Rainbow Songs - Brown

Fellas, I'm ready to get up and do my thing
I wanta get into it, man, you know
Like a, like a sex machine, man,
Movin' and doin' it, you know
Can I count it off?

One, two, three, four!

I'm probably coming to the end of this colour countdown. There aren't a whole lot of colours left - apart from black, white, gold and silver, on which I'm spoiled for choice, so I might give those a miss. We'll see.

Meanwhile, onto brown. No real runners up this time (though as you'll see below, I squeezed a few extra entries into the Ten), and no place for Brown Girl In The Ring, you children of the 70s, (though I did like the way they used it in Touching The Void.)

Here are ten brown songs...

10. Jim Croce - Bad, Bad Leroy Brown

Bad, Bad Leroy Brown is not only meaner than a junk yard dog, he's only the baddest man in the whole damn town. So bad, they named him twice - which is probably why Frank Sinatra went on to cover this.

Croce's hit also inspired Queen's Bring Back Leroy Brown and Loretta Lynn's Mrs. Leroy Brown.

9. John Mellencamp - Jackie Brown

No relation to Quentin Tarantino's adaptation of Rum Punch, though this holds a similar noir feel in its tale of spiralling poverty and desperation. Mellencamp at his most gritty.

8. Chuck Berry - Brown-Eyed Handsome Man

That great fount of all dubious knowledge, wikipedia, claims that Berry's Brown Eyes were actually a racial metaphor - something do to with Berry claiming a lot of white women enjoyed 'the dark meat'. Which must have been pretty shocking back in 1956, perhaps explaining why this was only ever released as a b-side... until covered by far whiter artists like Buddy Holly.

7. Guns n Roses - Mr. Brownstone

The show usually starts around seven
We go on stage around nine

When I saw Axl & chums a few years back, the show was due to start around 9, and he finally bothered to turn up around 10-15. There was nearly a riot, and we left before the end, but it was still worth seeing him live... even way past his prime.

6. Crystal Gayle - Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue

Sometimes - though only sometimes - the simplest lyrics are the most effective.

A similar sentiment can be found in the George Jones song Brown To Blue, also covered by Elvis Costello.

5. The Pogues - A Pair Of Brown Eyes

Could brown be the most popular eye colour for songwriters? (There's obviously more to come.) As a brown-eyed boy myself, I'm happy to see this.

This song starts out with Shane MacGowan "drunk to hell"... damn those autobiographical lyrics.

And the video is mental. Every single person involved was off their heads.

4. The Stranglers - Golden Brown

A song damaged by too much airplay and too many Prime Ministerial puns, if you can put all that aside it has a wonderfully hypnotic melody... and lyrics that may be about heroin, an elusive girl, or Marmite... depending on which of the Stranglers you choose to believe.

3. Van Morrison - Brown-Eyed Girl

It seems the infamously grumpy Van The Man won't let his songs appear on youtube, except as covers, so I suggest you check out the versions by Del Amitri (no, can't find that anywhere either) or Everclear instead.

2. Flight Of The Conchords - Carol Brown



Very excited to snag tickets to see FOCs live later this year. This is my favourite song from their last album / series. I've posted it before, but that's not going to stop me posting it again. It's genius. Video directed by Michel Gondry to boot.

1. The Rolling Stones - Brown Sugar

Brown sugar is a sucrose sugar product with a distinctive brown color due to the presence of molasses...

Oh, hang on, wrong wikipedia page. Click disambiguation quick!

"God knows what I’m on about on that song," says Mick Jagger. "It’s such a mishmash. All the nasty subjects in one go… I never would write that song now.”

Hmm. Maybe you ought to, Mick.

Worth checking out the version by Ryan Adams and Beth Orton too. And this song, which could well have been an inspiration, from Sam & Dave.



Yes yes, James Brown, Sam Brown, Joe Brown... but what's your favourite brown song?