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"When You Close Your Eyes" is a song by American rock band Night Ranger from their 1983 album Midnight Madness.

In the U.S., the single reached number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 7 on the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. Ultimate Classic Rock ranked "When You Close Your Eyes" at number five on their list of Top 10 Night Ranger Songs.

Background

Singer Jack Blades sat at a piano in the recording studio and improvised some chords one day, and started spontaneously singing, "When you close your eyes, do you dream about me?" He showed it to Harry Maslin, co-owner of the studio, who was impressed and urged him to keep working on the song. Blades worked out the music with the rest of the band, but they were stuck on the lyrics, and it was distracting trying to write in Hollywood. So Blades flew to his parents' home in Scottsdale, Arizona, and sat by their pool for three days, writing lyrics to "When You Close Your Eyes" and a few other songs. Blades said,

It all kind of came to me, just about how you move on in your life. I thought about my old girlfriend, where we split up, and I wonder if she ever thinks about the past, and all these things you went through when you were growing up, and all these things you did when you were together, and your first love, and the first woman that I made love to. And then everybody moves on in their lives, and you just go in separate ways. And I always wondered, "When you close your eyes, do you think about me?"

Music video

In the music video, scenes of the band performing are interspersed with a man's memories of his ex-girlfriend, and scenes showing her current situation, as a housewife with a husband represented by a chimpanzee.

In addition, there is a slightly modified version of this video, which, among other differences, features the chimpanzee less prominently.

Track listing

Personnel

• Jack Blades – bass, lead vocals (verses and chorus)
• Alan Fitzgerald – keyboards
• Brad Gillis – guitars, vocals
• Kelly Keagy – drums, lead vocals (b-sections)
• Jeff Watson – guitars, vocals

Charts

References

1. "Night Ranger singles".
2. "Midnight Madness - Night Ranger". AllMusic. Retrieved 2021-04-07.
3. "36 Essential '80s Pop Metal Tracks". Stereogum. 2017-04-05. Retrieved 2020-06-02. #28
4. Roth, Jason (November 2001). "Motorin' Mania". Spin. p. 88.
5. "Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved 2021-01-02.
6. "Mainstream Rock". Billboard. Retrieved 2021-01-02.
7. Wardlaw, Matt (December 28, 2012). "Top 10 Night Ranger Songs". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
8. ^ Ortega, Shawna (March 15, 2010). "Jack Blades of Night Ranger and Damn Yankees : Songwriter Interviews". Songfacts. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
9. Night Ranger - When You Close Your Eyes @YouTube.com (Version 1) Retrieved 15 December 2023.
10. Night Ranger - When You Close Your Eyes @YouTube.com Retrieved 15 December 2023.
11. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 8602." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
12. "Night Ranger Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
13. "Night Ranger Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
14. "Talent Almanac 1985: Top Pop Singles". Billboard. Vol. 96, no. 51. December 22, 1984. p. TA-19.

External links

• Music Video

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• 1983 songs
• Night Ranger songs
• 1984 singles
• Songs written by Jack Blades
• Songs written by Brad Gillis
• MCA Records singles
• 1980s rock song stubs