Far Away Eyes

I was driving home early sunday morning through Bakersfield
Listening to gospel music on the colored radio station
And the preacher said "You know you always have the
Lord by your side"

And I was so pleased to be informed of this that I ran
Twenty red lights in his honor
Thank you Jesus, thank you lord

I had an arrangement to meet a girl, and I was kind of late
And I thought by the time i got there she'd be off, she'd be
Off with the nearest truck driver she could find
Much to my surprise, there she was sittin in the corner
A little bleary, worse for wear and tear
Was a girl with far away eyes

So if you're down on your luck
And you can't harmonize
Find a girl with far away
And if you're downright disgusted
And life ain't worth a dime
Get a girl with far away eyes

Well the preacher kept right on saying that all I had to do was send
10 dollars to the church of the sacred bleeding heart of Jesus,
Located somewhere in Los Angeles, California
And next week they'd say my prayer on the radio and all my
Dreams would come true
So I did, the next week, I got a prayer with a girl
Well, you know what kind of eyes she got

So if you're down on your luck
I know you all sympathize
Find a girl with far away eyes
And if you're downright disgusted
And life ain't worth a dime
Get a girl with far away eyes



- Released May 18, 1978

- The Stones, longtime country music fans, incorporated many aspects of Bakersfield-style country music into this song. These included in particular Ron Wood's use of a pedal steel guitar for a solo and highlights

- In a 1978 interview with Rolling Stone magazine, [Mick] Jagger said, "You know, when you drive through Bakersfield on a Sunday morning or Sunday evening - I did that about six months ago - all the country music radio stations start broadcasting black gospel services live from L.A. And that's what the song refers to. But the song's really about driving alone, listening to the radio." On influences, Jagger stated "I wouldn't say this song was influenced specifically by Gram (Parsons). That idea of country music played slightly tongue in cheek - Gram had that in 'Drugstore Truck Drivin' Man', and we have that sardonic quality, too." Asked by the interviewer if the girl in the song was a real one, Jagger replied, "Yeah, she's real, she's a real girl."

- In the 1950s and -60s, local [Bakersfield, California] musicians such as Bill Woods, Tommy Collins, Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, and Wynn Stewart developed a streamlined country music style called the Bakersfield sound, which emphasized pedal steel guitar, the Fender Telecaster electric guitar and intense vocals. Bakersfield country was considered a spinoff of the honky-tonk style of country music that emerged from Texas, appropriate since many musicians there hailed from either Texas or surrounding states.