You’ve heard it at every wedding, dive bar, and grocery store since 1967. It starts with that bouncy, descending bassline and those jangly guitar chords that feel like an instant dose of vitamin D. But honestly, if you ask a casual listener who sang Brown Eyed Girl, they might pause for a second. They know the voice—that gritty, soulful, slightly slurry Irish growl—but the name sometimes slips through the cracks of classic rock radio.
The man behind the mic is Van Morrison.
Back then, he was a scrappy 21-year-old from Belfast who had just walked away from his garage rock band, Them. He was broke. He was frustrated. He was about to record a song that he personally didn't even think was that great. It’s funny how history works out like that.
The Belfast Cowboy and the Bang Records Mess
Van Morrison didn’t just wake up one day and decide to write a radio hit. In fact, he kind of hated the polished pop world. Before he became the "Lion of Belfast," he was fronting Them, the band responsible for "Gloria." But the music industry in the mid-sixties was a shark tank. Morrison fled back to Ireland after the band dissolved, feeling burnt out and ready to quit.
That’s when Bert Berns called.
Berns was a legendary songwriter and producer who ran Bang Records in New York. He’d written "Twist and Shout" and "Piece of My Heart." He saw something in Van. He flew him to New York City in March 1967 to record eight tracks intended for four singles. One of those tracks was "Brown Eyed Girl."
The session happened at A&R Studios. It wasn’t some long, drawn-out artistic exploration. They knocked it out in about 22 takes. If you listen closely to the original recording, you can hear the raw, unpolished energy of a guy who was basically just trying to get through the session. Morrison has famously stated in interviews with magazines like Rolling Stone that he has "about 300 songs that are better" than this one. He saw it as a "throwaway" track. The world, obviously, disagreed.
It Wasn't Always About Brown Eyes
Here is a bit of trivia that usually wins bar bets: the song wasn't originally called "Brown Eyed Girl."
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Van Morrison originally titled the track "Brown-Skinned Girl."
It was a song about an interracial relationship, inspired by his time spent in the South and his love for Calypso music. You can still hear that Caribbean influence in the "Sha-la-la" chorus and the syncopated rhythm. However, when he got into the studio, he changed it. Whether it was a slip of the tongue or a conscious move to make it more "radio-friendly" for a segregated 1967 America is still debated among music historians. Morrison later claimed he just made a mistake during the vocal take and "Brown Eyed Girl" stuck because it sounded better.
It’s a small change that altered the course of music history. Had it stayed "Brown-Skinned Girl," it likely wouldn't have received the massive airplay it did in the late sixties, especially across the American South.
Why the Song Was Actually Banned
Even with the title change, the song ran into trouble.
The censors at the time were incredibly sensitive. There’s a line in the song: "Making love in the green grass / Behind the stadium."
In 1967, that was way too scandalous for many radio stations. To keep the song on the charts, Berns had to release a "radio edit" where that line was replaced with a repeat of a previous line: "Laughin' and a-runnin' hey, hey." If you listen to an old vinyl copy or a specific radio edit today, you’ll notice the jarring jump in the lyrics.
It’s wild to think about now. In an era where modern lyrics are incredibly graphic, the idea of two people "making love in the green grass" caused a total meltdown for station managers. But that controversy just fueled the fire. The song climbed to number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed there for weeks.
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The Contract That Cost Van Everything
While we all enjoy the song, Van Morrison has a very complicated relationship with it. He famously signed a contract with Bang Records that was, to put it lightly, predatory. Because of the way the royalties were structured, Morrison claimed for decades that he never actually received any royalties for writing or recording his biggest hit.
When Bert Berns died of a heart attack shortly after the song became a hit, his widow, Ilene Berns, took over the label. The relationship between her and Morrison was legendarily toxic. At one point, she reportedly tried to have him deported back to Ireland. To get out of his contract, Morrison had to record a series of "nonsense" songs—literally 36 tracks of him strumming a guitar and singing about nothing—to fulfill his legal obligation. It’s one of the weirdest stories in rock history.
This bitterness is why Morrison rarely talks about the song in a positive light. For him, "Brown Eyed Girl" represents a time when he was being exploited by the industry. It’s the reason he shifted his sound so drastically for his next album, Astral Weeks, which was a poetic, jazz-infused masterpiece that sounded absolutely nothing like a pop hit.
The Sound That Defined a Decade
What makes the song work? It’s the chemistry of the musicians in that room. You had the Sweet Inspirations—a vocal group that included Cissy Houston (Whitney Houston’s mom)—doing those iconic backing vocals. Their gospel-tinged "Sha-la-la-la" gave the song a soul that most folk-rock tracks lacked.
Then there’s the guitar work. It’s simple. It’s catchy. It’s the first thing every teenager learns when they pick up an acoustic guitar.
But really, it’s Van’s voice. He sounds like he’s reminiscing about a memory that’s already slipping away. There’s a nostalgia in his tone that feels universal. Whether you’re 15 or 85, you know what it feels like to look back on a "misty morning fog" and wonder where the time went.
Common Misconceptions About Who Sang It
Because the song has such a "classic" feel, people often misattribute it to other artists of the era. I’ve heard people swear it was:
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- The Beatles: Mostly because of the 1967 vibe, but the vocals are way too gravelly for Paul or John.
- Cat Stevens: Likely because of the acoustic-driven melody.
- James Taylor: Again, the "singer-songwriter" confusion.
But none of those artists have that specific Celtic Soul. Van Morrison is a singular talent. He blends R&B, blues, and Irish folk in a way that literally nobody else has ever replicated. When you hear the "Sha-la-la" part, that’s Van bringing the street-corner doo-wop of his youth to the mainstream.
How to Truly Appreciate "Brown Eyed Girl" Today
If you want to hear the song the way it was meant to be heard, skip the compressed YouTube versions. Find a high-quality remaster or, better yet, a clean vinyl pressing.
Look for the nuances:
- The Bassline: Listen to how it drives the song forward. It’s incredibly melodic for a pop track.
- The Lyrical Shift: Notice the bridge where the tempo slows down. "My, how you have grown!" That’s the emotional core of the song—the realization that the past is gone.
- The "Radio Edit" vs. The Original: See if you can spot the edit on the "making love" line.
Van Morrison might not love the song, and he might still be annoyed that it’s the only thing some people know him for, but it remains a masterclass in songwriting. It’s a perfect three-minute capsule of summer, youth, and the bittersweet nature of memory.
Actionable Steps for Music Lovers
To get the full picture of the man who sang "Brown Eyed Girl," don't stop at the greatest hits.
- Listen to "Astral Weeks" in full. It will change how you perceive Van Morrison. It’s not a pop album; it’s a spiritual experience recorded in just two days.
- Check out the "Contractual Obligation" sessions. If you want a laugh, look up the songs he recorded to get out of his Bang Records contract, like "Ring Worm" and "Want a Danish?" It shows his rebellious spirit.
- Watch live footage from the 1970s. Specifically, his performance in The Last Waltz. He wears a purple jumpsuit and does high kicks. It’s peak Van.
- Verify the credits. Next time you’re at karaoke, make sure the screen says Van Morrison. He earned that credit through a lot of legal heartache.
The song is a permanent fixture of our culture. It’s been covered by everyone from Jimmy Buffett to Adele. But there is only one original. It’s a 21-year-old kid from Belfast, standing in a New York studio, singing a song he didn't think would matter, and accidentally creating a legend. Regardless of the legal battles or the "brown-skinned girl" origins, the track stands as a testament to what happens when soul meets pop. It’s timeless. It’s messy. It’s Van.