A Pair of Brown Eyes
The Pogues
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One summer evening drunk to hell I stood there nearly lifeless An old man in the corner sang Where the water lilies grow And on the jukebox johnny sang About a thing called love And its how are you kid and whats your name And how would you bloody know? In blood and death neath a screaming sky I lay down on the ground And the arms and legs of other men Were scattered all around Some cursed, some prayed, some prayed then cursed Then prayed and bled some more And the only thing that I could see Was a pair of brown eyes that was looking at me But when we got back, labeled parts one to three There was no pair of brown eyes waiting for me And a rovin a rovin a rovin Ill go For a pair of brown eyes I looked at him he looked at me All I could do was hate him While ray and philomena sang Of my elusive dream I saw the streams, the rolling hills Where his brown eyes were waiting And I thought about a pair of brown eyes That waited once for me So drunk to hell I left the place Sometimes crawling sometimes walking A hungry sound came across the breeze So I gave the walls a talking And I heard the sounds of long ago From the old canal And the birds were whistling in the trees Where the wind was gently laughing And a rovin a rovin a rovin Ill go For a pair of brown eyes
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Written by: Shane Patrick Lysaght Macgowan
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
10 facts about this song
SONG GENREThe song "A Pair of Brown Eyes" by The Pogues is within the folk rock music genre.
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LYRICS COMPOSITIONThe song's lyrics, written by the band's lead vocalist, Shane MacGowan, recounts a modern take of an Irish myth about a man who departed for war and promised his lover that her brown eyes would guide him back.
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CHART PERFORMANCEReleased in 1985 as the second single from the band's second studio album "Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash," the song charted at number 72 in the UK singles chart.
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CRITICAL RESPONSECritics have widely praised "A Pair of Brown Eyes" for its poetic and haunting depiction of trauma and loss, citing MacGowan's songwriting as one of the high points in The Pogues' discography.
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INSPIRATIONMany believe the song's title and lyrics were inspired by a traditional Irish folk song called "The Brown Eyed Girl."
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ALBUM NAME ORIGINThe name "Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash" of the album where the song features, is a quote attributed to Winston Churchill describing the traditions of the British Royal Navy.
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SONG THEME"A Pair of Brown Eyes", similar to many other songs by The Pogues, effectively combines traditional Irish music with modern punk influences, creating a unique style and sound which enriched the general theme of the song - a struggle between violence and love.
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SONG COVER VERSIONA cover version of the song was produced by the Canadian folk band, The Tossers on their album "Communication & Conviction: Last Seven Years."
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IN POPULAR CULTUREThe song features in the 2004 film, "Troy", albeit as a sneakily smuggled addition - unbeknownst to movie producers - by actor Sean Bean, who was listening to the song on his iPod during a scene when he was supposed to be listening to battle sounds.
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LIVE PERFORMANCESIn most live performances, MacGowan often altered the melody and lyrics, creating a new experience at each concert. This made it one of the most relevant songs in their live set-list.
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