O.A.R. – About Mr. Brown

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What can you say about tomorrow?
What do you know about my life?
What do you say to your daughter?
What do you tell your wife?

Say Mr. Brown how about your daughter.
Do you know what she's done tonight
And do you agree that we are lost here?
Well, among the lost we shall survive.

What's that you say when the rain won't go away?
What's that you do when no one's looking at you?
Where's that you go after the show?
What's that you say?

Say Mr. Brown how about this weather?
Is it gonna rain on our parade?
Is your soul as light as a feather?
Or am I flat out going insane?

Say Mr. Brown how about your brother.
Do you know what he's done with his life?
While you're chasing him out the front door,
He's chasing you with a butcher knife.

What's that you say when the rain won't go away?
What's that you do when no one's looking at you?
Where's that you go after the show?
What's that you say?

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Lyrics submitted by Xine

Track duration: 06:39


About Mr. Brown song meanings
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30 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment:there are extreme parrels to this song with the story "young goodman brown" or young mr brown by Nathaniel hawthorne. The band uses the same theme of mr. brown not realy knowing how bad the world is around him. He does not see the evils intill the speaker puts them in front of his face. the questions about the weather is sarcasum. Its like asking if he seeings anything that is going on around him. Hawthorne writes in his story about how evil his family real was, he had realitives that killed "witches in salem witch trials and relatives that pericuted quakers. this is parrel with his brother chasing him with a knife.
    Flag mike000on November 19, 2009   Link
    • 1 Reply
  • 0
    General Comment:the way i interprut this song is:
    this guy "mr. brown" is lying to everyone he loves and cares about.
    they don't know the real him.
    "what do you say to your daughter, and what did you tell to your wife"

    then it's talking about his daughter...and him not really know her at all.
    "say mr. brown how about your daughter, do you see what's she's done tonight"

    and the part about his brother, i take it that, his brother made some major mistakes in his life.
    some of those which "mr. brown" doesn't stand for, or believe in.
    so he kicks him out of his house..."while your chasin him out of the front door"
    and of course, that's not being a good brother at all, so his brother his angry with him..."he's chasin you with a butcher knife.

    then...it's talking about what mr. brown does while no one is watching him.

    thats my take on the song.
    Flag liveatezon January 31, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I'm pretty sure trippinbtm has it right. No band like OAR writes songs about politics and conservative bullshit...they write songs about how they see things. This song is just about society and Mr. Brown isn't meant to be a personification, it's meant to be an actual scenario (whether it's based on a real situation, we couldn't know unless we asked the band) of Mr. Browns parenting to his daughter; that maybe he doesn't approve of how shes living and stuff, and same with his brother, that he blocks him out. Also there is a verse about Mr. Brown's mother which isn't in these lyrics; it kinda shows the innocent, vulnerable side of Mr. Brown's family conflicts. Well the chorus is reaching out trying to make him realize that he's not perfect either, and to try to accept the world how it is.
    And it is dedicated to their friend Michael, who liked the song when they first wrote and performed it, before they were famous.

    Anyways, believe what you want to believe. Any song is a hell of a lot more interesting and enjoyable to listen to if it has some meaning to you. Don't get caught caught up in all this research about what it is intended to mean, let it mean what you want, whatever you can relate to.
    Flag elijah_mbon July 06, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:ok.......look on the Live From Madison Square Garden CD it talks about Michael and how they started playing in a basement 10 years back.... BUT not after About Mr. Brown.......they said this after LIVING IN THE END!!! i dont know why you guys think they are talking about Michael relating to this song.......they might dedicate About Mr. Brown to Michael on another album....but not on Live From Madison Square Garden.........great song.......O.A.R. is simply amazing!!!!!!!
    Flag nate930on March 14, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:ok.......look on the Live From Madison Square Garden CD it talks about Michael and how they started playing in a basement 10 years back.... BUT not after About Mr. Brown.......they said this after LIVING IN THE END!!! i dont know why you guys think they are talking about Michael relating to this song.......they might dedicate About Mr. Brown to Michael on another album....but not on Live From Madison Square Garden.........great song.......O.A.R. is simply amazing!!!!!!!
    Flag nate930on March 14, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:MR BROWN IS NOT EQUAL TO MICHAEL! AH HHH
    Flag stevep898on August 11, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:The song is written about not political issues of any kind really, but like trippinbtm said, hypocracy. but its defintiley not written about their friend Michael. On Live at Madison Square Garden, Marc specifically says at the intro to this song that they've been playing music for 10 years now, starting out in a basement with just a few people watching. Michael was one of their friends who often watched them play their songs, and About Mr. Brown was his favorite song. so to all of you who are saying they wrote it for him, you're totally wrong. its just dedicated to Michael because it was his favorite song.
    Flag revolution1087on June 19, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Dukedude, you are as bad as wheels is. Wheels is wrong. Go listen to the version of it on 34th and 8th (this quote is actually located at the end of Dareh Meyod): "This next song right here is, and always will be for our good friend Micheal. You know we miss him, and you know we love him, and if you guys are real loud, micheal will come from the heavens above and relax with us. This is his song." By all accounts, the members of O.A.R. don't like writing political songs, and avoid it with only a couple of major exceptions, 52-50 and arguably Mr. Moon being the biggest. This song isn't political like how wheels broke it down. it's not some big liberal rant. oldmantime1189 has it as close as it can be summed up.
    Flag phreekmatikon February 09, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Dukedude, you are as bad as wheels is. Wheels is wrong. Go listen to the version of it on 34th and 8th (this quote is actually located at the end of Dareh Meyod): "This next song right here is, and always will be for our good friend Micheal. You know we miss him, and you know we love him, and if you guys are real loud, micheal will come from the heavens above and relax with us. This is his song." By all accounts, the members of O.A.R. don't like writing political songs, and avoid it with only a couple of major exceptions, 52-50 and arguably Mr. Moon being the biggest. This song isn't political like how wheels broke it down. it's not some big liberal rant. oldmantime1189 has it as close as it can be summed up.
    Flag phreekmatikon February 09, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:wheels said it perfectly.
    Flag dukedudeon July 25, 2006   Link

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