Song Lyric Sunday

Brown-Eyed Girl

Welcome to another Song Lyric Sunday. The prompt given to us today by our Host Jim Adams, is to choose a song that you know all the lyrics by heart. I didn’t have to think too hard. It doesn’t matter how old this song is, or where I was when I first heard it, it was by my favorite artist Van Morrison and I loved it. I imagined I had brown eyes and he was singing to me. (My eyes are blue). To this day it makes me smile whenever I hear it, and yes, I know all the words. It would just help if I could carry a tune! Oh well. Just think how lucky you are that you don’t have to listen to me singing it!

The Song

This was originally called “Brown Skinned Girl,” and was about an interracial relationship. Morrison changed it to “Brown Eyed Girl” to make it more palatable for radio stations. Some stations banned it anyway for the line, “Making love in the green grass.”

This was Morrison’s first release as a solo artist; he was previously with the group Them. The song appeared on his debut solo album Blowin’ Your Mind! and again on his 1973 compilation T.B. Sheets. It’s one of Morrison’s most enduring songs, but he thinks a lot less of it than most of the public. In 2009 he explained to Time magazine: “‘Brown Eyed Girl’ I didn’t perform for a long time because for me it was like a throwaway song. I’ve got about 300 other songs I think are better than that.”
In the third verse, the line, “Making love in the green grass,” was overdubbed with a line from the first verse, “Laughin‚ and a-runnin‚” to make it more radio-friendly. The 1990 Best Of Van Morrison CD released the censored version, apparently by someone unaware that there were two versions.

This was a hit during the “Summer Of Love,” when hippie culture bloomed in the US and the song provided a fitting soundtrack. Morrison, however, wanted nothing to do with this scene and was horrified when the album was released with a psychedelic-looking cover.

The female backing vocals were performed by The Sweet Inspirations, a gospel-influenced group that performed on many hits for other artists in addition to their own material. You can also hear them on “Chain Of Fools” by Aretha Franklin and “I Say a Little Prayer” by Dionne Warwick. The Sweet Inspirations became Elvis Presley’s female backing singers in 1969, touring and recording with him until his death.

Bert Berns, who had written the 1965 hit “Here Comes The Night” for Morrison’s group Them, produced “Brown Eyed Girl” and the rest of the album. He brought a lot of pop appeal to this song, adding the Latin flavor that was one of his go-to sounds. Morrison wasn’t looking for pop, however, and this song became his nemesis. “I never wanted to be commercial, and suddenly ‘Brown Eyed Girl’ was making me even more commercial,” he said.

Morrison was signed to Berns’ label, Bang Records, in a deal that included management, production and publishing. He recorded the song in March 1967, relocating to New York City to work with Berns and establish his solo career. The deal soured quickly when Morrison’s creative vision clashed with Berns’. They recorded a songs for a second album, but Morrison hated the results and left Bang, resulting in years of legal disputes. He signed a deal Warner Bros., which released his next album, Astral Weeks, in 1968. Bert Berns died of a heart attack on December 30, 1967.

This song was awarded a “Million-Air” certificate at the 2009 BMI London Awards dinner. The certificates are presented in recognition of songs by European artists that have achieved multi-million US radio and television performances and this track topped the 2009 list with an astounding nine million performances, since it was first recorded.

Adam Duritz was accused of pilfering the “sha-la-la-la-la” from “Brown Eyed Girl” for Counting Crows’ “Mr. Jones.” Guitarist David Bryson balked at the suggestion in an interview with The Georgia Straight in 1997: “Certainly Adam grew up listening to Van Morrison – I mean, we all still listen to Van Morrison – but, my god, every band today has grown up with rock ‘n’ roll, and all those influences show themselves at one point or another.”

The Blowin’ Your Mind! album also contains “T.B. Sheets,” a song about a woman with tuberculosis. Running 9:44 and filled with blues harmonica, it’s nowhere near “Brown Eyed Girl” in terms of pop appeal, but it’s one of Morrison’s most acclaimed songs.
Despite the song’s success, Morrison was broke because of a bad deal he signed with the Bang record label. In an interview with CBS Sunday Morning on March 8, 2009, Morrison claimed he had to “beg” the label for a couple hundred dollars just to survive. He switched to the Warner Bros. label for his next album, the classic Astral Weeks.

The Lyrics

Hey where did we go
Days when the rains came
Down in the hollow
Playin' a new game
Laughing and a running hey, hey
Skipping and a jumping
In the misty morning fog with
Our hearts a thumpin' and you
My brown eyed girl
You're my brown eyed girl

Whatever happened
To Tuesday and so slow
Going down the old mine
With a transistor radio
Standing in the sunlight laughing
Hiding behind a rainbow's wall
Slipping and sliding
All along the water fall, with you
My brown eyed girl
You're my brown eyed girl

Do you remember when we used to sing
Sha la la la la la la la la la la te da
Just like that
Sha la la la la la la la la la la te da, la te da

So hard to find my way
Now that I'm all on my own
I saw you just the other day
My how you have grown
Cast my memory back there, Lord
Sometime I'm overcome thinking 'bout
Making love in the green grass
Behind the stadium with you
My brown eyed girl
You're my brown eyed girl

Do you remember when we used to sing
Sha la la la la la la la la la la te da (lying in the green grass)
Sha la la la la la la la la la la te da (bit, bit, bit, bit, bit, bit)
Sha la la la la la la la la la la te da (sha la la la la la)
Sha la la la la la la la la la la te da

Writer/s: Van Morrison
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Courtesy of Songfacts