The song was a bolero, written in 1929 and recorded in Cuba the same year. The English version of the song, written in 1931, became a major hit ten years later when recorded by the Jimmy Dorsey orchestra. On 78 rpm records, "Green eyes" was backed by "Maria Elena", which was also a hit.The record first reached the "Billboard" charts on May 9, 1941 and lasted 21 weeks on the chart, peaking at #1. Both numbers have been covered many times, especially in Latin music circles.