Oh, Billy Brown had lived an ordinary life
Two kids, a dog and the precautionary wife
While it was all going accordingly to plan
Then Billy Brown fell in love with another man

He met his lover almost every single day
Making excuses through his dodgy holiday
Unto religion that he said he newly found
They didn't know that his faith was earthly bound

Brown, oh, Billy Brown
Don't let the stars get you down
Don't let the waves let you drown

Brown, oh, Billy Brown
Gonna pick you up like a paper cup
Gonna shake the water out of every nook
Oh, Billy Brown

Oh, Billy Brown needed a place somewhere to go
He found an island off the coast of Mexico
Leaving his lover and his family behind
Oh, Billy Brown needed to find some peace of mind

And on his journey and his travels on the way
He met a girlie who was brave enough to say
When they made love he shared the burden of his mind
Oh, Billy Brown you are a victim of the times

Brown, oh, Billy Brown
Don't let the stars get you down
Don't let the waves let you drown

Brown, oh, Billy Brown
Gonna pick you up like a paper cup
Gonna shake the water out of every nook
Oh, Billy Brown

Brown, oh, Billy Brown
Gonna pick you up like a paper cup
Gonna shake the water out of every nook
Oh, Billy Brown

Oh, Billy Brown had lived an ordinary life
Two kids, a dog and the precautionary wife
While it was all going accordingly to plan
Then Billy Brown fell in love with another man


Lyrics submitted by jonisofsparta, edited by queertopia

Billy Brown Lyrics as written by Michael Holbrook Penniman

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Billy Brown song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

27 Comments

sort form View by:
  • 0
    General Comment

    FYI,

    if that is straight from Mika's own mouth in some interview, I'm surprised he didnt also put in what he said in another interview. When asked if it was autobiographical, Mika said "No, it's actually about a friend I knew."

    Billy Brown isnt just a character.

    bluchickenlvr04on April 10, 2007   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
Spirit Within
Bertoldi Brothers
Warren wanted a Beach Boys thing for this one, and Carl Wilson and Billy Hinsche came in, with Carl arranging the vocal parts. The other harmony vocalists (credited as the "Gentlemen Boys") were Jackson Browne, J.D. Souther, Zevon's longtime backers Waddy Wachtel and Jorge Calderon, and Linda Rondstadt/Stone Poneys guitarist Kenny Edwards.
Album art
Grand Theft Auto
Insane Ian
The way this song speaks to me🥺🥺when I sing it I feel like I relate
Album art
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines: "Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet" So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other: "I had all and then most of you" Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart "Some and now none of you" Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship. This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Album art
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Album art
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988. "'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it." "There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."