The Famous Song Van Morrison Rarely Performed in Concert for Years (and Why He Avoided It)

Van Morrison scored his first hit as a solo artist in 1967 with his debut single, “Brown Eyed Girl.” The acclaimed singer-songwriter was just 21 years old when he recorded the tune, which peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in September 1967.

“Brown Eyed Girl” is a joyful pop gem in which the singer looks back fondly at his romantic encounters with a girlfriend. The song has become one of the Northern Ireland native’s signature tunes, and a 1960s pop classic.

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As popular as “Brown Eyed Girl” is, Morrison has gone through long periods of his career where he rarely performed the song live. According to Setlist.fm, between 1979 and 1993, Van performed the song in concert less than a dozen times. Starting in 2000, Morrison regularly began singing the song, although he hasn’t included it in his sets since October 2022.

In a 2009 article in Time magazine, the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer gave some insight into why he didn’t necessarily enjoy playing the famous tune when he answered a fan-submitted question about whether he thought “Brown Eyed Girl” would still be played on the radio more than 40 years after he wrote it.

“No,” he replied. “‘Brown Eyed Girl’ I didn’t perform for a long time because for me it was like a throwaway song. I’ve got about 300 other songs I think are better than that.”

More Recent Comments from Morrison About “Brown Eyed Girl”

Then, in 2024, Morrison was interviewed by U.K. newspaper The Sun about his latest album at the time, New Arrangements and Duets, which featured updated versions of various songs by Van. He explained why “Brown Eyed Girl” wouldn’t be a song he’d consider revisiting.

“How can a 79-year-old guy sing about something he wrote when he was 20?” he insisted. “It’s basically a teenage song. I can’t relate to it much now, you know.”

More About “Brown Eyed Girl”

“Brown Eyed Girl” was originally called “Brown Skinned Girl” and was about an interracial romance. The title was changed early on, though, reportedly to make the song more palatable for radio airplay at the time.

Morrison recorded “Brown Eyed Girl” in May 1967 in New York with hit-making producer Bert Berns. The track features backing vocals by The Sweet Inspirations, a female R&B group that featured Cissy Houston (Whitney’s mom).

The song was released as a single in June of that year. It also was included on Van’s debut solo album, Blow Your Mind!, which arrived in September of 1967.

In 2021, “Brown Eyed Girl” was certified Platinum by the RIAA for equivalent sales of 1 million copies in the U.S.

(Photo by PoPsie Randolph/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)