Smoke Gets in Your Eyes
Anne Shelton Lyrics


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They asked me how I knew
My true love was true
Oh, I of course replied
Something here inside cannot be denied

They said someday you'll find
All who love are blind
Oh, when your heart's on fire
You must realize
Smoke gets in your eyes

So I chaffed them and I gaily laughed
To think they could doubt my love
Yet today my love has flown away
I am without my love

Now laughing friends deride
Tears I can not hide
Oh, so I smile and say
When a lovely flame dies




Smoke gets in your eyes
Smoke gets in your eyes

Overall Meaning

In the song “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” sung by Anne Shelton, the lyrics unfold a narrative of the realities of love and heartbreak. The song starts with the singer being asked how they knew their true love was real. The singer responds, “Oh, I of course replied. Something here inside cannot be denied.” The singer describes their deep internal feeling that confirms their love for their partner. The lyrics then transition to other people warning the singer that love makes people blind. However, the singer does not believe them and brushes them off, sure of their love. The chorus comes in, with the iconic line “Smoke gets in your eyes,” which represents the reality of love and how it can fog our rational thinking. This line is repeated several times throughout the chorus, emphasizing the concept of love as a blinding smoke.


As the song continues, we learn that the singer’s love has left, leaving them alone and heartbroken. The singer describes how their friends now make fun of them, and they try to hide their tears by smiling and saying, “When a lovely flame dies, smoke gets in your eyes.” The singer reflects on how they once believed that their love was real and how now they realize that love can be fleeting and unreliable. The song ends with an emotional reflection on the true nature of love.


Line by Line Meaning

They asked me how I knew
Someone asked me how I was so certain


My true love was true
of the fact that my love was genuine


Oh, I of course replied
I naturally answered in return


Something here inside cannot be denied
as nothing could deny the feeling inside me


They said someday you'll find
Those individuals further said that one day I would learn


All who love are blind
that all lovers are debilitated by the love they hold


Oh, when your heart's on fire
When an individual is consumed by passion


You must realize
They need to notice or be aware of


Smoke gets in your eyes
That delusions can be unavoidable in this state


So I chaffed them and I gaily laughed
I made fun of them and found the situation amusing


To think they could doubt my love
As I thought their skepticism was unwarranted


Yet today my love has flown away
As now, my dearly beloved has flown away from me


I am without my love
I am without the company and affection of my partner


Now laughing friends deride
Now, such jesting friends make fun of me


Tears I can not hide
As my despair is so powerful that it makes it impossible to mask my sorrow


Oh, so I smile and say
So I put on a happy facade and say


When a lovely flame dies
That when a love once brightly burning, fades away


Smoke gets in your eyes
Delusions become strongly fixed in the lover's psyche




Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, BMG Rights Management
Written by: Otto Harbach, Jerome Kern

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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