The Eyes

In which the secrets to Muttiah Muralitharan’s success are revealed.

 

About the Song

The Eyes was inspired by the feats of Sri Lankan off-spin legend Muttiah Muralitharan, whose 800 Test wickets remains the world record for most individual Test wickets.

Unless someone has beaten it since I wrote this, of course, and I inevitably forgot to update the above intro. Which is the usual sort of rubbish you can expect on the Interwebs.

Murali’s eyes would widen alarmingly when taking the leap into his delivery stride – I could feel them. I imagine batsmen could too. And it’s time somebody said something about them.

To take 800 Test wickets requires cunning, trickery and mystery. You need to be able to sell the lie and have the batsmen believe it, time after time after time.

You need to be an international man of mystery. A snake oil salesman. And you need The Eyes.

Video

 

Lyrics

Click the green links for lyric explanations, then click them again to go back to the lyric

 

In the shadows of the day he’ll be plotting your doom
With a plan that comes together in the gathering gloom
When he winds up for the wrong ‘un it should come as no surprise +A spinner has a stock ball that turns one way - the wrong 'un unexpectedly turns the other way - To feel the eyes, those damn eyes

You’ll find him at the Ritz or in a Learjet over France
In the members’ lounge at Lord’s or in a Himalayan trance
He’s an international playboy and a master of disguise +In other words, an international man of mystery - the very feature that help him dazzle and beguile his way to 800 Test wickets - He’s got the eyes, those damn eyes

Spinner-man – take a walk down your memory lane
Spinner-man – it’s a long old road filled with heartache and pain
Spinner-man – you proved it time and time and time and time again
That the sword is mightier than the pen +A play on the more usual 'The pen is mightier than the sword', which was written by some guy using a pen and not a sword. And whilst he was earnestly writing that, tongue protruding slightly from the effort and a sense of his own importance in the greater scheme of human history, the guy with the big-ass, sharp-ass sword came in and quietly, without much fuss, drove it through the writer's cold black heart. Won the day, got the girl and was back home in time for tea and medals before anyone noticed. Or to be more contextual about it: Murali didn't sit around moaning about his feelings in rhyming couplets, hoping to conjure up a wicket. - You proved the sword is mightier than the pen
You proved the sword is mightier than the pen, Spinner-man
The sword is mightier than the pen

He’s a snake oil salesman with an easy smile +A slimy sales guy trying to sell you a lie - 800 graves in Potter’s Field are proof he went the extra mile +He took 800 Test wickets and Potter's Field refers to a pauper's grave. Who remembers the poor 800 saps? #179 is no better than #587. All the same to Murali. - He’s got alligator shoes and a briefcase full of lies +Another reference to shady salesmen - the easy smile, the too-expensive shoes in bad taste, the briefcase filled with shiny promises that inevitably get broken, parting the fool with his money. That's Murali for you. Selling 'The Lie' outside off. 800 goodpeople believed him. - And of course the eyes, those damn eyes

He’s an evangelist of evil, a disciple of death +It's getting biblical now - The last thing you’ll inhale will be the madman’s rotting breath +I sometimes wonder if the madman's breath was ever actually quite fresh - recently toothpasted, smelling of fresh mint and a hint of sage in an English meadow on a sharp spring morning. But prob'ly not. Rotting. - He leaves behind his victims for the vultures and the flies +Well that's getting a little silly now, but the song had to go somewhere - you can't just sit around dialling it in, hoping for better days. Gotta crack on, man. - No more the eyes, those damn eyes

Spinner-man – take a walk down your memory lane
Spinner-man – it’s a long old road filled with heartache and pain
Spinner-man – you proved it time and time and time and time again
That the sword is mightier than the pen
You proved the sword is mightier than the pen
You proved the sword is mightier than the pen, Spinner-man
The sword is mightier than the pen

 

Audio