In 1983, acclaimed American jazz pianist Keith Jarrett asked bassist Gary P… Read Full Bio ↴In 1983, acclaimed American jazz pianist Keith Jarrett asked bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Jack DeJohnette (the latter his colleague in the Charles Lloyd Quartet of the late 1960s) to record an album of jazz standards that was released simply entitled Standards, Volume 1. The three had previously worked on Peacock's 1977 album Tales of Another.

Standards, Volume 2 and Changes, both recorded at the same session in New York, followed soon after. The success of these albums and the group's ensuing tour, which came as traditional acoustic post-bop was enjoying an upswing in the early 1980s, led to this new "Standards Trio" becoming one of the premier working groups in jazz, and certainly one of the most enduring, continuing to record and perform live over more than twenty years.

The Jarrett/Peacock/DeJohnette trio has also produced recordings that consist largely of challenging original material, most notably 1987's Changeless. (These recordings are noted above.) Several of the standards albums contain an original track or two, some attributed to Jarrett but mostly group improvisations. The live recordings Inside Out and Always Let Me Go (both released in 2001) marked a renewed interest by the trio in wholly improvised free jazz. By this point in their history, the musical communication between these three men had become all but telepathic, and their group improvisations frequently take on a complexity that sounds almost composed. The Standards Trio undertakes frequent world tours of recital halls (the only venues in which Jarrett, a notorious stickler for acoustic sound, will play these days) and is one of the few truly lucrative jazz groups to play both "straight-ahead" (as opposed to smooth) and free jazz.

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes
Keith Jarrett Trio Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

They ask me how I knew
My true love was true
I, I of course replied
"Something here inside
Cannot be denied," oh no

They said, "Someday you'll find
All who love are blind"

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 cannot hide, boo hoo
So I smile and say

"When a lovely flame dies
Smoke gets in your eyes"

Overall Meaning

The song "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" is a reflective and melancholic piece about lost love, a classic theme in many genres of music, but delivered here in the medium of jazz. The song is a story about the singer who is initially confident and self-assured, but as the relationship ends and his/her lover departs, he feels derided by the judgment of others, left alone with his/her sorrows. The opening lines, "They ask me how I knew my true love was true / I, of course, replied, 'something here inside cannot be denied,' oh no," reveal the singer's strong connection with and unwavering conviction about his/her feelings. The singer even chaffs the doubters and confidently proclaims his love.

However, as the song progresses, the singer's tone changes. The chorus inserts itself, "When your heart's on fire, you must realize / smoke gets in your eyes." This chorus reflects that falling in love is an intoxicating process, and when it ends, it leaves a smoky haze that occludes one's ability to see the world as it is. The singer's confidence and assurance fade as the story progresses. There is a mournful acceptance of the end and the feeling of isolation and humiliation that comes with it.

Overall, the lyrics of the song express the idea that sometimes, despite our best intentions and deepest desires, love does not always last, and that even when it ends, it leaves a profound and lasting impact.

Line by Line Meaning

They ask me how I knew
They inquire about how I could figure out

My true love was true
That the person I loved was indeed the right one for me

I, I of course replied
I, without a doubt, responded to them

"Something here inside Cannot be denied," oh no
I expressed that a genuine feeling within me couldn't be ignored

They said, "Someday you'll find All who love are blind"
They advised me that someday I would realize that everyone in love is ignorant

When your heart's on fire You must realize Smoke gets in your eyes
When you're passionate, you must acknowledge that you'll lose sight of some things around due to the smoke of your raging flame

So I chaffed them and I gaily laughed To think they could doubt my love
So I ridiculed and laughed merrily at them for even doubting my affection

Yet today, my love has flown away I am without my love
However, today, my love is gone, and I'm left without that special one

Now laughing friends deride Tears I cannot hide, boo hoo
Friends who were once amusing now mock me, and I can't escape my sorrowful tears

So I smile and say "When a lovely flame dies Smoke gets in your eyes"
Therefore, I put on a fake smile and tell them that when a beautiful love diminishes, the smoke of that fire will mask your eyes and cloud your mind.

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

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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