Beautiful Brown Eyes

Hi,
The song of the week is 'Beautiful Brown Eyes' in the key of G, played in cut common time (2/2) rather than in waltz time (3/4).


Recordings
Red Allen (under the title: Beautiful Blue Eyes) - key of G
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhPgbKqwNkc  

The Gibson Brothers - key of Bb
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IupOvRqFqSo  

Jason Homey & The Snake River Boys - key of G (first break, verse, and chorus in 3/4; remainder of the song in 2/2); starts at 5:16.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1NKw99Anlo  


Time Signature
When I introduce Beautiful Brown Eyes into the Beginner Jam repertoire, I play it in 3/4 time because I think it is one of the easiest songs to use for acquainting new jammers with playing in 3/4 time. Also, people from non-bluegrass backgrounds who are already familiar with the song are more likely to have heard it played in 3/4 time rather than in cut common time.

However, while most non-bluegrass recordings of Beautiful Brown Eyes are in 3/4 time rather than in cut common time, the opposite is true of bluegrass recordings of the song. 

The first bluegrass version of Beautiful Brown Eyes, or rather Beautiful Blue Eyes (a common alteration of the title and the chorus lyrics in bluegrass versions of the song), that I ever heard was the Red Allen recording provided here. Apart from retaining 'brown' in place of 'blue', my cut time version of the song follows this recording closely.   

My reasons for recycling Beautiful Brown Eyes as a song of the week for the Intermediate Jam are: 1) to draw attention to a much more standard way of playing the song as a bluegrass song than how it has usually been played at the jam up to this point, and 2) to help demonstrate how to convert a song from one time signature to another.

Time Signature Conversion
Beautiful Brown Eyes is just one of many songs for which there are both 3/4 time and non-3/4 time recorded versions. 

I believe the best way to get started with learning how to convert a song from one time signature to another is by listening to examples of the same song played in more than one time signature. For this reason, I have included youtube links for some of the examples given below.

Another thing that could be helpful would be to compare the timing of the melody notes on the melody sheets attached here with the timing of the melody notes on the melody sheets for Beautiful Brown Eyes in 3/4 time provided for the beginner jam, for which, go to: https://www.idahobluegrassassociation.org/jasons-beginner-jam-blog-2019---2020/category/beautiful-brown-eyes

The classic example of a bluegrass song played in both 3/4 time and in cut common time is Bill Monroe's 'Blue Moon Of Kentucky'.  Bill originally recorded the song in 3/4 time.  But after Elvis Presley recorded his non-3/4 time version of the song  (which the Stanley Brothers later copied), Bill recorded it again, playing the first half of it in 3/4 time and the second half of it in cut common time. 

Bill Monroe: 3/4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtpiqdN2lJk 

Elvis Presley
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7M0CmkJ-2o

The Stanley Brothers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g67Y9Q15cNU 

Bill Monroe: 3/4 & 2/2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXqW6MiyEZo

Other songs that I have heard both 3/4 and non-3/4 versions of include:  
The Girl In The Blue Velvet Band
Bill Monroe 3/4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATc22oHWitg  
Hylo Brown 2/2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tbwk6Ka5HQc

How Mountain Girls Can Love
2/2 (standard)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrqhZxvsxTs
3/4 (non-standard)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMUosnwJFpQ

Streamline Cannonball
Hank Snow 3/4; 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9vNUJJX6-k  
Doc Watson 2/2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8Ri4YBDnt4

Mary Of The Wild Moor 
Doc Williams 4/4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCkSS0v8Ffs
The Louvin Brothers 3/4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJrKke0sf0s

Before I Met You
Paradise
I'm Thinking Tonight Of The Old Folks (a.k.a. Dixie Home)
Philadelphia Lawyer
I Never Will Marry
Dark As A Dungeon 
Amazing Grace
We Three Kings 
What Child Is This/Greensleeves

Here's a banjo solo version of 'Down In A Willow Garden' that is played first in 3/4 time and then in 2/2 time:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iudBMZgsPDM  


Chord Progression
Just a quick note that Beautiful Brown Eyes as I play it, and as played on the recordings provided here, does not use the Bury Me Beneath The Willow/Wreck Of The Old '97 progression, the most common chord progression in bluegrass, but uses the closely related, but far less common, progression:

1144
1155
1144
5511


Song List
19 songs were played at the jam last night:
Angel Band - Bb
Ashes Of Love - A
Beautiful Brown Eyes - G
Cherokee Shuffle - A
Clinch Mountain Backstep - A
Cry, Cry Darlin' - A
Gold Watch And Chain - C
Homestead On The Farm - A
I Can't Feel At Home In This World Anymore - D
In The Sweet By And By - B
Little Willie - A
Old Joe Clark - A
Temperance Reel - G
Turkey In The Straw - G
Wildwood Flower - D
Will You Be Loving Another Man - A
Little Darling Pal Of Mine - Bb
All The Good Times Are Past And Gone - D
A Memory Of You - Bb

Happy Pickin',
Jason

Beautiful Brown Eyes - banjo tab
Download File

Beautiful Brown Eyes - guitar tab
Download File

Beautiful Brown Eyes - mandolin tab
Download File

Beautiful Brown Eyes - melody in G
Download File