It originally appeared as the theme music of the Swedish miniseries Sparvöga (1989), and was subsequently released on 7″ vinyl as a non-album single on 22 February 1989.

[1] Despite this, the lyrics of the song do not reference the plot of either the television show or the book, and were instead inspired by the sudden death of Marie's older sister Anna-Lisa, and the resulting grief which affected her family.

[2] Anna-Lisa was twenty years old when she was involved in a fatal traffic collision in December 1965; she was traveling to purchase a dress for her engagement party when her car was crushed by a tanker truck.

"[3] The cover of the single shows Marie as a child posing alongside her older sister Tina; this image was taken during a professional photo shoot in 1962.

[5] The Swedish word "sparvöga" can be literally translated as "sparrow-eye", although it is figuratively used to describe particularly sharp human eyes, similar to the English expressions "hawk-eyed" or "eagle-eyed".

[8] "Sparvöga" peaked at number eight on Sveriges Radio's "Tracks" chart,[9] and was certified gold by the Swedish Recording Industry Association for shipments of over 25,000 units.

"[14] A writer for Helsingborgs Dagblad described the song as "majestic" and "soaring", elaborating: "Few and far are the musicians who could hope to match the simple beauty of 'Sparvöga'.