Close My Eyes Forever

by Lita Ford Ozzy Osbourne

Baby, I get so scared inside
And I don't really understand
Is it love that's on my mind
Or is it fantasy?
Heaven, is in the palm of my hand
And it's waiting here for you
What am I supposed to do
With a childhood tragedy?
If I close my eyes forever
Would it all remain unchanged?
If I close my eyes forever
Would it all remain the same?
Sometimes, it's hard to hold on
So hard to hold on to my dreams
It isn't always what it seems
When you're face to face with me
Like a dagger you stick me in the heart
And taste the blood from my veins
And when we sleep would you shelter me
In your warm and darkened grave?
If I close my eyes forever
Would it all remain unchanged?
If I close my eyes forever
Would it all remain the same?
Will you ever take me?
No I just can't take the pain
Would you ever trust me?
No I'll never feel the same
(Oh)
I know I've been so hard on you
I know I've told you lies
If I could have just one more wish
I'd wipe the cobwebs from my eyes
If I close my eyes forever
Would it all remain unchanged?
If I close my eyes forever
Would it all remain the same?
(Oh yeah)
Close your eyes, close your eyes
You gotta close your eyes for me

Interpretations

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User Interpretation
# The Haunting Duality of "Close My Eyes Forever"

In the landscape of 1980s power ballads, "Close My Eyes Forever" stands as a uniquely haunting dialogue between two iconic voices of hard rock. The 1988 duet between Lita Ford and Ozzy Osbourne excavates emotional terrain far more complex than typical rock love songs of the era. At its core, the song explores a relationship balanced on the precipice of destruction, where vulnerability and pain intertwine with desire and dependency. The central question—whether closing one's eyes to reality would preserve an unchanging emotional state—reflects a universal human tendency to avoid painful truths in favor of comforting illusions.

The emotional palette of "Close My Eyes Forever" is remarkably nuanced, painting with shades of desperation, yearning, and melancholic resignation. When Ford confesses, "Baby, I get so scared inside/And I don't really understand/Is it love that's on my mind/Or is it fantasy?" she captures the fundamental uncertainty that haunts passionate relationships. Osbourne's response—"Like a dagger you stick me in the heart/And taste the blood from my veins"—introduces darker elements of pain and betrayal. This emotional oscillation between vulnerability and wounding creates the song's distinctive tension, suggesting that the line between love and destruction is perilously thin.

The songwriting employs striking imagery and metaphors that elevate the piece beyond typical rock balladry. References to heaven "in the palm of my hand" juxtaposed with the "childhood tragedy" create a stark contrast between potential bliss and formative trauma. The grave imagery—"when we sleep would you shelter me in your warm and darkened grave"—transforms intimacy into something both comforting and deadly. These gothic elements transform what might otherwise be a straightforward breakup song into a meditation on how relationships can simultaneously offer sanctuary and imprisonment.

What makes the song particularly compelling is its dramatic structure as a conversation between two wounded individuals. The call-and-response format between Ford and Osbourne creates a narrative of two people trapped in a dysfunctional relationship, each acknowledging their role in its deterioration. The confession "I know I've been so hard on you/I know I've told you lies" arrives late in the song, suggesting that self-awareness comes only after extensive emotional damage has occurred. This narrative complexity makes the song not merely about heartbreak but about the difficult process of confronting one's contributions to relationship failure.

The cultural significance of "Close My Eyes Forever" emerges partially from its timing—arriving as hair metal was reaching commercial saturation, the song offered a glimpse of emotional authenticity amid a genre often criticized for superficiality. Ford, as one of rock's most prominent female voices, brings a particular vulnerability to her sections that contrasts with yet complements Osbourne's weathered delivery. Their collaboration bridges different corners of rock's landscape, creating a conversation between the glam metal scene Ford inhabited and Osbourne's darker heavy metal world.

The lasting power of "Close My Eyes Forever" lies in its unflinching examination of human avoidance mechanisms. The repeated refrain—"If I close my eyes forever/Would it all remain unchanged?"—resonates because it captures a universal desire to freeze time at moments before pain arrives. The song's enduring appeal stems from its emotional honesty about relationships that damage us yet somehow remain difficult to leave behind. Three decades after its release, the ballad continues to speak to anyone who has ever been caught between the comfort of illusion and the necessity of facing painful truths—a timeless emotional conflict that transcends the song's 1980s origins and production values.
Posted on Jul 25, 2025 by Athena