Sparkle Eyes may be one of the most thoughtful love songs you'll see in the indie world, but writing and producing it wasn't exactly a product of cupid. Singer-songwriter Matthew de Zoete explains the origins of his romantic masterpiece.

by Matthew de Zoete
20 March 2008

Sparkle Eyes is the most commercial song I've written. Not because it's the most radio friendly or because it's being used to sell underwear from Zellers, but because it was commissioned by a paying customer. Here's the story.

In the summer of 2005, a friend of mine (let's call him Bill as his name is Bill and there are enough Bills out there for this one to remain anonymous) approached me with a favour to ask. He had recently started dating a new girlfriend, and he thought it'd be swell if he took her to a concert of mine at which I would play a song I'd written as a love letter from him to her. He'd let her in on the romantic secret, her eyes would get glassy, and they'd smooch. The proposition sounded like a nice favour for a friend and a great songwriting exercise, so I agreed to write the song.

The deal was sweetened when Bill, who's an auto body specialist by trade, offered to repaint my '92 VW Golf.

To get the creative juices flowing and to give me some insight into their relationship, Bill gave me an email his girlfriend had written to him. It was personal, without being sordid (sorry), and included the phrase "you have come the sparkle in my eye". I found the email, and that line in particular, to be great songwriting fodder, so I sat down with my guitar and got to work.

The tune and basic lyrical idea came together quickly, but then I reached an impasse: from whose point of view should I write the song? Should the song be a summary of her words to him, which had given me the original idea for the song, or should it be his response?

I vacilated and procrastinated for a while before reaching an obvious decision: I'd sit on the fence and make the song a duet.

I finished the lyric, assigned some gender roles, and took the song into the studio. The lovely Julie Fader was kind enough to join me on vocals (if you like, check her out at www.juliefader.com).

Bill was quite pleased with the song, and I was tickled with the paint job he gave my car. I'm sure his girlfriend would have loved the song as well if they hadn't broken up before she heard it, but I still have and love my '92 Golf.

So, don't get too bogged down in the mush of "Sparkle Eyes" - it's just a crass commercial number with a bit of heart.

Sparkle Eyes is featured on TEA Volume 9, from Toronto Experimental Artists. It also takes centre stage on Matthew's album "Across the Sea" which can be found here. Matthew's is currently hard at work with a new record which is due to be released later this year, and for more information and for Matthew's touring schedule, check out his personal site by clicking here.