(2) Very few musical artists achieve a true signature style -- one that makes comparisons to other musicians impossible. But Texas guitarist Eric Johnson arguably comes as close to this echelon as any musician from the past quarter-century. Like fellow Lone Star State guitarists Johnny Winter, Billy Gibbons, and Stevie Ray Vaughan, Johnson blends the rock style of Jimi Hendrix and the blues power of Albert King. Yet Johnson's wide array of additional influences (from the Beatles and Jeff Beck to jazz and Chet Atkins) makes for a guitar sound as unique as his fingerprints.
"When I first heard Eric," Winter recalled, "he was only 16, and I remember wishing that I could have played like that at that age." Former Doobie Brothers guitarist Jeff "Skunk" Baxter said, "If Jimi Hendrix had gone on to study with Howard Roberts for about eight years, you'd have what this kid strikes me as." The Austin prodigy appeared on the cover of Guitar Player magazine while working with Texas jazz/fusion band the Electromagnets and as a session player (Cat Stevens, Carole King, Christopher Cross), and a 1984 performance on the TV show Austin City Limits set his recording career in motion.
Johnson's 1986 debut album, Tones, certainly proved that the hype was warranted. Playing with the ace rhythm section of bassist Roscoe Beck and drummer Tommy Taylor, Johnson mixed blazing instrumentals ("Zap," "Victory") with Beatles-influenced vocal tunes like "Emerald Eyes" and "Bristol Shore." Johnson used the same half-and-half format on the 1990 follow-up, Ah Via Musicom, but a trio of the album's tunes surprisingly made him the first artist to have three instrumentals from the same album to chart in the Top Ten in any format (with "Cliffs of Dover" earning Johnson a Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental).
But, if Johnson had a perceived weakness, it was the perfectionism that caused four years to pass between recordings. Even in concert, he would painstakingly tune his guitar between songs, by ear, for minutes on end. With the success of Ah Via Musicom, the guitarist admitted to feeling pressure to raise the bar again. But Johnson's studio nitpicking delayed Venus Isle until 1996, and the disappointing CD contained fewer instrumentals and sounded forced.
A stint on the 1997 G3 tour with fellow headlining guitarists Joe Satriani and Steve Vai, and its resulting live release, breathed new life into Johnson and sparked the idea of a live album. Overhauling his band for the 2000 CD Live and Beyond, Johnson brought in bassist Chris Maresh and drummer Bill Maddox, and concentrated on more of a blues feel. The guitarist still blended instrumentals with his vocal tunes ("Shape I'm In," "Last House on the Block"), but perhaps realized that his thin voice was too one-dimensional for guttural blues or R&B. Guest vocalist Malford Milligan ignites "Don't Cha Know" and "Once a Part of Me," helping Johnson's blazing debut on Vai's Favored Nations label and reestablishing the versatile virtuoso's status for the 21st century. As Vai himself testified, "Eric has more colorful tone in his fingers than Van Gogh had on his palette."
Souvenir, an album available only through Johnson's website, appeared in 2002, followed by CD and DVD versions of New West's Live from Austin, TX and Bloom, the second album for Vai's Favored Nations imprint, in 2005. Johnson returned in 2010 with Up Close, a studio album that slightly emphasized the guitarist's Texas roots. A collaboration with jazz guitarist Mike Stern, Eclectic, appeared in 2014. ~ Bill Meredith
Emerald Eyes
Eric Johnson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I begin to think of you
But I know a dream is only
I'm a fool
Someone said that you'd be long gone
Not to waste my time on you
I see you everyday in sunshine
Am I the fool to you? Oh yeah
Emerald eyes I see you somewhere
Why your eyes so blue?
Love can be like holding your breath
Is that the way fools do?
Haven't time to talk about it
I admit I've been a fool
Thought I shouldn't think about it
I need you can't stop this feeling
Am I the fool to you?
Emerald eyes I see you somewhere
Why your eyes so blue?
Love can be like holding your breath
Is that the way fools do?
Emerald eyes I see you somewhere
Why your eyes so blue?
Love can be like holding your breath
Is that the way fools do?
Emerald eyes I see you somewhere
Why your eyes so blue?
Love can be like holding your breath
Is that the way fools do?
The lyrics of Eric Johnson's song "Emerald Eyes" explore the notion of unreturned love and the subsequent feelings of foolishness and regret that can stem from it. The singer is clearly infatuated with someone, and when he is alone and lonely, his thoughts turn solely to this person. However, he acknowledges that his feelings are not reciprocated, and that the dreams he has of being with them are only fantasies.
Furthermore, the singer is aware that others have told him not to waste his time on this person, further adding to his feelings of foolishness. Despite this, he cannot help but think of them and sees them every day in the sunshine, perhaps highlighting the pain of seeing someone you love but cannot have. The repetition of the line, "Am I the fool to you?" showcases the singer's constant questioning of his own judgment and perhaps the insecurity and self-doubt that can arise from unrequited love.
The chorus of the song, which repeats the lines "Emerald eyes I see you somewhere, why your eyes so blue?" and "Love can be like holding your breath, is that the way fools do?" adds to the wistful, melancholic tone of the song. The color green is often associated with jealousy and longing, and the reference to the "emerald eyes" of the person the singer desires only enhances these feelings. The metaphor of love being like holding one's breath adds to the sense of suffocation and yearning that the singer feels.
Overall, "Emerald Eyes" is a beautifully melancholic song that captures the feelings of unrequited love and the foolishness and self-doubt that can arise from it.
Line by Line Meaning
When I go and I get lonely
Whenever I am feeling lonely
I begin to think of you
My thoughts often turn to you
But I know a dream is only
I understand that my feelings are not based in reality
I'm a fool
I acknowledge that I may be foolish
Someone said that you'd be long gone
Someone told me that you would be gone soon
Not to waste my time on you
Advised me not to spend time thinking about you
I see you everyday in sunshine
I see you everywhere, even in happiness
I'm a fool
I realize that I may be foolish
Am I the fool to you? Oh yeah
Do you see me as foolish? Yes
Emerald eyes I see you somewhere
I can picture your green eyes, even if I don't know where you are
Why your eyes so blue?
A rhetorical question about the nature of the singer's affection
Love can be like holding your breath
Love can be intense and difficult to maintain
Is that the way fools do?
Wondering if being foolish is a necessary part of love
Haven't time to talk about it
I am too preoccupied to discuss this at length
I admit I've been a fool
Confessing to being foolish
Thought I shouldn't think about it
Telling myself I shouldn't dwell on this
I need you can't stop this feeling
I feel a strong desire for you that won't go away
Am I the fool to you?
Do you see me as foolish?
Emerald eyes I see you somewhere
You are still on my mind
Why your eyes so blue?
Why does this love feel so painful?
Love can be like holding your breath
Love can be intense and difficult to maintain
Is that the way fools do?
Does love require foolishness?
Emerald eyes I see you somewhere
You are still on my mind
Why your eyes so blue?
Why does this love feel so painful?
Love can be like holding your breath
Love can be intense and difficult to maintain
Is that the way fools do?
Does love require foolishness?
Emerald eyes I see you somewhere
You are still on my mind
Why your eyes so blue?
Why does this love feel so painful?
Love can be like holding your breath
Love can be intense and difficult to maintain
Is that the way fools do?
Does love require foolishness?
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: ERIC DAVID JOHNSON, JAY AARON PODOLNICK
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Eric
on Camel's Night Out
What is it about? A person?