Bridie's Eyes

Album: Twist (2010)
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Songfacts®:

  • Pop singer-songwriter Kelley Ryan's first solo album since shedding the moniker astroPuppees finds her singing about an elderly woman she knew in Ireland, where one of her studios is located. "She has Alzheimer's. And, when you listen to the song, that is partially what it's about. She started wandering around the hills here and people couldn't find her. People in the neighborhood would kind of take care of her," Ryan explained to interviewer Trevor McShane.

    "She lived in a super old, little cottage, with the old Irish walls that are 3 feet thick. No bathroom. No running water. She lived with her dog Rose. Every day we would see her walk past our cottage here with a walking stick. She'd climb down the cliff to the beach, carrying a little sack-like thing, and she'd come up with driftwood that was her heat for her cottage. She was completely from another era. I could barely understand her when she talked. She was always laughing. Her eyes were almost too blue. She was a walking song. I'd always wanted to write a song about her. In this case, [Don] Dixon had sent me a lovely melody, and as I was sitting outside playing it, Bridie walked by and I thought, 'there are the words!'"
  • Twist was co-produced by Ryan's longtime collaborator and friend Don Dixon, who also plays bass on many of the tracks. "Bridie's Eyes," as well as "Beautiful Child," features string arrangements from Van Dyke Parks.

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