The song reached the top 40 on the US Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart, peaking at number 16, which remains his last top-40 hit in said country as of 2025.

It became a top-five hit in Canada, where it peaked at number two, and reached the top 20 in Austria, Iceland, and Norway.

[1] The song was inspired by the fact that Clapton never met his father, Edward Fryer, who died of leukemia in 1985.

[2] Describing how he wishes he knew his father, the song also refers to his own son Conor, who died in 1991 at age four after falling from an apartment window.

"[3] British magazine Music Week named "My Father's Eyes" one of the album's "most satisfying moments" and "most radio-friendly offerings", "with Clapton's usual restrained vocalising given a strong lift on the memorable chorus by the more optimistically-sounding backing singers.