Nitin attended Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School and studied law at Liverpool University for a short time. He then went to London, where he met Sanjeev Bhaskar. The pair became friends and created a comedy double act, The Secret Asians, together. The show sought to turn absurdly dated Asian stereotypes on their heads. It led to a contract with BBC radio and eventually grew into the award-winning BBC TV sketch show Goodness Gracious Me.
During that time he met up with an old school friend, acid jazz keyboards-player James Taylor. He joined Taylor for a 40-date tour in as part of The James Taylor Quartet. It introduced him to the jazz club scene and provoked him into forming his own band, The Jazztones. He moved on to join forces with tabla master Talvin Singh to form the Tihai Trio and, after that collaboration ended in 1993, released his debut album, Spirit Dance on his own label. Shortly afterwards, he signed with Outcaste Records.
Sawhney's music is intensely political, commonly approaching themes of multiculturalism, empowerment, identity, immigration, poverty, and spirituality. He is active as an artist in residence for five different performing arts organisations in Europe and Asia, and along with George Martin is a patron for the British Governments Access-to-Music Program which brings music education to the inner-city students.
Sawhney's skills include classical and jazz piano and flamenco guitar. He has released six studio albums, as well as countless remixes and collaborations. After releasing Beyond Skin on London's Outcaste Records in 1999, he was signed by V2 to do six albums. His first album with the Virgin subsidiary, the millennial/apocalyptical Prophesy, in 2001 won a MOBO Award and a BBC Radio 3 Music Award.
Sawhney's music is influenced by his roots in India, utilising and featuring Urdu and Hindi lyrics, Qawwali singing, tablas and other instruments from the subcontinent, and Raga phrasings in music which is often primarily meant for the dance floor.
Sawhney's work in production and arrangement has led to his working in film and television scores. He has scored television ads for Sephora and Nike, as well as more than 25 films from his London-based Spirit Dance Studios. He was nominated for an Ivor Novello Award for Film and TV Composition in 2004 for his music on Channel Four's film, Second Generation. From there, he has begun to see acceptance from the "classical" community, and in 2004 he was commissioned by the city of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and the Britten Symphonia to compose new performance works. London's Royal National Theatre invited him to write, direct, and score a work to be opened in 2005.
For photographs and additional information visit Nitin's official site, www.NitinSawhney.com
Eastern Eyes
Nitin Sawhney Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When the western skies of a broken dawn
In the first embrace of a haunted smile
With the hopeful eyes of an alien child
I was taken by the hand from the ocean to the sand
From the half-light to the day
I have come to find my way
In the burning sheets of a neighbor's pain
With the sweat of a night and the summer rain
In the cry of birth and the death of fear
For the hope of a light and the joy of tears
I was taken by the hand from the ocean to the sand
From the half-light to the day
I have come to find my way
I have come to find my way
From the tainted screen of a surgeon mind
From the tear-stained face of a haunted kind
From the shade of death and the flame of life
From the [unverified] blade of a surgeon's knife
I was taken by the hand from the ocean to the sand
From the half-light to the day
I have come to find my way
I have come to find my way
Eastern, eastern eyes, your eyes
For these eastern, eastern, eastern, eastern eyes
For these eastern, eastern eyes
For these eastern eyes
Eastern eyes, eastern eyes, eastern eyes
Eastern, eastern, eastern eyes
Eastern, eastern, eastern eyes
Eastern, eastern eyes
The lyrics of Nitin Sawhney's song "Eastern Eyes" depict the journey of an individual who finds their way to a new life. The song starts with the reference to the "eastern eyes" of a person who has been reborn again, while the western sky breaks into a new dawn. The imagery of hopefulness and new beginnings is further enhanced by the "haunted smile" and "hopeful eyes of an alien child." This signifies that the individual is starting a new life journey and is looking for guidance.
As the song progresses, it speaks of the burning pain of a neighbor, born through the night and summer rain, and the cry of birth amid the fear of death. However, these horrors are juxtaposed with the joy of hope and the tears of happiness. These lines symbolize the complex nature of life and the fact that there can never be a complete triumph of either good or bad.
The third verse of the song is somewhat darker, referencing a "tainted screen of a surgeon's mind" and the "tear-stained face of a haunted kind," which gives the impression of a metaphorical surgery, where the soul is being sliced and mended. Finally, the song comes full circle and ends with a reference to the "Eastern Eyes," which perhaps signifies the eventual triumph of hope over fear and adversity.
Line by Line Meaning
For the eastern eyes of a life reborn
For the eyes of someone born and raised in an Eastern culture who is experiencing a new, reborn life
When the western skies of a broken dawn
When the sun rises in the West, indicating a negative, broken start to the day
In the first embrace of a haunted smile
In a smile that is tinged with sadness, like one haunted by memories
With the hopeful eyes of an alien child
With optimistic eyes, like those of a child experiencing something new and foreign for the first time
In the burning sheets of a neighbor's pain
Amidst the agony of someone's pain, felt perhaps by a neighbor
With the sweat of a night and the summer rain
With dripping sweat from a hot, humid summer night mixed with the rain
In the cry of birth and the death of fear
In the screams of childbirth and the relief from fear
For the hope of a light and the joy of tears
For the optimism that a light at the end of the tunnel brings, and the happiness of crying joyful tears
From the tainted screen of a surgeon mind
From the corrupted thoughts of a surgeon's mind
From the tear-stained face of a haunted kind
From the tormented expression of someone who has suffered greatly
From the shade of death and the flame of life
From the shadowy brink of death, balanced with the inspiring fire of life
From the unverified blade of a surgeon's knife
From the unproven effectiveness of a surgeon's scalpel
Eastern, eastern eyes, your eyes
Referencing the eyes of someone from the East
For these eastern, eastern, eastern, eastern eyes
Highlighting the uniqueness and importance of these particular eyes
For these eastern, eastern eyes
For the eyes of someone from the East
For these eastern eyes
For the unique and meaningful eyes of someone from the East
Eastern eyes, eastern eyes, eastern eyes
Repeatedly emphasizing the cultural significance of these eyes
Eastern, eastern, eastern eyes
Further reinforcing the importance of these particular eyes
Eastern, eastern, eastern eyes
The emphasis continues, underscoring the need to recognize the value of these eyes
Eastern, eastern eyes
Finally, a more concise repetition - the importance of the eyes from the East is undeniable
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC
Written by: KEVIN MARK TRAIL, NITIN SAWHNEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Kaerbanogue
For the eastern eyes of a life reborn
When the western skies of a broken dawn
In the first embrace of a haunted smile
With the hopeful eyes of an alien child
I was taken by the hand from the ocean to the sand
From the half-light to the day
I have come to find my way (2x)
In the burning sheets of a neighbor's pain
With the sweat of a night and the summer rain
In the cry of birth and the death of fear
For the hope of a light and the joy of tears
I was taken by the hand from the ocean to the sand
From the half-light to the day
I have come to find my way (2x)
From the tainted screen of a surgeon mind
From the tear-stained face of a haunted kind
From the shade of death and the flame of life
From the blade of a surgeon's knife
I was taken by the hand from the ocean to the sand
From the half-light to the day
I have come to find my way (2x)
Eastern, eastern eyes, your eyes
For these eastern, eastern, eastern, eastern eyes
For these eastern, eastern eyes
For these eastern eyes
Eastern eyes, eastern eyes, eastern eyes
Eastern, eastern, eastern eyes
Eastern, eastern, eastern eyes
Eastern, eastern eyes
Paroliers (lyrics by): Kevin Mark Trail / Nitin Sawhney