I Close My Eyes and Count to Ten

"I Close My Eyes and Count to Ten" is a song written by Clive Westlake and recorded by British singer Dusty Springfield. Recorded June 1, 1968, at Chappel Studios in London, "I Close My Eyes..." was released that August to reach No. 4 in the UK Singles Chart,^[1] where it ranks as one of Springfield's biggest hits: of her solo singles only "I Just Don't Know What to Do With Myself" (No. 3) and "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" (No. 1) outrank "I Close My Eyes..." while "I Only Want to Be with You" matches its No. 4 peak (although "I Only Want to Be With You" charted substantially longer than "I Close My Eyes...", eighteen weeks as opposed to twelve).^[1]

In the US, "I Close My Eyes..." was Springfield's final release on the Phillips label, Springfield having signed in June 1968 to have Atlantic Records be her US label of release as of that August; consequently the single was virtually ignored in the US reaching No. 122 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart in Billboard. (The US release of "I Close My Eyes..." replaced the UK B-side "No Stranger Am I" with Springfield's rendition of "La Bamba".)

Notable cover versions

• Fausto Leali as "Chiudo gli occhi e conto a sei" #20 (Italy) (1968)
• Lola Novaković as "Zaklopim Oči I Brojim" (1968)
• Radmila Karaklajić as "Zatvaram Oči I Brojim Do Deset") (1968)
• Heidi Brühl as "Ich schließe meine Augen" (1969)
• Séverine as "Je ferme les yeux, je compte dix" (1969)
• Raya as "Syliis saat mut puristaa" (1969)
• Pasha Hristova as "Neka tozi mig da spre" (1970)
• Helena Blehárová as "Až oči mé se rozevřou" (1970)
• Anni-Frid Lyngstad as "Du var främling här igår" (1970)
• Lena Valaitis as "Und ich schließe meine Augen" (1975)
• Tina York as"Und ich schließe meine Augen" (1977)
• The Simon Orchestra (1979)
• Jane Aire and the Belvederes (1982)
• Tracey Ullman (1983)
• Paul Young (1983)
• Udo Lindenberg as "Die Augen zu (I close my eyes and count to ten)" (1991)
• Maarit Peltoniemi as "Syliis saat mut puristaa" (2000)
• Horse McDonald (2000)
• Laban (1987)
• Marc Almond & Sarah Cracknell (2007)
• The Lover Speaks (1987)
• Matt Monro
• Matt Monro, Jr. & Matt Monro (2005)

In popular culture

Dusty Springfield's version of the song was used in Hollyoaks soundtrack episode dated 20 September 2007 (the departure episode where the character Craig Dean left the series leaving boyfriend John Paul McQueen behind).

The song is also used in the two-part Cracker story "True Romance", in which a lab technician always plays Dusty Springfield's original while preparing to murder her unsuspecting student victims.

References