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Eyes Open

Lead Single | The Hunger Games: Songs from District 12 and Beyond (2012)

“Eyes Open” is a song written and recorded by Taylor for the soundtrack album The Hunger Games: Songs from District 12 and Beyond (2012). The lyrics encourage Katniss Everdeen to survive the games by staying alert. The song is not included in the film but was released as the lead single from the album. The re-recording of the song, titled “Eyes Open (Taylor’s Version)”, was released on March 17, 2023, via Republic Records.
“Eyes Open” was one of two songs that Taylor wrote and recorded for the soundtrack to the film The Hunger Games, the other one being “Safe & Sound“. She first premiered the song during a performance in Auckland (New Zealand) on her “Speak Now World Tour” (2011-2012).
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Background and Lyrical Theme

Taylor read The Hunger Games before she wrote the songs so she could really delve into Katniss’s character. In the Hunger Games, 24 kids are chosen from each district, some by lottery, some train for it their whole lives. They all head to the Capitol for the annual Hunger Games. The competitors are placed in an arena with cameras filming their every move. Everybody is “watching to see the fallout”. The kids’ main goal is to kill all the other competitors. If they manage to do this they win the games and get to live the rest of their life within their district. Taylor said:

«I wrote it about Katniss’ relationship with the Capitol. It basically serves as a warning for her not to trust anyone, in many ways it is the opposite of ‘Safe & Sound.'»

Besides the meaning linked to The Hunger Games, “Eyes Open” can be interpreted as something more. It is a metaphor for what happens when you grow up, step into real life and realize you’re on your own and everything depends on you, while in your early years you were looking forward to that; and then suddenly you realize life as an adult is pretty different from how you imagined it.

Live Performances

Taylor first performed “Eyes Open” during one of her last stops on the “Speak Now World Tour” in Auckland (New Zealand) on March 17, 2012. It was part of the encore. She notably also sang the song during her concert for VH1 Storytellers in October 2012. Twelve years later, Taylor chose “Eyes Open” as the first surprise song for her “The Eras Tour” show on February 8, 2024, in Tokyo. Before playing the song acoustically on guitar, she said:

«Wish me luck because this is the maiden voyage of this song on this tour. I can’t remember ever playing this live before, but I love this one, and I really relate to it. It really resonates with me a lot, which makes sense because I wrote it. But I wrote it for a soundtrack. It was originally written for the Hunger Games soundtrack. It’s called 'Eyes Open!'»

Critical Reception

“Eyes Open” garnered critical acclaim from contemporary critics — most of whom favorably noted the song’s more rock-oriented tone as compared to Taylor’s previous releases. While reviewing The Hunger Games: Songs from District 12 and Beyond, Matt Bjorke named “Eyes Open” one of the “standouts” on the record. Scott Shetler of Pop Crush gave the song four stars saying that “Eyes Open” “bridges the gap between Swift’s typical radio-friendly tales about the teenage experience and her most recent release, the mature, haunting ballad ‘Safe & Sound'”, but described the production of the song to be “the least country-sounding song Swift has ever recorded.” Jason Lipshutz of Billboard also found the same description of the song – stating that it “[exists] more in the modern rock vein than her usual country-pop oeuvre.”

Commercial Performance

“Eyes Open” entered the Billboard Hot 100 as the Hot Shot Debut at No. 19 with sales of 176,000 in its first week. It debuted on the Billboard Pop Songs chart at No. 28, making it Taylor’s highest Pop Songs chart debut at the time, later overtaken by “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” which debuted at No. 18. It became Taylor’s 16th million-seller and her second million-seller from the soundtrack to The Hunger Games. “Eyes Open” has sold 1.4 million copies in the US as of November 2017.

Accolades

In 2012, “Eyes Open” won the award for “Choice Single by a Female Artist” at the Teen Choice Awards.

Taylor's Version

A re-recorded version of “Eyes Open”, titled “Eyes Open (Taylor’s Version)”, was released by Taylor on March 17, 2023, via Republic Records. The song is part of her re-recording plan following the dispute over the ownership of the masters of her older discography.

Lyrics

[Intro]
Everybody’s waiting
Everybody’s watching
Even when you’re sleeping
Keep your ey-eyes open

[Verse 1]
The tricky thing
Is yesterday we were just children
Playing soldiers, just pretending
Dreaming dreams with happy endings
In backyards, winning battles with our wooden swords
But now we’ve stepped into a cruel world
Where everybody stands and keeps score
Keep your eyes open

[Chorus]
Everybody’s waiting for you to breakdown
Everybody’s watching to see the fallout
Even when you’re sleeping, sleeping
Keep your ey-eyes open
Keep your ey-eyes open
Keep your ey-eyes open

[Verse 2]
So here you are, two steps ahead and staying on guard
Every lesson forms a new scar
They never thought you’d make it this far
But turn around (Turn around)
Oh, they’ve surrounded you
It’s a showdown (Showdown)
And nobody comes to save you now
But you’ve got something they don’t
Yeah, you’ve got something they don’t
You just gotta keep your ey-eyes open

[Chorus]
Everybody’s waiting for you to breakdown
Everybody’s watching to see the fallout
Even when you’re sleeping, sleeping
Keep your ey-eyes open
Keep your ey-eyes open
Keep your ey-eyes

[Bridge]
Keep your feet ready
Heartbeat steady
Keep your eyes open
Keep your aim locked
The night goes dark
Keep your eyes open (Keep your eyes open)

[Chorus]
Everybody’s waiting for you to breakdown
Everybody’s watching to see the fallout
Even when you’re sleeping, sleeping
Keep your ey-eyes open
Keep your ey-eyes open
Keep your ey-eyes open
Keep your ey-eyes open
Keep your ey-eyes open

General Information
ArtistTaylor Swift
ReleasedMarch 27, 2012
Re-ReleasedMarch 17, 2023
Written2011
GenreAlternative Rock
Length4:03
LabelsBig Machine Records
Republic Records
SongwriterTaylor Swift
ProducersNathan Chapman (original)
Taylor Swift
Christopher Rowe
Paul Mirkovich
Single Certification
"Platinum" certification by the Recording Industry Association of America. Signifying 1,000,000 units sold.
Single Artwork
Live Performance
Taylor's Version
Lyric Video
Original Audio