"I Close My Eyes and Count to Ten" is a song written by

Clive Westlake Gerald Clive Westlake (25 December 1932 – 17 June 2000)Dusty Springfield Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), known professionally as Dusty Springfield, was an English singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano sound, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, Pop music, p ...

. Recorded on 1 June 1968 at Chappel Studios in London, "I Close My Eyes..." was released that August to reach No. 4 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, where it ranks as one of Springfield's biggest hits: of her solo singles only " I Just Don't Know What to Do With Myself" (No. 3) and "

You Don't Have to Say You Love Me "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" (originally a 1965 Italian song, '"Io che non vivo (senza te)", by Pino Donaggio and Vito Pallavicini) is a 1966 hit recorded by English singer Dusty Springfield that proved to be her most successful single, re ...

" (No. 1) outrank "I Close My Eyes..." while "

I Only Want to Be with You "I Only Want to Be with You" is a song written by Mike Hawker and Ivor Raymonde. The debut solo single released by British singer Dusty Springfield under her long-time producer Johnny Franz, "I Only Want to Be with You" peaked at number 4 on th ...

" matches its No. 4 peak (although "I Only Want to Be With You" charted for substantially longer than "I Close My Eyes...", with eighteen weeks as opposed to twelve). In the US, "I Close My Eyes..." was Springfield's final release on the Phillips label, Springfield having signed in June 1968 to have

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

be her US label of release as of that August; consequently the single was virtually ignored in the US, reaching No. 122 on the

Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

chart in ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

''. (The US release of "I Close My Eyes..." replaced the UK

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

"No Stranger Am I" with Springfield's rendition of " La Bamba".) ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' said that it is an "exceptional lovesong with

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...

s that should excite listener response" and with "classical orchestration and a brilliant performance from Dusty Springfield."

Cover versions

Fausto Leali Faustino (Fausto) Leali (born 29 October 1944, Nuvolento, Brescia, Italy) is an Italian pop singer. Early life Leali began his musical career as a singer in several bands in his native Brescia. His first guitar teacher was Tullio Romano, of the ...

as "Chiudo gli occhi e conto a sei" No. 20 (Italy) (1968) * Lola Novaković as "Zaklopim Oči I Brojim" (1968) *

Radmila Karaklajić Radmila Karaklajić ( sr, Радмила Караклајић; 8 October 1939, Belgrade) is a Serbian singer and actress, Рeople's Аrtist of Yugoslavia, Рeople's Аrtist of Serbia. Karaklajić is most famous for her 1964 release ''Anđelina zu ...

as "Zatvaram Oči I Brojim Do Deset") (1968) *

Heidi Brühl Heidi Rosemarie Brühl (; 30 January 1942 – 8 June 1991) was a German singer and actress who came to prominence as a young teenager and had a prolific career in film and television. She was also a successful recording artist, and is known for ...

as "Ich schließe meine Augen" (1969) * Séverine as "Je ferme les yeux, je compte dix" (1969) * Raya as "Syliis saat mut puristaa" (1969) *

Pasha Hristova Parashkeva Hristova Stefanova ( bg, Парашкева Христова Стефанова), known artistically as Pasha Hristova ( bg, Паша Христова) (16 July 1946 - 21 December 1971) was a Bulgarian singer, best known for performing ...

as "Neka tozi mig da spre" (1970) *

Anni-Frid Lyngstad Princess Anni-Frid Synni Reuss, Countess of Plauen (born Anni-Frid Synni Lyngstad on 15 November 1945), also known by her nickname "Frida", is a Norwegian-born Swedish singer, songwriter and environmentalist, who is best known as one of the foun ...

as "Du var främling här igår" (1970) *

Lena Valaitis Lena Valaitis (born 7 September 1943) is a Lithuanian–German schlager singer who had her greatest success during the 1970s and 1980s. She finished second at the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest. Early life and education Valaitis was born on 7 Se ...

as "Und ich schließe meine Augen" (1975) *

Matt Monro Matt Monro (born Terence Edward Parsons, 1 December 1930 – 7 February 1985) was an English singer. Known as "The Man with the Golden Voice", he performed internationally during his 30-year career. AllMusic has described Monro as "one of the m ...

(1975) * The Simon Orchestra (1979) * Jane Aire and the Belvederes (1982) *

Tracey Ullman Tracey Ullman (born Trace Ullman, 30 December 1959) is a British-American actress, comedian, singer, writer, producer, and director. Her earliest mainstream appearances were on British television sketch comedy shows ''A Kick Up the Eighties'' (wi ...

(1983) *

Paul Young Paul Antony Young (born 17 January 1956) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. Formerly the frontman of the short-lived bands Kat Kool & the Kool Cats, Streetband and Q-Tips, he became a teen idol with his solo success in the 1980s. ...

(1983) *

Laban Laban is a French surname. It may refer to: Places * Laban-e Olya, a village in Iran * Laban-e Sofla, a village in Iran * Laban, Virginia, an unincorporated community in the United States * 8539 Laban, main-belt asteroid People Surname *Ahm ...

(1987) *

The Lover Speaks The Lover Speaks were an English new wave duo consisting of David Freeman (vocals) and Joseph Hughes (arranger, composer). They wrote and sang the original version of the song "No More "I Love You's"", covered by Annie Lennox in 1995 on her ...

(1987) *

Udo Lindenberg Udo Lindenberg (born 17 May 1946) is a German singer, drummer, and composer. Career Lindenberg started his musical career as a drummer. In 1969, he founded his first band Free Orbit, and also appeared as a studio and guest musician (with Micha ...

as "Die Augen zu (I close my eyes and count to ten)" (1991) * Maarit Peltoniemi as "Syliis saat mut puristaa" (2000) *

Horse McDonald Horse McDonald (born Sheena Mary McDonald, 22 November 1958) is a Scottish singer-songwriter. She is noted mainly for her rich, sonorous voice, and ''The Scotsman'' referred to her as "One of Scotland's all-time great vocalists, also possesse ...

(2000) * Matt Monro Jnr and

(2005) *

Marc Almond Peter Mark Sinclair "Marc" Almond, (born 9 July 1957) is an English singer. Almond first began performing and recording in the synthpop/ new wave duo Soft Cell where he became known for his distinctive soulful voice and androgynous image. He ...

and

Sarah Cracknell Sarah Cracknell (born 12 April 1967) is an English singer-songwriter and lead singer of the electronic music band Saint Etienne. Career Cracknell's career started with the Windsor-based indie band The Worried Parachutes in 1982. Following the d ...

(2007) *

Mari Wilson Mari Macmillan Ramsay Wilson (born 29 September 1954, Neasden, London) is a British pop and jazz singer. She is best known for her 1982 UK top-10 hit single "Just What I Always Wanted" and her 1960s image complete with beehive hairstyle. Care ...

(2016)

References

1968 singles Dusty Springfield songs 1968 songs The Lover Speaks songs Songs written by Clive Westlake Philips Records singles {{1960s-pop-song-stub