Sad Eyes

RIP Mardi

Sad Eyes by Robert John

Recommended by Mom

"Sadly, I was saying goodbye to our pet cat of almost 15 years, and this song came on Pandora! It'll now always remind me of Mardi's big sad eyes the last day of his long, mostly happy life. I spent a lot of time on the floor with him that last day looking into big beautiful eyes that had certainly become sad. Not really a great song but now it will always have this special memory attached to it! 😿💔"

Aw, mom :(

I was nervous when you said "Not really a great song," but I'm actually kind of into it. A relaxed, slow jam. And it's worth noting that it reached No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100. (x)

The intro takes its time, and you get real sad eyes vibes before you even hear the first lyric. Then when you do hear the first words, you've got Robert John pulling out this light, super '70s falsetto. It's great.

I also like the addition of the wailing woman at about 3:33. She sounds great, and it adds to the emotion of the track. John sounds pretty resigned about the whole thing; whereas she's kind of losing it. I guess that makes sense, since he choose to look the other way when she gets those sad eyes.

You can't really feel too much compassion for either of them. I mean: She's comin' home today. Clearly this guy has been cheating on someone. And then: You knew I couldn't stay. So she's a very willing and clear-eyed accomplice in all of this deception.

But if you listen to it with the death of a beloved pet in mind, then different lines tend to stick out. Instead of the end of an illicit love affair, it's the end of a life.

We had a good thing. I'll miss your sweet love. Why must you look at me that way?

Have you seen those ASPCA commercials? The abused animals? Those are truly the saddest eyes you'll ever see. No one, not even a broken-hearted human being, can have eyes as sad as a cat or a dog when they look at you.

More than anything, I just have to appreciate a song in which the first line is Looks like it's over. No, John. Looks like it's just beginning.

Overview:

Genre:
Soft Rock

Favorite Lyrics:
Try to remember the magic that we shared.
In time, your broken heart will mend.

Verdict:
The feelings attached to a song can sometimes be more important than the song itself.

Plus you knew there'd come a day when we would have to say goodbye is so real with pets because dogs and cats have tiny little lifespans compared to people.

RIP Sweet Boy