Brown Eyes
By: Woody Guthrie

Original Performance: Woody Guthrie
Written by: Woody Guthrie

Versions:
  1. Brown Eyes (Take 1) (:50)
    Available on Beck And Dava.
    Credits
    Beck Hansen: Guitar (Acoustic), Vocals
  2. Brown Eyes (Take 2) (1:29)
    Available on Beck And Dava.
    Credits
    Beck Hansen: Guitar (Acoustic), Vocals
    Dava: Vocals (Background)
  3. Brown Eyes (Take 3) (1:35)
    Available on Beck And Dava.
    Credits
    Beck Hansen: Guitar (Acoustic), Vocals
    Dava: Vocals (Background)
  4. Brown Eyes (Take 4) (3:04)
    Available on Beck And Dava.
    Credits
    Beck Hansen: Guitar (Acoustic), Vocals
    Dava: Vocals (Background)
 
Lyrics:
Brown Eyes (Take 1) [Version (a)]:

Those brown

Those brown eyes I loved so well
Those brown eyes I longed to see
Now I long for those brown eyes
Strangers they have grown to be
Brown Eyes (Take 2) [Version (b)]:

Those brown eyes I loved so well
Those brown eyes I longed to see
Those brown eyes..
Now I long for those brown eyes
Strangers they have grown to be
 
Brown Eyes (Take 3) [Version (c)]:

Those brown eyes I loved so well
Those brown eyes I longed to see
Now I long for those brown eyes
Strangers they have grown to be

Those brown eyes I loved so well
Those brown eyes I longed to see
Now I long for those brown eyes
Strangers they have grown to be
Brown Eyes (Take 4) [Version (d)]:

Those brown eyes I loved so well
Those brown eyes I longed to see
Now I long for those brown eyes
Strangers they have grown to be

Just a year ago today
My brown eyes have gone away
Now I long to heaven to be
Where brown eyed angels wait for me

Those brown eyes I loved so well
Those brown eyes I longed to see
Now I long for those brown eyes
Strangers they have grown to be

Today I passed her on the street
I bowed my head because I could not speak
Another man was by her side
Soon I thought she'd be his bride

Those brown eyes I loved so well
Those brown eyes I longed to see
Now I long for those brown eyes
Strangers they have grown to be
 
The Song:

"Those Brown Eyes" (or sometimes "Brown Eyes") was originally written by Woody Guthrie, a simple story about seeing his brown-eyed girl with another man and letting her go forever. Then the last verse, he learns the other man was her brother.

Beck covers this on an old tape from 1990, an informal recording of what sounds like a small gathering of friends singing songs. There are four takes, because the first three, he's teaching the song to someone (Dava, we assume).

Beck doesn't sing the final verse about the brother; and his first verse seems different from versions I've heard. His second verse is close to most, including Guthrie's. The chorus is the same. But that just goes to the informal nature of this tape/singalong, they were just singing and having a good time.