Color in My Eyes

words and music by Doug Howell (18 Jan 1977)

this morning when the sun rose
there was a rainbow in the clouds at the horizon
it made a circle ’round the sun
to warn the fleeing darkness
a multicolored halo
a ring to wed the weeping with the joy

and when the night had broken
the colors ran to take there proper places
the blue filled all the sky
the yellow crowned the sun
the green was told to wait another season
and whiteness fell to cover all the rest
and some fell in my eyes
and in my heart

You are the sunrise in my morning
You are the rainbow in my sky
the darkness must run
when I look in Your face
You are the color in my eyes

the moment I first saw You
there was a rainbow in the hope
so deep inside me
it made a circle ’round my heart
to warn the fleeing sadness
a crown for my Beloved
a ring to wed the laughter with the tears
to tell me I am Yours
and You are mine

1979 Notes

I closed my eyes and to my utter amazement found myself in a world completely different than the one with which I was so familiar. It was a land filled with the most vibrant colors imaginable. There were blues and reds and yellows such as I had never seen. They seemed to swirl about in the very air I breathed. And over everything—a blanket of purest white.

And just as the Singer described it—there was a rainbow. I had seen many rainbows in my life, but none of them ever seemed to have much to do with me. They were of the sky—I was of the earth. I had no wings, and had not the strength or faith to run after them. But this rainbow, made of the same intense colors that were everywhere, began right at my feet and soared upward toward the sun. I could not see where it led for the brightness, and yet it seemed there was someone—a person, clothed with light, sitting in the sun.

2007 Notes

This is one of the most “romantic” songs about the Lord I’ve ever written. My 1979 notes were pretty metaphorical, but they also pretty much describe the scene as it really was. I was on the road, heading North; it was a cold morning; there were sun dogs; then there was a rainbow, then a circle ’round the sun… It all fell into place. All. Every single thing had a meaning. Each color. In fact, everything had more than one meaning. The presence of one, the absence of another. The positive, the negative. It all had a purpose, somehow. There was such clarity. And hope. May we all have more moments like that!