“Close My Eyes” is a song from Mariah's 1997 album Butterfly. As she told VH1 in 1997, she first started writing the song in 1993: “I had just done my first concert for a TV special in Schenectady, NY, I hadn't done anything other than Unplugged and little one-off shows with a piano player, so it was like my first real concert. I got off stage and went home to this really pretty farm in upstate New York. I was taking a bath and looking out the window — one of my favorite things. The moon was out and I was reflecting on my life. It was the first time I really sat and took it all in. It's almost like I watched my whole career go by. I took a breath and said, ‘I've really accomplished something. What did it take to get here?’ That started the concept for the song. I wrote the whole first verse and kept it in the back of my mind — I didn't even write it down — for like four years. Fast forward to '97, and while writing Butterfly, I picked up where I left off after the first chorus.”
Mariah recorded a new acoustic version of “Close My Eyes” for her compilation The Rarities, released in 2020. “After working through some emotional introspective moments for my memoir,” Mariah wrote about the song on the liner notes. “I decided to revisit one of the most personal songs I've ever written.”
| Song | Remix | Run time |
|---|---|---|
| Close My Eyes | Acoustic Version
Produced by Mariah Carey. |
3:21 |
I was a wayward child
With the weight of the world that I held deep inside
Life was a winding road
And I learned many things little ones shouldn't know
But I closed my eyes
Steadied my feet on the ground
Raised my head to the sky
And though time's rolled by
Still I feel like that child as I look at the moon
Maybe I grew up a little too soon
Funny how one can learn
To grow numb to the madness and block it away
I left the worst unsaid
Let it all dissipate and I try to forget
As I closed my eyes
Steadied my feet on the ground
Raised my head to the sky
And the time rolled by
Still I feel like a child as I look at the moon
Maybe I grew up a little too soon
Nearing the edge
Oblivious I almost fell right over
A part of me
Will never be quite able to feel stable
That woman-child
Falling inside was on the verge of fading
Thankfully I
Woke up in time
Guardian angel I
Sail away on an ocean with you by my side
Orange clouds roll by
They burn into your image and you're still alive
As I close my eyes (You're always alive)
Steady my feet on the ground
Raise my head to the sky (Guardian angel)
And though time rolls by
Still I feel like a child as I look at the moon
Maybe I grew up a little too soon
Lyrics: M. Carey. Music: M. Carey, W. Afanasieff.
Produced by Mariah Carey, Walter Afanasieff.
