Golden Brown
| "Golden Brown" | |||||||||||
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| Single by The Stranglers | |||||||||||
| from the album La Folie | |||||||||||
| B-side | "Love 30" | ||||||||||
| Released | 28 December 1981 (U.S.) 10 January 1982 (UK) |
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| Format | 7" vinyl | ||||||||||
| Recorded | 1981 | ||||||||||
| Genre | Baroque pop, New Wave | ||||||||||
| Length | 3:30 | ||||||||||
| Label | Liberty BP 407 (UK, 7") |
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| Writer(s) | The Stranglers | ||||||||||
| Producer | The Stranglers Steve Churchyard |
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| The Stranglers singles chronology | |||||||||||
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"Golden Brown" is a song by the English rock band The Stranglers. It was released as a 7" single in December 1981 in the United States and in January 1982 in the UK, on Liberty. It was the second single released from the band's sixth album La Folie.
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[edit] Overview
Originally featured on the group's album La Folie, which was released in November 1981, and later on some pressings of Feline, "Golden Brown" was released as a single in December 1981, and was accompanied by a video. It reached #2 in the official UK singles chart in February 1982,[1] behind "Town Called Malice" by The Jam.[2] It was the comparatively conservative BBC Radio 2, at that time a middle-of-the-road (MOR) music radio station, which decided to make the record the single of the week, a surprising step considering the band were almost as notorious as Sex Pistols only a few short years before. The band claimed that the song's lyrics were akin to an aural Rorschach test and that people only heard in it what they wanted to hear, although this did not prevent persistent allegations that the lyrics alluded to heroin (although in an interview with Channel 4, drummer Jet Black quipped it was a song about Marmite).
The single was a hit around the world, scaling the Top 10 as far away as Australia. Its commercial success was probably the single factor that secured The Stranglers their continuing life in pop mainstream for the remainder of the 1980s.
It was also featured in the 2000 film, Snatch, and is included on the accompanying soundtrack album.
[edit] Meaning
There has been much controversy surrounding the lyrics. In his 2001 book The Stranglers Song By Song, Hugh Cornwell clearly states "'Golden Brown' works on two levels. It's about heroin and also about a girl". Essentially the lyrics describe how "both provided me with pleasurable times".[3]
[edit] Musical composition
Written in the key of B minor, the song is a lyrical harpsichord-led ballad alternating between 6/8 and 7/8. The song's characteristic opening phrase consists of alternating 6/8 and 7/8 bars. The music was largely written by keyboardist Dave Greenfield and drummer Jet Black, with lyrics by Hugh Cornwell.[4]
[edit] Music video
The video for "Golden Brown", directed by Lindsey Clennell, depicts the band members both as explorers in an Arabian country (sequences include images of the Pyramids as well as the explorers studying a map of Egypt) in the 1920s and performers for a fictional "Radio Cairo". In addition to the Pyramids, the video is intercut with stock footage of a madrassa in Uzbekistan, the Shah Mosque in Isfahan, Iran and Great Sphinx, Feluccas sailing, Bedouins riding and camel racing in the United Arab Emirates. The performance scenes were filmed in the Leighton House Museum in Holland Park, London.
[edit] Chart performance
| Chart (1981/1982) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart[1] | 2 |
| German GfK chart[5] | 10 |
| Dutch Top 40[6] | 8 |
| Irish Singles Chart[7] | 3 |
| Chart (1981) | Peak position |
| UK Singles Chart[1] | 68 |
| Irish Singles Chart[7] | 25 |
[edit] Cover versions
- In 1996, British hip hop group Kaleef had a UK Top 40 hit with their re-working of this song.[8]
- In 1997, soul singer Omar revived the song and took it back into the UK Top 40.[9]
[edit] Track listing
Songs, lyrics, and music by The Stranglers.
- 7" (BP 407)
- "Golden Brown" – 3:28
- "Love 30" – 3:57
[edit] References
- ^ a b c "Chart Stats - The Stranglers - Golden Brown". http://www.chartstats.com/songinfo.php?id=9741. Retrieved 5 July 2009.
- ^ "Chart Stats - Singles Chart For 13 February 1982". http://www.chartstats.com/chart.php?week=19820213. Retrieved 5 July 2009.
- ^ Cornwell, Hugh; Drury, Jim (2001). The Stranglers Song By Song. Sanctuary Publishing Ltd. ISBN 1860743625.
- ^ http://www.allmusic.com/song/t4310535
- ^ "dutchcharts.nl - The Stranglers - Golden Brown (Dutch)". http://dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=The+Stranglers&titel=Golden+Brown&cat=s. Retrieved 5 July 2009.
- ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 - Week 11, 1982 (Dutch)". http://www.top40.nl/index.aspx?week=11&jaar=1982. Retrieved 5 July 2009.
- ^ a b "irishcharts.ie search results". http://www.irishcharts.ie/search/placement. Retrieved 5 July 2009.
- ^ "Chart Stats - Kaleef - Golden Brown". http://www.chartstats.com/songinfo.php?id=24753. Retrieved 5 July 2009.
- ^ "Chart Stats - Omar - Golden Brown". http://www.chartstats.com/songinfo.php?id=25715. Retrieved 5 July 2009.
[edit] External links
- "Golden Brown" Guitar Tablature
