Taylor Swift ‘Eyes Open’ Preview Hits the Web
Taylor Swift wrote and recorded another song for 'The Hunger Games' soundtrack. 'Eyes Open,' a power ballad that touched upon similar dark subject matter but with a slightly more hopeful outlook, hit the Internet in a the form of a one-minute snippet today.
'Eyes Open' sounds more like typical Taylor than 'Safe & Sound,' her duet with the Civil Wars, though it does lean more towards her pop instincts than her country roots.
The track has more arrangements and louder everything, from instrumentation to crescendos in Swift's vocals. The sixty-second clip takes a more literal, narrative look at 'The Hunger Games' story. Apparently told from the point of view of protagonist Katniss Everdeen, Swift sings about young people being thrust into a frightening world where violence becomes entertainment. "Everybody's waiting / Everybody's watching / Even when you're sleeping / Keep your eyes open," she sings in the introduction. Welcome to District 12.
Based on the one minute snippet, this song is a bit more Top 40-friendly than 'Safe & Sound,' but is still a slight departure from Swift's usual formula of wistful, high school cafeteria romance -- though she still addresses the youth of the song's subjects, singing, "Yesterday, we were just children." That may be true, but it sounds like Swift, as well as the characters who inspired her, are growing up fast.
Listen to Taylor Swift, 'Eyes Open' Preview