For My Sunday Song #152, we are discussing the song “Mirror, Mirror (Look Into My Eyes)” by Def Leppard off their 1981 album ‘High N Dry’.  The song was written by the late Steve Clark and Joe Elliott.  It is one of those deep cuts that sticks with you and at times you feel is even better than anything else on the album (at times, not all the time).

The song is up for interpretation.  It could be about two different, but similar things.  The one I like to go with is that the “Mirror” is that mirror on the table with lines of Coke on it.  As he is sniffing up the coke and the lines disappear, the mirror is suddenly staring at him and he has to face his demons.  It is a rather dark viewpoint, but the one I feel is quite plausible.  The lyrics in this verse is what leads me to that conclusion…

Mirror mirror 
Hangin’ there with that crack in your eye 
You make me stumble, make me blind 
Time after time and line by line 

The “line by line” part fits in to the theory nicely.  But the “hangin'” part leads me to the other theory.

The other theory is that he is just standing there looking in the mirror and it is forcing him to take a deeper look into what he has become.  He doesn’t like what he sees, but he feels so lost.  The anger builds up and he smashes the mirror into little pieces.  Those pieces are his life.

Musically, the highlight for me is the Steve Clark riff that opens the song.  When I hear that first note, I know this song instantly.  The whole album has his signature sound plastered all over it. The song isn’t a ballad, but it isn’t a full blown rocker either.  It is somewhere in between in that sweet spot.  Joe Elliott sings it with the right amount of feeling that you almost feel him as that character going through the emotions.  There is a darker feel to the sound that also emphasizes those feeling.

Check it out and let me know what you think.  How do you view the song?  I hope you enjoy and have a Happy Sunday!!

“Mirror, Mirror (Look Into My Eyes)”