You Can Close Your Eyes Reflection by Rev. Nancy Brink
May 7, 2020
Some years ago—I got an idea. I heard an old James Taylor song come on the radio: You Can Close Your Eyes. In the song, James’ phrase, “close your eyes,” is about trust. And that day I imagined that the singer of the song is Jesus, building community among his followers, singing to all of us: “I can sing this song. And you can sing this song when I am gone.”
Ten years ago we started singing it at the end of the Disciples on Campus (DOC) sponsored Wednesday Night Worship. Here are the words:
Well the sun is surely sinking down
But the moon is slowly rising,
So this old world must still be spinning ’round
And I still love you.So close your eyes, you can close your eyes, it’s all right.
I don’t know no love songs and I can’t sing the blues anymore.
But I can sing this song and you can sing this song
When I’m gone.Well it won’t be long before another day.
We’re gonna have a good time.
And no one’s gonna take that time away–
You can stay as long as you like.Only close your eyes, you can close your eyes, it’s all right.
I don’t know no love songs and I can’t sing the blues anymore.
But I can sing this song and you can sing this song
When I’m gone.
So much has happened with this song.
- We sing it hopefully to incoming DOC students—“we’re gonna have good time.”
- We sing it soulfully on retreat—“and I still love you.”
- We sing it tearfully to graduating seniors—“You can sing this song when I’m gone.”
- I have had alumni long gone send me videos upon hearing the song on the radio in their car, the muzak in an elevator, a beach bar in Hawaii.
This school year one of our juniors, Becca Foster, started taping the song every time we sang it and she put it all together in a brief video. Enjoy.
Wednesday night worship still happens over Zoom. And it is a closing song about trust, the continuity of community, and the power of love that is helping us stay strong.