Did you know that brown is the most common eye color among humans? But that doesn’t mean there’s nothing special about having brown eyes.
In fact, looking into brown eyes can be captivating. Most especially if the owner of those eyes is someone you love.
There’s just something about those eyes that even musicians are inspired to write about them. Proof? Our list of 13 of the best songs about brown eyes below. Some of these are about lost love or about that girl/guy having brown eyes. Have fun reading!
1. “Brown Eyed Girl’’ By Van Morrison
Anyone who has ever attended the University of Alabama knows this song by heart. “Brown Eyed Girl” was quite the hit in Tuscaloosa. Van Morrison’s ode to one particular lass only reached #10 in 1967. But all these years later, it’s a classic piece of music.
The lyrics reminisce better times with a lost (possibly first) love. The singer croons, “So hard to find my way/Now that I’m all on my own.” And the only thing he can do now is go back to their memories.
The song is wistful and a bit sad lyrically. But its uptempo opening guitar riff and the ridiculously catchy “Sha-la-la-la” bits making in the chorus make it seem like a good-time party song. It is, but it’s still a song about loss.
2. “You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet” By Bachman-Turner Overdrive
This is one of those songs with “brown eyes” in the lyrics. The song went to #1 in 1974, although founder Randy Bachman didn’t see the song as a potential success. But “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet” became Bachman-Turner Overdrive‘s signature hit.
In the lyrics, the song has a quintessential brown eyes moment before each chorus. The singer recalls, “She looked at me with big brown eyes,” and tells him there’s more to come. And then in the chorus, you hear the singer stammering, “Baby, you just ain’t seen n-n-n-nothin’ yet.”
This stuttering was inspired by one of the band members with a speech impediment. Bachman wrote the lyrics to prank him, never realizing that it would make them rich someday.
3. “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue” By Crystal Gayle
In 1977, Crystal Gayle was already a country superstar with multiple Top Ten hits. Songwriter Richard Leigh wrote them all, so for a new album, she went back to him for another single. The result was “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue,” Leigh’s biggest hit ever and a signature song for Gayle.
Its lyrics reflect the stages of grief after a breakup. Denial sits behind her thoughts that she doesn’t believe. And then, finally, she comes to acceptance when she acknowledges she’s lost something good in her life.
The most notable line in the song is, “And don’t it make my brown eyes blue.” We take it that the girl has brown eyes, and “blue” signifies her feeling of sadness over the heartache.
4. “Good Times Bad Times” By Led Zeppelin
If you bought Led Zeppelin’s debut album, took it home, and put it on your record player, then “Good Times Bad Times” was the first song you heard from the legends, as it was the opening track.
In the lyrics, the song covers several stages of life. The first verse talks about a man’s coming of age. The next verse is when he’s 16 and in love.
While most brown-eyed characters in songs are ladies, here, the band sings about the man losing his love to “a brown-eyed man.” One would assume the woman in question never heard the brown-eyed man sing.
5. “Brown Eyes” By Lady Gaga
While Lady Gaga has excelled in her acting career, the world knew her first as a singer. Her 2008 album The Fame contained “Brown Eyes,” a song she acknowledges as autobiographical.
Suffering from heartbreak, the singer bemoans the loss of her love. With the line, “In your brown eyes, you watch her go,” it means he’s still not over an ex or he’s still in love with another.
In a song that mentions “brown eyes” as a metaphor for the man she likes, she falls hard for him. That is, even if “In your brown eyes, I was feeling low.” This means she holds on to a false hope that he would be over her.
6. “Brown Eyed Woman” By Bill Medley
As one-half of The Righteous Brothers, Bill Medley was a big deal in the 1960s. He is known for his bass-baritone voice, which is notable in “You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feelin’.” But in Brown Eyed Woman,” what the listener would hear is Medley’s soulful voice.
“Brown Eyed Woman” is a song about knowing what might not be good for you but wanting it anyway. He’s a blue-eyed man, and her brown eyes symbolize their incompatibility. A part of him knows it.
Despite that, he keeps singing that he wants to be with her. He pleads, “Darling tell me, tell me please, what more can I do.” The backup singers demand that she “stay away.” This resembles a still, small voice of reason that men usually ignore.
7. “Brown Eyed Women” By Grateful Dead
American rock band the Grateful Dead told many stories in their music. “Brown Eyed Women” is a great example of that tradition.
First played in 1971, it tells the story of the narrator’s father, Jack Jones, who did his best to navigate the hard times of the Great Depression by bootlegging. He and his wife, Delilah, have a hard life, but they love each other and raise a large family.
However, it “snowed so hard that the roof caved in,” and she dies. Her death breaks Jack, and the narrator specifies that the man never recovered from the loss of his great love.
8. “Breakin’ My Heart (Pretty Brown Eyes)” By Mint Condition
We’ve got another song with “brown eyes” in the title. For the R&B band Mint Condition their biggest hit came in 1991. “Breakin’ My Heart (Pretty Brown Eyes)” couldn’t sound more like early-90s boy-band music if it had been grown in a lab.
The song’s R&B vibe and staccato synthesizer hits make it sound a little dated. But the sentiment is timeless: stop doing things that hurt me because all I want is to love you. The singer further implores, “Quit breakin’ my heart, Breakin’ my heart (pretty brown eyes).”
The fact that her eyes are such a pretty brown makes it hard to stay mad at her, no matter how many times she breaks his heart.
9. “Brown Eyes Baby” By Keith Urban
From his many other songs, you’ll discover that Keith Urban‘s ballads have a distinctive sound. “Brown Eyes Baby” is no exception.
The last line of the chorus is a pretty great one, too. It says, “I can take the blue out of your brown eyes.” He’s asking her to give him a chance to bring back the girl she used to be.
Listeners can easily identify with the characters in the song. She’s sad about something, perhaps a recent breakup or just life in general. And he wants to help her get over it.
10. “Brown Eyed Blues” By Ben Harper
If there’s one thing American singer-songwriter Ben Harper is well known for, it’s his booty-shaking funk groove. Just check “Brown-Eyed Blues” for proof.
Although the song’s bouncy feel makes it seem like a sunny tune, it’s not. The narrator has lost his girl— presumably by not being very good at being a boyfriend— and he’s got the blues now.
One would assume that she had brown eyes, but he may be the one with them. Either way, what we’re sure of is that the singer has the blues because he’s not the woman.
11. “The Look” By Roxette
Hailing from Sweden, Roxette stormed the American music scene with “The Look.” This is the first of the duo’s four #1 hits.
The woman in the song “got the look” meaning she’s physically attractive and perfect in the singer’s eyes. She’s got brown eyes, and the singer asks what could turn them blue, as in “make her sad,” since she’s so lovely.
The song isn’t a sad one about loss but an ode to a woman who, as songwriter Per Gessle writes in the chorus, someone would do anything for.
12. “Brown Eyes” By Destiny’s Child
A little trio from Houston called Destiny’s Child also has their own song about brown eyes. Their 2002 single “Brown Eyes” came from their Survivor album.
In the lyrics, the singer chronicles how she and her man came to be. It starts from the first time they saw each other until they become a couple. It’s dreamy how she remembers all the good times they had.
Even if there are downs in the relationship, such as when they argue, the singer is happy with the thought that he loves her. She can see that from his brown eyes.
13. “Brown Eyes” By Fleetwood Mac
As part of Fleetwood Mac’s 1979 album Tusk, “Brown Eyes” was one of six songs written by Christine McVie. It consists of only two short verses, and what passes for a chorus consists only of “Sha-la-la.”
But its atmospheric groove, along with the singular sound of Fleetwood Mac, makes it a haunting piece of music. McVie’s extended keyboard playing makes it feel like a piece of ambient music. Stevie Nicks’ distinctive voice on the background vocals helps with that, too.
What “Brown Eyes” is all about is trust. We can tell from the lyrics that the singer encounters someone with brown eyes. Despite the attraction, she is still hesitant because he might be “just another liar.”
Summing Up Our List Of Brown Eyes Songs
Brown eyes are special, as you can see from our list above. Whether it’s you having these or someone close to your heart, these songs will always be a reminder for you.
There are still a lot of brown eyes songs out there, but we’re stopping at 13. We hope you like our selections on the list, though. And we hope we were able to give you a versatile list that includes songs from many genres.
