Eyes Shut

"Eyes Shut" is a 2015 single by Years & Years. It was produced by Mike Spencer. Two remixes were released on 10 October 2015.

"Eyes Shut"
Single by Olly Alexander (Years & Years)
from the album Communion
Released	13 November 2015
Recorded	2014–15
Genre	Synth-pop alternative R&B
Length	3:18 (album version) 3:24 (original mix)
Label	Polydor Interscope
Songwriter(s)	Oliver Alexander Thornton Resul Emre Turkmen Michael Thomas "Mikey" Goldsworthy Mark Ralph
Producer(s)	Years & Years Ralph Two Inch Punch Mike Spencer
Olly Alexander (Years & Years) singles chronology
"Shine" (2015) "Eyes Shut" (2015) "Desire" (2016)

Background

Describing the writing process, Alexander explained that "The song is about self preservation and wanting to hide from disaster. At the time I wrote it I was feeling very depressed so it was a bit more introspective than the other songs. I wrote it to be kind of a personal torch song".^[1]

Music video

A music video was produced for the song. It shows frontman Olly Alexander musing the remains of a post-apocalyptic society.^[2] It was shot on the outskirts of Bulgaria's capital, Sofia.^[3] it was released on 28 September 2015. The director is Chino Moya.^[4]

Track listing

Digital download – Remixes^[5]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Eyes Shut" (Honne Remix)	3:48
2.	"Eyes Shut" (Sam Feldt Remix)	5:06
3.	"Eyes Shut" (Tei Shi Remix)	3:01
4.	"Eyes Shut" (Danny Dove Remix)	2:51

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts Chart (2015–16) Peak position Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)[6] 3 Ireland (IRMA)[7] 25 Scotland (OCC)[8] 11 Slovenia (SloTop50)[9] 41 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[10] 86 UK Singles (OCC)[11] 17

Year-end charts Chart (2016) Position UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[12] 96 Certifications Region Certification Certified units/sales Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[13] Gold 45,000‡ Poland (ZPAV)[14] Gold 10,000‡ Sweden (GLF)[15] Gold 20,000‡ United Kingdom (BPI)[16] Platinum 600,000‡ ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.