Songfacts®:

• This tune is about fighting back against pain. "The fighter in me wrote that song," Shaina Twain told Rolling Stone. "I was thinking of a boxer taking a swing, or a baby first coming out with his eyes and fists closed. They can't even see yet and they're swinging with their eyes closed."
• The song was recorded for Now, Twain's first new studio album in fifteen years. The tone of many of the tracks changed dramatically during the record's long journey to completion. "Most of them started off quite melancholy and a lot darker," Twain said. "'Swinging With My Eyes Closed' was totally dark at the beginning. It's just all of a sudden the light went on and there was light as well as darkness. There's a lot of songs that have that contrast on it that maybe are too subtle for the listener to even realize."
• Shania Twain debuted the song during her Today performance on June 16, 2017.
• This triumphant track opens Shania Twain's Now album. She explained to Radio.com why she chose to introduce the record with this song.
  
  "Whether it's joy or pain, the first thing we do when we experience a feeling is close our eyes," Twain said. "If you watch newborn babies, their eyes aren't open yet, but they're waving their fists in front of them. They're swingin' with their eyes closed. This is who we are intrinsically. I've often gone through things with my fists forward like, 'I don't know if what's coming is going to be good or bad, but dammit, I'm ready for it'."