Smoke gets in your eyes
Mel Torme & George Shearing Lyrics

The opening line of Mel Torme and George Shearing's "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" is timeless and beautiful. It sets up a conversation between two parties about love and its authenticity, but also about love's dark side. The singer is confident in the intensity and truth of their love, but others doubt it. They reply with a resolute belief that speaks to the heart and soul: "something here inside cannot be denied."

But their confidence is not enough to dispel the doubts of their friends. They warn the singer that when the intensity of passion subsides, they will see things differently, that all who love are blind. But the singer rejects this view, scoffs at it, and laughs. They are unperturbed by such concerns. But their laughter is not lasting, for love is often fleeting, and their love has flown away. The song ends with the refrain, "When a lovely flame dies, smoke gets in your eyes."

This song is a poignant reminder of love's intensity, but also of its transience. The smoke that gets in our eyes is the ash of love after it has burned out. It is a powerful metaphor for the way love can linger in our hearts and memories long after it is gone. The mournful melody and poetic lyrics remind us that love, like fire, can be both sustaining and destructive, that it can illuminate our lives and leave us in the dark.