Brown Eyed Women - Grateful Dead Song Review

Brown Eyed Women is a great fun old Grateful Dead Song. This song came out on Europe '72 and is one of those tunes that Robert Hunter was referring to years later when he pointed out that there was a lot of original music created around that time that he wished had gotten properly recorded in a studio (like Jack Straw, Ramble on Rose, and others).

For me, the Europe '72 version is just a great version of Brown Eyed Women. I love this type of Dead song with Robert Hunter's lyrics harkening back several decades to a past era of American life. He sings about a man who raised a ragged family of farmers and/or moonshiners. The "old man" and Delilah Jones (the mother of twins, two times over and the rest were sins) recur throughout the song and a great tale of love and loss is born.

Brown Eyed Women also boasts one of those memorable refrains to start off some of the verses "..Gone are the days when the...." This song is Grateful Dead songwriting at its finest and I was lucky enough to see this song live at Shoreline Amphitheater on 9/18/1994. I will always listen to Brown Eyed Women when it comes on a tape or podcast.

Brown Eyed Women Song Rating on a Scale of 1-10: 7.9

Disclaimer: This is part of my review of every Grateful Dead song from A-Z. Music is a beautiful thing because it is so personal and subjective, so keep in mind that this is one man's opinion (and be sure to read my blog manifesto to understand a little more about where I'm coming from).