Lyr Req: Sometimes I Wish(Carole Etzler Eagleheart

03 Mar 99 - 09:44 PM (#61204)
Subject: Lyrics search: I wish my eyes had never been
From: [e-mail]

I'm looking for lyrics to a hymn or gospel poem that include the line, "Sometimes I wish my eyes had never been opened." I'd be grateful if someone recognizes this and can tell me more about the song or poem.

Thanks, Uncle Bob Bassist for the Hillwallys Flagstaff, AZ

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23 Dec 07 - 12:26 AM (#2221211)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: I wish my eyes had never been opened
From: Jim Dixon

I found this quote:

Sometimes I wish my eyes hadn't been opened
Sometimes I wish I could no longer see
All of the pain and the hurt and the longing of my
Sisters and me as we try to be free
Sometimes I wish my eyes hadn't been opened,
Just for an hour, how sweet it would be
Not to be struggling, not to be striving,
But just sleep securely in our slavery.

Several web sites quote the line "Sometimes I wish my eyes hadn't been opened" and some of them say the line is from a song by Carole Etzler, but none of them explicitly say what the song title is, or what album it's from.

Carole Etzler recorded at least 4 albums: "Sometimes I Wish" (1976) and "Womanriver Flowing On" (1978) "Thirteen Ships" (1985) "Rainbows in My Mind" (2000).

One site said Carole Etzler changed her name to Carole Eagleheart. I found some sites that mention "Carole Etzler Eagleheart."

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24 Feb 10 - 06:28 AM (#2848543)
Subject: Lyr Add: SOMETIMES I WISH(Carole Etzler Eagleheart
From: Jim Dixon

Here's a longer quote (perhaps the whole song) from Women and Leadership in the Baptist Convention of South Africa by Nelson Hayashida (Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library, 2005), page 21:


Sometimes I wish my eyes hadn't been opened.
Sometimes I wish I could no longer see
All of the pain, the hurt and the longing
Of my sisters and I as we try to be free.

Sometimes I wish my eyes hadn't been opened.
Just for an hour, how sweet it would be
Not to be struggling, not to be striving,
But just sleep securely in our slavery.

But now that I see with my eyes, I can't close them,
Because deep inside me somewhere I'd still know
The road that my sisters and I have to travel.
My heart would say yes, and my feet would say go!

Sometimes I wish my eyes hadn't been opened
But now that they have, I'm determined to see
That somehow my sisters and I will be one day
The free people we were created to be.


[Some web sites give the title SOMETIMES I WISH, with this attribution:

Words and Music By Carole Etzler, 1974 published by Sisters Unlimited, RR 1 Box 1420, Bridgeport, VT 05734.]

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17 Jul 11 - 07:35 AM (#3189342)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Sometimes I Wish (Carol Etzler)
From: GUEST,Carole Etzler Eagleheart

Glad to hear my song is still alive.

If you need to reach me to talk about the song or get permission to publish, I'm at [e-mail]

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24 Oct 15 - 03:57 PM (#3746401)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Sometimes I Wish (Carol Etzler Eagleheart
From: GUEST

Dear Carol,

I am a Pastor in Portland, Maine. I thought about your song today in writing my sermon. I would love to hear it again. Is there a recording of it on Utube? It really had a transformative impact upon me in the 1970s. Glad to know it made its way to South Africa. Hope that you are well.

Blessings, Jeanette Good
State Street Church Portland, Maine

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