This song is so great! “Fresh Eyes” by Andy Grammer. Smooth. Irresistible. Uptempo, fun. Both the music and the lyrics “make you you want to move”–a cliche, but…. true. Certainly a song worthy of a listen, even by the high standards of the Boomer generation. Currently in the Top 15 on Adult pop radio.
The song is about seeing the ups and downs of marriage, and each other, with “fresh eyes.” Grammer says his wife was the inspiration. It’s a total love song.
Boomers remember when songs didn’t have videos attached to them. Any “images” that you got from listening were unique to you, and came from your own head–a memory, an emotion, or something imagined. Now, we all get the same, pre-ordained image track.
Usually the song’s video has an obvious fit with the lyrics , but in “Fresh Eyes,” the video is about the plight of the homeless, and focuses on a handful of homeless men and women getting “make overs:” a hair cut and blow dry, a shave, a nice outfit, make-up. After the make-over, these formerly “down and outers” had a bounce in their step, a smile on their faces, and a positive glow. They saw themselves with “fresh eyes.”
The video presents an entirely different perspective, and while hardly typical subject matter for a pop song, its not the first time the homeless have been the backdrop of a video and song. In 1989 Phil Collins had a hit with the powerful “Another Day In Paradise.”