"You Can Close Your Eyes" is a song written by James Taylor which was released on his 1971 album Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon.

The song has been covered by many artists, including Carly Simon, Linda Ronstadt, Maureen McGovern, Richie Havens, Sheryl Crow, Sting, Eddie Vedder with Natalie Maines, and the King's Singers.

"[3][4] Critic Al Rudis goes further, saying that the song "continues [Taylor's] hold on the world championship of lullaby composers.

"[7] Musicologist James Perone finds similarities between the melody of the verses of "You Can Close Your Eyes" and the chorus of Taylor's earlier song "Carolina in My Mind.

"[4] Authors including Thompson and Sheila Weller have suggested that the song was written to Taylor's one-time girlfriend Joni Mitchell.

Janovitz praises Taylor's "exquisite" guitar playing, particularly noting the "Renaissance-meets-country-folk riff" at the beginning and end of the song.

[3] Taylor has performed "You Can Close Your Eyes" in live concerts many times, typically accompanied by other singers (quite often female).

[15] The 1998 live version was also included on the Japanese release of the compilation album Greatest Hits Volume 2.

In 2021 Taylor began performing it as a duet with his son Henry who had joined the band as a singer that year.

[26] Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder, accompanied by the Dixie Chicks' Natalie Maines covered the song in concert in 2010.