Brown Eyed Handsome Man
Buddy Holly & The Crickets Lyrics


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Arrested on charges of unemployment
He was sitting in the witness stand
The judge's wife called up the district attorney
Said free that brown eyed man
You want your job you better free that brown eyed man

Flying across the desert in a TWA
I saw a woman walking across the sand
She been a-walkin' thirty miles en route to Bombay
To reach a brown eyed handsome man
Her destination was a brown eyed handsome man

Way back in history three thousand years
Back ever since the world began
There's been a whole lot of good women shedding tears
For a brown eyed handsome man
A lot of trouble, was a brown eyed handsome man

Well the beautiful daughter couldn't make up her mind
Between a doctor and a lawyer man
Her mother told her darling go out and find yourself
A brown eyed handsome man
That's what your daddy is a brown eyed handsome man

Well DeMilo's Venus was a beautiful lass
She had the world in the palm of her hand
But she lost both her arms in a wrestling match
To win a brown eyed handsome man
She fought and won herself a brown eyed handsome man

Well, two, three the count with nobody on
He hit a high fly into the stand
Rounding third he was headed for home




It was a brown eyed handsome man
That won the game, it was a brown eyed handsome man

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Buddy Holly's song "Brown Eyed Handsome Man" tell the stories of different characters who all have one thing in common: their admiration for and attraction to a particular "brown eyed handsome man." The first verse tells the story of a man who has been arrested on charges of unemployment and is sitting in the witness stand. The judge's wife interjects and demands that the man be freed. She uses her power to ensure that the "brown eyed man" in question is released because he is vital to her husband's employment. It appears that the man's physical features are important enough to this woman that she is willing to overlook his legal troubles.


The second verse depicts a woman walking across the desert in pursuit of the same "brown eyed handsome man." She has traveled thirty miles in order to meet him. The third verse takes a broader view of history and suggests that good women throughout time have shed tears over this particular type of man. The final verse tells the story of a baseball game in which the "brown eyed handsome man" hits the winning run. The lyrics suggest that this victory is due in part to this man's appearance and the charm that comes with it. Overall, the song celebrates the appeal and allure of handsome men with brown eyes.


Line by Line Meaning

Arrested on charges of unemployment
The man was taken into custody for being jobless and unable to find work


He was sitting in the witness stand
The man was in court and occupying the seat designated for witnesses


The judge's wife called up the district attorney
The wife of the judge contacted the prosecutor assigned to the case


Said free that brown eyed man
She requested for the release of the man with the attractive brown eyes


You want your job you better free that brown eyed man
The judge's wife implied that the man was wrongly accused and must be freed if the prosecutor wants to keep his job


Flying across the desert in a TWA
The singer was aboard a TWA aircraft that flew over the desert region


I saw a woman walking across the sand
The singer witnessed a woman travelling on foot across the sandy expanse


She been a-walkin' thirty miles en route to Bombay
The woman had already passed thirty miles of walking and was headed to the Indian city of Bombay


To reach a brown eyed handsome man
Her goal was to meet with the attractive man with brown eyes


Her destination was a brown eyed handsome man
The woman's intended endpoint was the location of the good-looking man with appealing eyes


Way back in history three thousand years
Thousands of years ago, distant past from the present day


Back ever since the world began
Since the beginning of the world's existence, this has been true


There's been a whole lot of good women shedding tears
Many virtuous women have shed tears over this matter


For a brown eyed handsome man
The source of their grief was an attractive man who had brown eyes


A lot of trouble, was a brown eyed handsome man
This type of man often caused problems or complications for these women


Well the beautiful daughter couldn't make up her mind
The lovely daughter of someone had trouble deciding on something


Between a doctor and a lawyer man
She was torn between choosing a medical practitioner or a legal professional as a partner


Her mother told her darling go out and find yourself
The girl's mother encouraged her to seek out and find


A brown eyed handsome man
A man with brown eyes who is considered attractive


That's what your daddy is a brown eyed handsome man
The girl's father was also a man with attractive brown eyes


Well DeMilo's Venus was a beautiful lass
DeMilo's Venus was an exquisite and appealing young woman


She had the world in the palm of her hand
She had considerable power and influence over the world


But she lost both her arms in a wrestling match
She lost both of her arms during a physical confrontation or struggle


To win a brown eyed handsome man
She put up a fight to win the heart of a man with brown eyes who was considered attractive


She fought and won herself a brown eyed handsome man
She triumphed and secured the affections of a man with good-looking brown eyes


Well, two, three the count with nobody on
In a baseball game, it was the situation where the batter had two balls and three strikes and there were no runners on the bases


He hit a high fly into the stand
The batter struck the ball high up into the seating area


Rounding third he was headed for home
The runner was nearing the third base and making his way towards home plate


It was a brown eyed handsome man
The player who hit the game-winning run had brown eyes and was considered good-looking


That won the game, it was a brown eyed handsome man
The man with brown eyes who hit the ball that won the game was key to their success




Lyrics © ENTERTAINMENT ONE U.S. LP
Written by: Chuck Berry

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Most interesting comment from YouTube:

YeastXtract

Lyrics:
Arrested on charges of unemployment
He was sitting in the witness stand
The judge's wife called up the district attorney
Said free that brown eyed man
You want your job you better free that brown eyed man

Flying across the desert in a TWA
I saw a woman walking across the sand
She been a-walkin' thirty miles en route to Bombay
To reach a brown eyed handsome man
Her destination was a brown eyed handsome man

Way back in history three thousand years
Back ever since the world began
There's been a whole lot of good women shedding tears
For a brown eyed handsome man
A lot of trouble, was a brown eyed handsome man

Well the beautiful daughter couldn't make up her mind
Between a doctor and a lawyer man
Her mother told her darling go out and find yourself
A brown eyed handsome man
That's what your daddy is a brown eyed handsome man

Well DeMilo's Venus was a beautiful lass
She had the world in the palm of her hand
But she lost both her arms in a wrestling match
To win a brown eyed handsome man
She fought and won herself a brown eyed handsome man

Well, two, three the count with nobody on
He hit a high fly into the stand
Rounding third he was headed for home
It was a brown eyed handsome man
That won the game, it was a brown eyed handsome man



All comments from YouTube:

Tom Vaughn

I saw him perform this live in Lamesa Texas in 1956. It is still the best concert I have ever seen. I still wonder how it is possible that any human being could have so much talent. He was beyond human.

ChihuahuaboyDH

Tom Vaughn It often makes me wonder had Buddy Holly had not gotten on that plane, that he'd have been dubbed "The King of Rock & Roll" instead of Elvis? I think so!

Buddy Holly was a GENIUS!!!

jennifur sun

ChihuahuaboyDH if i were asked, i would blame his record producer for making him go on that tour. still feel sorry for the late Waylon Jennings he never got over it

Tom Vaughn

ChihuahuaboyDH I personaly think that Buddy Holley, Bo Didley, and Chuck Berry should be considered the co-founders of Classic Rock, the greatest music ever. Check out Buddy's version of Bo Didley, that song and Brown eyed handsome man were the first Classic Rock songs I ever heard and I still consider them the best.

John Blake

ChihuahuaboyDH He should be the king of Rock and Roll even now...I don't get the huge appeal of Elvis at all at best he was a good performer but none of the ideas were his own ever, all of his songs were either written by somebody else or they were covers and he played guitar less and less as time went on. Elvis was really hardly anything more than a pretty face for both the music industry hollywood and other such things to exploit. He was more the just Bieber of his day more than anything.

John Blake

Tom Vaughn Man you got to see him? Crazy lucky! My parents were to young in the 50's and I wasnt born till the 80's so we got crap luck in that department

49 More Replies...

Tony Trotta

Classic song by Buddy Holly - Nobody plays or sings it better!
Buddy doesn't miss a beat - the man was ahead of his time!
Crank this classic song up!

Hollpolls Sunshine Coast Model Railway

This is a track found after his death, the guitar backing was added by Norman Petty (his manager) using the Fireballs instrumental group , just so you know

Tony Trotta

@Hollpolls Sunshine Coast Model Railway Thanks for the info. Yes I knew many were overdubbed recordings to finish. There is a studio version on Y-tube too and it is outstanding as well. Buddy Holly used to open for Elvis Presley at the Texas State Fairs and they were friends. Take care!

Robert Jones

His bass player did justice to this tune, not taking anything away from Buddy, but Waylon filled a void created by Buddy's passing, their both greatly missed.

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