"Green Eyes" is a popular song, originally written in Spanish under the title "Aquellos Ojos Verdes" ("Those Green Eyes") by Adolfo Utrera and Nilo Menéndez. The English translation was made by Eddie Rivera and Eddie Woods in 1929.
The song was a hit for the Jimmy Dorsey orchestra. The recording was made on March 19, 1941 with vocals by Helen O'Connell and Bob Eberly and released by Decca Records as catalog number 3698. The flip side was "Maria Elena." The record first reached the Billboard charts on May 9, 1941 and lasted 21 weeks on the chart, peaking at #1. 1 Since "Maria Elena" was also a #1 hit, this was a major double-sided hit recording.
Ben Affleck sings "Aquellos Ojos Verdes" in the 2006 movie Hollywoodland.
R&B group, the Ravens, had regional success with a 1955 revival.
Allan Sherman recorded a version titled "Green Stamps", a parody of S&H Green Stamps. During the recording session (according to the liner notes on the album), Sherman had a talk with the college types who hadn't heard of "Green Eyes." He said it was, like the Bossa Nova, once a red-hot tune by Helen O'Connell. He asked, "Any of you remember red-hot Helen O'Connell?" (About half did.)
Recorded versions
Lyrics
- Original Spanish Lyrics
- Aquellos ojos verdes
- de mirada serena,
- dejaron en mi alma
- eterna sed de amar.
- Anhelos de caricias,
- de besos y ternuras.
- De todas las dulzuras
- que sabían brindar.
- Aquellos ojos verdes,
- serenos como un lago,
- en cuyas quietas aguas
- un día me miré.
- No saben las tristezas
- que en mi alma han dejado
- Aquellos ojos verdes,
- que yo nunca besaré.
- No saben las tristezas
- que en mi alma han dejado
- Aquellos ojos verdes,
- que yo nunca olvidaré.
- Aquellos ojos verdes,
- que yo nunca olvidaré.
- Aquellos ojos verdes
- serenos como un lago
- en cuyas quietas aguas
- un día me miré,
- no saben las tristezas
- que a mi alma le dejaron
- aquellos ojos verdes
- que ya nunca besaré
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- English Translation
- Those green eyes
- with their serene gaze,
- they left in my soul
- eternal thirst to love.
- yearning for caresses,
- for kisses and tenderness.
- for all the sweetness
- that they knew how to offer.
- Those green eyes,
- serene like a lake,
- in whose calm waters
- one day i saw myself
- They do not know the sadness
- that in my soul they have left
- Those green eyes,
- that I never will kiss.
- They do not know the sadness
- that in my soul they have left
- Those green eyes,
- that I never will forget.
- Those green eyes,
- that I never will forget.
- Those green eyes,
- serene like a lake,
- in whose quiet waters
- one day i saw myself
- They do not know the sadness
- that in my soul they have left
- those green eyes
- that I never will kiss
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English lyrics
The version written for English audiences varies from the Spanish. The Big Band version typically had a male voice singing these words, followed by a female voice singing the same words, with the exception of the last line. This is one version:
- Well, Green Eyes with their soft lights
- Your eyes that promise sweet nights,
- Bring to my soul a longing, a thirst for love divine
- In dreams I seem to hold you, to find you and enfold you
- Our lips meet and our hearts, too, with a thrill so sublime
- Those cool and limpid Green Eyes
- A pool wherein my love lies
- So deep that in my searching for happiness
- I fear that they will ever haunt me
- All through my life they'll taunt me
- But will they ever want me?
(Male voice)
- Green Eyes, make my dreams come true.
(Female voice)
- Green Eyes, I love you.
References
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (1973). Top Pop Records 1940-1955, Record Research.
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