Brown Eyed Girl (1967) – Van Morrison

When released, the song about a former lover was too explicit for radio airplay. In the third verse, the lyrics, “making love in the green grass,” were edited out, and replaced with a combination of lyrics from the first verse — most often it was heard as, “laughin’ and a-runnin’, hey hey,” instead. Thankfully, most classic rock stations now play the original “Brown Eyed Girl.”

– Who Was Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl”? – American Blues Scene

No TV show tugged harder at my teenage heartstrings than the 80s classic The Wonder Years. Back then, I practically wore out the soundtrack, which included today’s featured track – Brown Eyed Girl. Funnily enough, I heard this gem again just this morning on my way back from an appointment and couldn’t help bopping along and singing with a grin. If there’s one song almost guaranteed to spark a smile, it’s Brown Eyed Girl – Van Morrison’s best-known tune, though ironically, he never earned a cent in royalties from it (more on that below).

Most of the following was abridged from the above American Blues Scene article:
Van Morrison had left Ireland and his band by the spring of 1967, and recorded Brown Eyed Girl for A&R Studios in New York. The 22nd take captured the sound producer Bert Berns was looking for. Bart Berns was a gifted songwriter too, having written for Morrison’s band Them the hit – “Here Comes the Night“. As an independent producer Berns convinced Morrison to go solo and join Berns new label – Bang. Berns had spent time in Havana, exposing himself to intense, burning, Afro-Cuban rhythms, which he brought with him back to New York, and into rock ‘n’ roll and infused in Brown Eyed Girl.

Originally titled, “Brown-Skinned Girl,” the rhythms closely resemble those of Bahamian guitarist Joseph Spence’s Brownskin Gal, from 1958. Morrison, however, changed the title to “Brown Eyed Girl” when he finished recording it.

Van Morrison had a stellar lineup of session artists backing it. Eric Gale, Al Gorgoni, and Hugh McCracken lay down what are quite possibly the best rhythm guitar tracks ever. Russ Savakus played bass, Paul Griffin played piano, and Gary Chester played drums. Those heavenly back-up singers were none other than The Sweet Inspirations, made up of Myrna Smith, Estelle Brown, Sylvia Shemwell, and Emily “Cissy” Houston (mother of Whitney Houston and auntie to Dee Dee and Dionne Warwick).

Brown eyed Girl which peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard was not even Morrison’s highest charting song which goes to Domino in 1970. But, it is one of the most played songs in history. Morrison even referred to it as “the money song”, but shockingly because of the contract he had with Bang Records, Morrison never saw a penny of royalty money for writing or recording the song. Furthermore, it became the lead track on the album, Blowin’ Your Mind, which Berns released without Morrison’s knowledge or consent, in September of 1967.

Adding insult to injury, Morrison claims it’s not even among his favorite songs. In a 2009 interview with Time Magazine, he is quoted as saying,

It’s not one of my best. I mean I’ve got about 300 songs that I think are better.

Brown Eyed Girl been inducted into the GRAMMY Hall of Fame, listed as one of the “500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll” by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and reached number 110 on Billboard Magazine‘s “500 Greatest Songs of All Time.”

So who is Morrison’s Brown Eyed Girl? He has never definitively identified who the “Brown Eyed Girl” is, and he has expressed that he does not know the song’s meaning himself, stating, “A lot of times I have no idea what I mean“. While some speculate the song was about an interracial relationship or a specific woman like his first wife Janet Rigsbee or Julie, the subject of “T.B. Sheets,” Morrison has not confirmed any of these theories.

[Verse 1]
Hey, where did we go?
Days when the rains came
Down in the hollow
Playin’ a new game
Laughin’ and a-runnin’, hey, hey
Skippin’ and a jumpin’
In the misty morning fog with
Our, our hearts a thumpin’

[Refrain]
And you, my brown-eyed girl
You, my brown-eyed girl

[Verse 2]
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 waterfall

[Refrain]
With you, my brown-eyed girl
You, my brown-eyed girl

[Chorus]
Do you remember when we used to sing
Sha-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-tee-da?
Just like that
Sha-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-tee-da
La-tee-da

[Verse 3]
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
Sometimes I’m overcome thinking about
Making love in the green grass
Behind the stadium

References:
1. Brown Eyed Girl – Wikipedia
2. Who Was Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl”? – American Blues Scene