Brown Eyed Girl | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
||: G (Gadd9) | C (Cadd9) | G (Gadd9) | D (Dadd4) :||
Verse 1
||: G | C | G | D :||
Hey, where did we go? Days when the rains came.
Down in the hollow, playin’ a new game.
Laughin’ and a-runnin’, hey, hey, skippin’ and a-jumpin’
In the misty morning fog with, our, our hearts a-thumping and
| C | D | G /F# | Em |
you, my brown-eyed girl.
| C | D5/A | G | D |
You my, brown-eyed girl.
Verse 2
And whatever happened, to Tuesday and so slow?
Going down the old mine with a transistor radio.
Standing in the sunlight laughing, hiding behind a rainbow’s wall.
Slipping and sliding, all along the waterfall.
With you, my brown-eyed girl.
| C | D5/A | G | D | D5 | D5 |
You my, brown-eyed girl. Do you remember when, we used to sing?
Chorus 1
||: G | C | G | D :||
Sha-la-la, la-la, la-la, la-la, la-la tee-da (just like that).
Sha-la-la, la-la, la-la, la-la, la-la tee-da, la-tee-da.
Breakdown
| G (Gadd9) | G6 G | G5 | G5 (G6) |
| G | C | G | D |
Verse 3 (same as 2)
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, sometimes I’m overcome thinking ’bout it.
Making love in the green grass, behind the stadium.
With you, my brown-eyed girl.
You my, brown-eyed girl. Do you remember when, ah we used to sing?
Chorus 2 (x2)
Sha-la-la, la-la, la-la, la-la, la-la tee-da (lying in the green grass).
Sha-la-la, la-la, la-la, la-la, la-la tee-da (bit by, bit by, bit by, bit by, bit by, bit).
Sha-la-la, la-la, la-la, la-la, la-la tee-da (sha-la-la-la-la-la-la-la,la, tee-da-la, tee-da-la, tee-da-la, da da da, de da da, de da da, de da).
Sha-la-la, la-la, la-la, la-la, la-la tee-da (be-de-bit by, be-de-bit by, be-de-bit by, be-de-bit by)
Brown Eyed Girl Chords: Learn the progressions
Brown Eyed Girl uses almost exclusively the good old I – IV – I – V chord progression and adds an Em to complete the chords.
In the key of G, the verse looks like this:
||: G (I) | C (IV) | G | D (V) :|| x4
| C | D | G /F# | Em (VI) |
| C | D5/A | G | D | D5 | D5 |
Such simple open-position chords make Brown Eyed Girl an excellent initial challenge for the beginner guitarist.
Considering this is still played in many function bands, duos, and solo performers, you may have to play this song for the rest of your life, just like Van the Man himself has for decades.
My top tip is therefore to learn as much as possible about Brown Eyed Girl’s chords and develop the parts to such a degree that you can enjoy it for years to come. As the saying goes, the more you put into it, the more you’ll get out.
If you are on your own, the question is; how do you incorporate that intro lick into strumming if it’s only you playing?
I’ve made some TAB for you, try starting with this to get you going: Brown Eyed Girl – Guitar Lesson with TAB.
And what about the breakdown section, can that bass line and initial guitar licks be played on just one acoustic guitar? Of course, it can!
Once you’ve been through the TAB and maybe come up with a few ideas of your own, chances are you only need a simple chord chart to remind you of how to play Brown Eyed Girl’s chords, here’s one I made for you.
Brown Eyed Girl Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro
I’m pleased with how this chord chart turned out. You can clearly see the four different parts, intro, verse, chorus and breakdown.
The first verse is repeated, after the breakdown we go to a single verse, and repeat the chorus to the end.
Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: Brown Eyed Girl Chord Chart PDF.
This chart was created using iRealPro, here’s a link to that file: Brown Eyed Girl iReal Pro. Using this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key.
However, after playing Brown Eyed Girl on and off for 30 years, I have never actually changed the key so it is unlikely.
The biggest hit of the ’60s didn’t pay Van a penny
Van Morrison’s signature song, Brown Eyed Girl is one of his best-known and perhaps what most people come across before they discover his more complex compositions, Moondance, Crazy Love, And It Stoned Me, Tupelo Honey, and Into The Mystic.
Originally entitled Brown Skinned Girl, Van has developed a love-hate relationship with the song, claiming he’s “written about 300 songs better than that”.
Still, this was his breakthrough single as a solo artist following his departure from his first band (Them) and set him up to sign his next record deal with Warner Bros.
Brown Eyed Girl remains his best-known song and he does play it, reluctantly, during most gigs.
Perhaps the bitter feelings Mr. Morrison has regarding Brown Eyed Girl are down to the fact that even though he wrote it, he never received any royalties. The contract he signed with Bang Records in 1967 effectively gave them all the rights to it.
He even wrote a song about it entitled The Big Royalty Check.
Considering Brown Eyed Girl is one of 10 songs played on American radio to have over 10 million plays, I guess his frustrations are justified.
To be fair to Van, if I’d written the biggest hit of the ’60s and got so ripped off I didn’t get a penny for it, I’d be pretty pissed off too!
Brown Eyed Girl Chords | Related Pages
Brown Eyed Girl | Guitar Lesson + TAB
In this guitar lesson, we use TAB for how to incorporate Brown Eyed Girl‘s intro riff, break down bass and general strumming into one acoustic guitar part.
| G | C | G | D |
Hey, where did we go? Days when the rains came…
Five similar tunes | Chords + Lyrics
- American Pie chords by Don McLean
- Don’t Look Back In Anger chords by Oasis
- Losing My Religion chords by R.E.M.
- Moondance chords by Van Morrison
- Stuck In The Middle With You chords by Stealers Wheel
Van Morrison tunes
Starting in his native Northern Ireland with the band Them, Van Morrison’s solo career began with one of the worst record deals in the history of the business.
His best-known tunes include Gloria, Brown Eyed Girl, Moondance, Crazy Love, Into The Mystic, and Have I Told You Lately.
Van Morrison on the web
About me | Dan Lundholm
This was a guitar lesson about Brown Eyed Girl chords, by Dan Lundholm. Discover more about him and how you can learn guitar with Spytunes.
Most importantly, find out why you should learn guitar through playing tunes, not practising scales, and studying theory in isolation.
