The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.
There's a port on a western bay
And it serves a hundred ships a day
Lonely sailors pass the time away
And talk about their homes
And there's a girl in this harbor town
And she works layin' whiskey down
They say. "Brandy, fetch another round"
She serves them whiskey and wine
The sailors say, "Brandy, you're a fine girl
(You're a fine girl)
What a good wife you would be
(Such a fine girl)
Yeah, your eyes
Could steal a sailor from the sea"
Brandy wears a braided chain
Made of finest silver from the north of Spain
A locket that bears the name
Of a man that Brandy loved
He came on a summer's day
Bringing gifts from far away
But he made it clear he couldn't stay
No harbor was his home
The sailor said, "Brandy, you're a fine girl
(You're a fine girl)
What a good wife you would be
(Such a fine girl)
But my life, my love and my lady is the sea"
Yeah, Brandy used to watch his eyes
When he told his sailor's story
She could feel the ocean fall and rise
She saw its raging glory
But he had always told the truth
Lord, he was an honest man
And Brandy does her best to understand
At night when the bars close down
Brandy walks through a silent town
And loves a man who's not around
She still can hear him say
She hears him say, "Brandy, you're a fine girl
(You're a fine girl)
What a good wife you would be
(Such a fine girl)
But my life, my love and my lady is the sea
It is, yes, it is"
He said, "Brandy, you're a fine girl
(You're a fine girl)
What a good wife you would be
(Such a fine girl)
But my life, my love and my lady is the sea
It is, it is, yes, it is"
And it serves a hundred ships a day
Lonely sailors pass the time away
And talk about their homes
And there's a girl in this harbor town
And she works layin' whiskey down
They say. "Brandy, fetch another round"
She serves them whiskey and wine
The sailors say, "Brandy, you're a fine girl
(You're a fine girl)
What a good wife you would be
(Such a fine girl)
Yeah, your eyes
Could steal a sailor from the sea"
Brandy wears a braided chain
Made of finest silver from the north of Spain
A locket that bears the name
Of a man that Brandy loved
He came on a summer's day
Bringing gifts from far away
But he made it clear he couldn't stay
No harbor was his home
The sailor said, "Brandy, you're a fine girl
(You're a fine girl)
What a good wife you would be
(Such a fine girl)
But my life, my love and my lady is the sea"
Yeah, Brandy used to watch his eyes
When he told his sailor's story
She could feel the ocean fall and rise
She saw its raging glory
But he had always told the truth
Lord, he was an honest man
And Brandy does her best to understand
At night when the bars close down
Brandy walks through a silent town
And loves a man who's not around
She still can hear him say
She hears him say, "Brandy, you're a fine girl
(You're a fine girl)
What a good wife you would be
(Such a fine girl)
But my life, my love and my lady is the sea
It is, yes, it is"
He said, "Brandy, you're a fine girl
(You're a fine girl)
What a good wife you would be
(Such a fine girl)
But my life, my love and my lady is the sea
It is, it is, yes, it is"
Lyrics submitted by dsfire, edited by janeaparis1
Brandy Lyrics as written by Elliot Lurie
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I was named after this song. It was my fathers favorite song. I enjoy the song as long as I dont think of the lyrics. The lyrics disturb me. The song plays on every womans irrational fear of becoming an old maid who pines away for a man. Any Man.
I can't help but think " that selfish bastard!" How could he play that awful game with that woman knowing how she felt for him. What the hell was she thinking hanging around the place? I would have waited until he came back and let him watch me pack. That would be the last he'd see of me. Ugh! What a selfish ass!
But he made it clear... he couldn't stay
@kidnic, seems to me he made it clear he WOULDN'T stay. He also said his lady was the sea. The sea is not a person. If he truly was in love with the sea, he should have been making time with it, not the barmaid. It's just a bunch of excuses for emotional unavailability. Thought Fleetwood Mac poked all the necessary holes in those lies/crap. <br /> <br /> @brandyraynae, sorry. My father was a musician (& mother was a rayne, just fyi, unsure if yours is more like Renee). I believe this was my father's favorite, played it all the damned time. SO glad I was only 7 when this BS was out, and first saw Betty Friedan speak at 8, even though I've always been more of a 3rd wave feminist (post-Steinem). Stupid jerk had an IQ around 140 & NO DEPTH. Of all the options, when he played Jim Croce he played Leroy Brown. Perhaps it explains a lot that I thought Time in a Bottle was about alcohol. <br /> <br /> So relieved I grew up at a later time and chose a place where communication was a priority. But I still revert to those early exposures at times (bad idea FOR ME [lotsa Gemini, can you tell? ;-) ] to marry a guy who grew up in SpEnglItalian). <br /> It's a whole lot easier to deal (and sleep peacefully) when a guy splits for a couple days if he leaves you with Sugar Magnolia instead of this male lone wolf fantasy/delusion crap:<br /> "She's got everything delightful<br /> She's got everything I need<br /> A breeze in the pines in the summer night moonlight<br /> Crazy in the sunlight yes indeed<br /> Sometimes when the cuckoo's crying<br /> When the moon is halfway down<br /> Sometimes when the night is dying<br /> I take me out and I wander round<br /> Wander round . . . ."<br /> Men, take note. Loose Lucy, not so much. <br /> <br /> & women, throw Eagles Desperado at him if necessary, if you're prepared to hear you're just Ms. Right-Now. Better to know sooner than later. songmeanings.com/m/songs/view/4817/<br /> Desperado, oh, you ain't gettin' no younger<br /> Your pain and your hunger, they're drivin' you home<br /> And freedom, oh freedom, well that's just some people talkin'<br /> Your prison is walking through this world all alone<br /> <br /> If you've really been dogged without cause by some delusional lone wolf & want payback or care enough to offer some insight, there's nothing like Steppenwolf Tenderness IF YOU ABSOLUTELY KNOW IT'S ON THE MONEY. Some guys feel NO urge to pair off until 40-ish but end up fine. Nothing worse than telling a guy he'll die alone & he ends up happily married for 30 yrs (unless you scared him so much he changed). You better make sure it's him, not you. <br /> songmeanings.com/m/songs/view/11424/<br /> She said, she said all your women burn in your flame<br /> And as it dies, as it dies, they'll leave you and seek revenge<br /> She laughed and said "You'll go through hell<br /> You'll live in lonely rooms unknown<br /> And watch for my lost Tenderness."
@brandyraynae That last sentence rhymed lol! I agree with you 100 percent!
I had a girlfriend in Jr /Sr High In Iowa in the early 70’s.We had to part as our family moved to a neighboring state 450 miles away..Brandy Rae was a name we picked if we <br /> If we ever had a daughter..”.Brandy” after the song and “Rae “after her moms middle name..<br /> She had a boyfriend within a few months of me leaving and married him after she graduated that year.I graduated a year later ...and went Navy-to the sea..<br /> A few years went bye and long story shortened...She had a daughter and named her <br /> “Brandi”...and I believe “Rae “...With her husband.<br /> I lived in Iowa later briefly...and found the later fact a lil creepy yet nostalgic,also...<br /> Anyways I am happy for her /family that they are blessed as she had a heart murmur <br /> And I was told she was advised to not have kids...<br /> And as for Brandi ...I just feel some sadness as has a lot in common with this song of which she shares a name...Iowa is a great place to raise children however think she would have done well...financially ,socially,etc...had she moved to a big city on the east coast for instance...She is not married and working on 40 now...<br />