Bette Midler

Released: November 7, 1980

Songwriter: Tom Jans

Producer: Dennis Kirk

I think I'll sing you a little ballad
It's a new one
I just learnt it
Oh, I hope you like it

Got my mother's eyes and my father's hair
Does anybody really care?
It's gettin' cold out here

Well, I keep walkin' with my head held high
With my head to the sky
With my mother's eyes

And my mother's eyes are with me
In the darkness that's been paid for
I'm just a nameless stranger, don't know why

Have I seen all that I could?
Have I seen more than I should
With my mother's eyes?

Have I seen all that I could?
Have I seen more than I should
With my mother's eyes?

And my mother's eyes are with me
In the chilly winds of autumn
If I ain't here by winter, she'll know why

I've seen all that I dare
I've seen more than my share
Forgive me if I stare with my mother's eyes

Bette Midler is a Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, comedienne and actress. Named in honor of Bette Davis, Midler’s career began performing off-broadway until she developed the stage persona The Divine Miss M while singing at the world-famous Continental Baths gay bathhouse. A pre-fame Barry Manilow, the venue’s in-house piano player, produced her Grammy-nominated debut album which scored three US top 40 singles including the Grammy-nominated “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy”. Midler took home the Best New Artist Grammy that year, her first of three career wins.

Throughout the 1970s, Midler found further success with music, Broadway, television and film. The Rose, Midler’s 1979 acting debut, earned her both Oscar and Academy Award nominations, and its namesake song won her a Golden Globe and another Grammy – also giving Midler her first success overseas.

The early 1980s proved less successful for Midler with four under-performing singles and a box office flop with the film Jinxed. However, the second half of the decade would prove far more fruitful with a handful of very successful films including Down and Out in Beverly Hills, Ruthless People, Outrageous Fortune and Beaches, the latter featuring a chart-topping cover of “Wind Beneath My Wings” that won Midler her third Grammy and is considered one of the greatest songs in American film history.

more tracks from the album

Divine Madness

From the album

Divine Madness (1980)

Bette Midler popular songs

My Mother’s EyesBette Midler

Bette Midler

Divine Madness