My Gen X Playlist: Brown Eyed Girl – Van Morrison

Daily writing prompt

If you could permanently ban a word from general usage, which one would it be? Why?

View all responses

This is pretty similar to a prompt we had before. My choice hasn’t changed since then. I’m not a fan of the word phenomenal. I don’t hear it as much these days, so we can skip the ban. Banning words sounds a little odd anyway.

Brown Eyed Girl is a classic Van Morrison song. It’s one of those songs that people form their own connection to. Little did I know, the song was initially banned. Who would have thought.

In an effort to not get his song “Brown-Eyed Girl” banned, Van Morrison changed the title from its original name, which was ” Brown-Skinned Girl.” He assumed that this wouldn’t go over well, considering that in 1967, interracial marriage was still against the law in 17 states. He was probably right.

However, several radio stations banned the song anyway for the line “making love in the green grass.” This might seem innocuous now, but it was considered fairly racy in the 1960s. The song was Morrison’s first release as a solo artist, and it coincided with the hippie-inspired “Summer of Love.”

– ask

My husband used to sing this song to me all the time when we were dating. Then alot after we were married too. Every year on my birthday. He passed away three months ago and my birthday is tomorrow. It will be the first birthday I won’t hear him sing this song to me . I was 16 when he first started and I’ll be 54 tomorrow. I keep listening to it now just to remember him. I miss him so much.

YouTube comment by Loveyalise

I married my brown eyed girl, she still takes my breath away. 35 yrs later and three older children. She is amazing and this was my song before I met her and I sang it to her and she said keep my day job. We laughed and just danced to it the other day when we were at our daughters house playing with our grand children.

YouTube comment by davidbatchelder85

Thankfully, it wasn’t banned permanently. People wouldn’t have their touching memories.

–

For a complete playlist, please click here.

For the Spotify playlist, please click here.

Hey, where did we go
Days when the rains came?
Down in the hollow
Playing a new game

Laughing and a-running, hey, hey
Skipping and a-jumping
In the misty morning fog with
Our, our hearts a-thumping
And you, my brown-eyed girl
You, 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
Hide behind a rainbow's wall
Slipping and a-sliding
All along the waterfall
With you, my brown-eyed girl
You, my brown-eyed girl

Do you remember when we used to sing
Sha la la la la la la la la la la dee dah
Just like that
Sha la la la la la la la la la la dee dah
La dee dah

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 about
Making love in the green grass
Behind the stadium
With you, my brown-eyed girl
You, my brown-eyed girl

Do you remember when we used to sing
Sha la la la la la la la la la la dee dah
Laying in the green grass
Sha la la la la la la la la la la dee dah
Dee dah dee dah dee dah dee dah dee dah dee
Sha la la la la la la la la la la la la
Dee dah la dee dah la dee dah la
D-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d