By Loud Atlas
The colour brown's had a rough ride over the years. The perception of the colour probably stems from our accidents (of all kinds) in childhood: brown = bad. I blame I Can Sing A Rainbow, too. You were likely encouraged to sing about the much-loved colours of red, yellow, pink and blue in your youth, essentially celebrating the rainbow (pink and purple sneak in although technically their inclusion is incorrect, Wikipedia tells me). Brown doesn't get a look-in. Poor brown.
Brown has got more going for it than we think. It's naturally comforting, traditional and timeless, warm and earthy, and, if you ask the Mamas and the Papas, is something that all the leaves are. It's a colour that's everywhere - in the eyes of most people, found freely throughout the natural world, and your local UPS van.
Many bronze-coloured gems were unearthed during last week's nominations, with an array of brown-themed offshoots: cinnamon, chocolate, mud, deforestation, and of course, eyes. And there was enough brown sugar to start a bakery or apothecary (depending on your angle!).
You're going to hear a lot of "Brown" this week. Ken Nordine starts us off with a very brown introduction to the colour. Smooth, slightly cool, and subtle. The song comes from a vocal jazz album dedicated to the colour spectrum - highly recommended!
A couple of food-related brown songs next. Don Cherry has Brown Rice by the bucketload. A simple eight-note riff underpins a flurry of brown-laced jazz. Lyrically simple and true, but a groove nonetheless.
The blues has never sounded so alive than in the vocal folds of Howlin' Wolf. Powerful vocals combined with a firm handle of blues guitar, he sings about his Chocolate Drop lover. She's the opposite of that small round confectionery item.
A pseudonymous writer, known as Worried Brown Eyes, opens up about her heart achings in the ladies' weekly magazine. She isn't having much luck in the world of relationships. She has a secretive (little brown) mole that no one's ever seen. Jake Thackray is the reader of her letters.
The Po' Ramblin' Boys can see the world change in front of their eyes. The natural trees of the area, Hickory, Walnut & Pine, make way for progress and industrialisation. A reminder of humans' ability to change the palette of the landscape.
From a song about humans controlling the natural world, to one where the natural world can inevitably control the fate of humans, their livelihoods and their past. Muddy Water is coming for Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds.
Brown evokes a history of tradition, too, so next up are a couple of traditional tunes in the brown mould. First Glen Miller Orchestra with Little Brown Jug, then The Nut Brown Maiden performed by Scottish folk band The Corries, both 19th century melodies and both timeless.
Racial and gender roles are at the centre of Brown Skin Girl. Sailors leave for war and the titular girls stay home to look after the baby in Sonny Rollins' cover version of the Harry Belafonte original. The saxophone solos soar.
Foreign language pick of the week, Milton Nascimento's Cravo e Canela ("Clove and Cinnamon") is a heady blend of gypsies, cocoa and questions aplenty - who's seasoning the food? Translation from the original Portuguese can be found here.
D'Angelo has, at first glance, a certain type of Brown Sugar on his mind. Listen deeper and it turns out that the brown sugar he's after isn't quite the type originally thought. A disguised love song.
Beer, hot chocolate, leaves and brunettes are next. There are some great lyrics here - listen out for the lines about England, cement and tattoos. Domestic life is topped off with the arrival of a new brunette into his life - his roguish days are over. Billy Bragg sends his Greetings to the New Brunette.
Tupelo Honey is the rare and expensive golden-brown kind of bee juice, as well as being a popular song by Van Morrison. In the song, he uses the honey to describe the love of his life, but on another level, the song's also about freedom (listen out for the Boston Tea Party references, among others). Plenty of brown, nonetheless.
Long ago Oscar Brown Jr had a Brown Baby who he wished to have the freedoms not afforded to himself and his ancestors. Originally a lullaby that was intended for his infant son, this song has since become an anthem of racial pride.
To end the list, we venture with Stevie Wonder into the luscious Ebony Eyes of...someone. Rumours are that the eyes belong to Diana Ross, or is perhaps a tribute to Florence Ballard, another Supremes member, who passed away aged just 32 in 1976. Regardless, is there a better colour of eyes to get lost in?
Over in the Bs, along with some songs of zedded fame, you'll hear some songs that are mud-, whiskey- and hazelnut-based, and one that features the most endearing pronunciation of "chocolate" ever recorded.
Auburn, Almond and Onwards A-List Playlist:
Ken Nordine - Brown (Fred Erickson)
Don Cherry - Brown Rice (pejepeine)
Howlin' Wolf - Chocolate Drop (Nicko)
Jake Thackray - Worried Brown Eyes (severin)
The Po' Ramblin' Boys - Hickory, Walnut & Pine (tincanman2010)
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Muddy Water (Shoegazer)
Glenn Miller Orchestra - Little Brown Jug (Suzi)
The Corries - The Nut Brown Maiden (Suzi)
Sonny Rollins - Brown Skin Girl (Nicko)
Milton Nascimento - Cravo e Canela (pejepeine)
D'Angelo - Brown Sugar (nosuchzone)
Billy Bragg - Greetings to the New Brunette (ParaMhor)
Van Morrison - Tupelo Honey (tincanman2010)
Oscar Brown Jr. - Brown Baby (Fred Erickson)
Stevie Wonder - Ebony Eyes (Fred Erickson)
Beautiful Brun B-List Playlist:
Van Morrison - Brown Eyed Girl (nosuchzone)
Leon Bridges - Brown Skin Girl (Nicko)
Kaleidoscope - Chocolate Whale (TarquinSpodd)
Guy Clark - Hemingway's Whiskey (tincanman2010)
Los Mocosos - Brown and Proud (Nicko)
The Purple Gang - Brown Shoes (TarquinSpodd)
Sam & Dave - Soul Sister, Brown Sugar (AltraEgo)
Lil Hardin Armstrong - Brown Gal (Nicko)
Buddy Holly - Brown Eyed Handsome Man (Suzi)
India Arle - Brown Skin (Fred Erickson)
Brad Paisley - Mud on the Tires (Fred Erickson)
Serge Gainsbourg - Couleur Café (pejepeine)
Slash - Metal Chestnut (Vikingchild)
Shonen Knife - Hot Chocolate (TarquinSpodd)
Heino - Schwarzbraun ist die Haselnuss (TarquinSpodd)
Guru's Wildcard Picks:
Loudon Wainwright III - Cardboard Boxes
Brown and practical.
Johnny Cash - Rusty Cage
Brown and breakable.
Yussef Dayes ft. Tom Misch - Rust
Brown and...instrumental!
Slim Gaillard - Potato Chips
Brown and munchable.
Mad Agnes - Potato
Brown and toe-pay-to-po-tay-able (or something).
These playlists were inspired by readers' song nominations in response to last week's topic: Look back in umber: songs about the colour brown. The next topic will launch on Thursday after 1pm UK time.
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