Sad Eyes

Album: Enrique (1999)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Not to be confused with the '70s hit by Robert John, this "Sad Eyes" was written by Bruce Springsteen, who recorded it in 1990 and released it on his outtake albums Tracks (1998) and 18 Tracks (1999). Enrique Iglesias recorded it for his first English album, Enrique, which contains the hits "Bailamos" and "Be with You."

    Springsteen was working on his album Human Touch when he wrote and recorded the song. That album deals with the vagaries of love, which was his mindset for "Sad Eyes," a song about a couple that should probably be together but aren't.
  • Iglesias is a big Springsteen fan, so Jimmy Iovine, Springsteen's former producer, suggested he record this song. Iovine worked for Interscope Records, Iglesias' label.
  • A music video was made, but the record label thought it was too steamy to release. Directed by David LaChapelle, the erotic clip finds Iglesias alone in a motel room reveling in his sexual fantasies about a girl from a phone-sex ad. Scenes include a lovemaking session in a bathtub and an escapade involving a stripper pole above his bed.

    LaChapelle, a famed artist and photographer, was new to making videos but his art was often provocative. A year earlier, he captured a still of Eminem titled "About To Blow," which featured the naked rapper clutching a stick of dynamite. He courted controversy again when helped Christina Aguilera shed her good-girl image with the explicit "Dirrty" video. But the artist insists he isn't in the business of objectification.

    "I really enjoy sensuality," he told The Guardian in 2022 . "I love the human body. I've never seen what I do as objectification."

Comments: 3

  • Dee from Indianapolis, InWhy don't they have "Sad Eyes" by Robert John on here? I love that tune!!!
  • Aj from Cleveland, GaRobert John also did a song with the same name. It was released in 1979.
  • Alex from Gatineau, CanadaFinal single from "Enrique" album. Only known chart entry is a #49 peak in Canada.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

P.F. Sloan

P.F. SloanSongwriter Interviews

P.F. was a teenager writing hits and playing on tracks for Jan & Dean when he wrote a #1 hit that got him blackballed.

Part of Their World: The Stories and Songs of 13 Disney Princesses

Part of Their World: The Stories and Songs of 13 Disney PrincessesSong Writing

From "Some Day My Prince Will Come" to "Let It Go" - how Disney princess songs (and the women who sing them) have evolved.

John Waite

John WaiteSongwriter Interviews

"Missing You" was a spontaneous outpouring of emotion triggered by a phone call. John tells that story and explains what MTV meant to his career.

John Parr

John ParrSongwriter Interviews

John tells the "St. Elmo's Fire (Man In Motion)" story and explains why he disappeared for so long.

Waiting For The Break of Day: Three Classic Songs About All-Nighters

Waiting For The Break of Day: Three Classic Songs About All-NightersSong Writing

These Three famous songs actually describe how they were written - late into the evening.

Richard Butler of The Psychedelic Furs

Richard Butler of The Psychedelic FursSongwriter Interviews

Psychedelic Furs lead singer Richard Butler talks about their first album since 1991 and explains what's really going on in "Pretty In Pink."