, Every kids dream at that time, a 55 chev with a tunnel ram intake, twin Hollies, and drag racing wherever, sometimes for pink-slips, Throw in a love triangle and there’s your movie, Vanish Point may have borrowed on this theme or vice versa ,

[@attybong]

the song was written for joni mitchell ..

[@ikkenhisatsu7170]

Musical genius.

[@donalddingler1263]

The first time i heard this song was on the show Wonder Years in the 70 s

[@johnwilsonwsws]

Really nice 👍. I would have loved to hear if he does lyrics or music first, but no complaints.

[@ClaudeLavender]

An incredible movie damn

[@poodlenme]

James hasn't used drugs since the 80s

[@me_smash]

the story behind it is Joni :)

[@sandracaputo2917]

I love you, James...

[@tedkay_music]

cool!

[@onefoot7]

a 'steady diet' of this is very important

[@alanaltimont9007]

After listening to this beautiful lullaby to Joni Mitchell, you should listen to her respnse, her "foggy lullaby" to him, "Blue"--which begins as a plea for him to break his heroin addiction.

[@alanrichtmyer2309]

my mery ... and we are talking a long time ago is that the film was called rour-lane blacktop

[@indakhimig]

Where can I find this video of You can close your eyes? It is not the same performance as that on "Pull Over" concert DVD. But it is the same stage, same band, same singers. It may have been from a night which Dutch TV televised? The version on the DVD /in KZbin is is titled "from Pull Over" is not the same, not inspiring, James Taylor looked tired, the lighting was bad and he did not have that happy look in his eyes. So, please share, where can I find this video?

[@stevebocian2611]

I sang this song onto a cassette tape and sent it to my sister who was doing her PhD fieldwork in central Africa. I asked her to play it there so I could claim to have sung JT in Africa. Odd, right?

[@keithwarburton9610]

So what was the story behind the song? Totally misleading title for the video.

[@annettearrow8824]

The song was written for Joni.

[@michaelciola8039]

Anyone know the group he is harmonizing with in the concert footage?

[@robtgoldstein]

His backup singers.

[@evelynwalsh6775]

who are the vocalists singing with him?

[@kelamram]

I want to see James so bad live

[@mk1cortinatony395]

as a car guy 2 lane black top was an awesome film! Shame on you JT :)

[@gregmorse5997]

Taos Pueblo, not Hopi...

[@billr2375]

God did that movie get panned--2 Lane Blacktop....was said to be the next "James Dean" kind of movie, with Dennis Wilson, James Taylor-- and just bombed so very badly. Glad to learn something good came of the experience, like this JT song. And wow what singer at the time was NOT with Joni Mitchell--Neil Young, Steven Stills, Graham Nash, David Crosby met her before those others, and James Taylor too? Wow didnt quite realize. The following year JT met Carly at a party they were said to then have gone into a closet and "did their thing" and the rest was history---such a shame it didnt work out...his drug addiction and squeeze on the side did not help the matters. Its all in Carly's book. JT is so confused at times with the drugs in and out of his life---but his writing and playing never suffered as evident by "You can Close Your Eyes"...

[@juliadixon8465]

He and Joni were a couple?

[@09nob]

Ha the film is a cult classic these days.

[@lesliegoodman-malamuth9796]

@09nob I loved Two-Lane Blacktop, even if JT did not. The only film he and Dennis Wilson, and one of the very few of Laurie Bird. She tragically succumbed to suicide.

[@MsJoybird1]

Most of the songs written in the 70’s and 80’s were the result of a drug high!!

[@davidmartin1455]

Love JT but.... He talks about drinking and getting high.... but doesn't like the subject matter of a movie, that is used for a different type of entertainment, which is not harmful to yourself.

[@theloniouscoltrane3778]

Rap is when you can't put music to lousy poetry.

[@robbiewiley2441]

My payday

[@urhartfabeler]

Wauw, so much babbling not about the song. Just about James. Great singer . Can listen to him for hours. But this clip missed its point.

[@51Dss]

the guitar music is almost identical to Fire and Rain - the lyrics are not nearly as good as Fire and Rain .

[@Michael65429]

No resemblance whatsoever...

[@christinacascadilla4473]

I’d rather that he talked about one of his good songs. And I’ve never read or seen a James Taylor interview where he wasn’t talking about taking some kind of drug. Sad.

[@robertmclaughlin2688]

Which of James’s songs do you recognise as “good”, or similarly, not “good”?

[@70260j]

Are you on something? This a superb song.

[@christinacascadilla4473]

@@70260j nah…it sounds like all the notes that didn’t make it into “Carolina in My Mind.”

[@themeat5053]

Talented guy, too bad he's just a selfish junkie.

[@PerthTowne]

He is not a junkie. He kicked more than 30 years ago and has been "clean" ever since. And based on what I know of him, not at all selfish. Actually seems exceptionally generous in the way he treats his fans. Sits on the edge of the stage between sets at his concerts signing autographs, taking selfies, and chatting with fans. Sometimes does that after the concert as well. They had huge fires in parts of Canada a few years ago. When he played concerts in those areas, he gave ALL the money from the concerts to the Red Cross. Took no fee for himself. That's not a "selfish" person.

[@dotsyjmaher]

Boy ..is THAT true

[@kenodan5654]

TGIF (((Hugz))) 🤗🤗🤗