# Brandy, you’re a fine girl. But when did you live? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [July 15, 2024, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brandy-you-re-a-fine-girl-but-when-did-you-live/1004235 "2024-07-15T00:42:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2024, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brandy-you-re-a-fine-girl-but-when-did-you-live/1004235/101 "2024-07-15T18:38:42Z")
> [@XOldiesJock](#): > > English had an especially grating voice and I remember hearing English’s version but didn’t like it at all. Yikes. He sounds like he wants to be Tina Turner. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2024, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brandy-you-re-a-fine-girl-but-when-did-you-live/1004235/102 "2024-07-15T18:41:09Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Good grief, I’m from Chicago and I have no problem with people using the directional term to describe the relative position of a location, regardless of whether there’s a neighborhood called that or not. Good grief! Do you tell the folk from Cairo, IL that they are pronouncing the name of their city wrong? ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2024, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brandy-you-re-a-fine-girl-but-when-did-you-live/1004235/103 "2024-07-15T19:17:59Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > “silver from Spain” was an actual luxury, that I’d assume would be beyond the purchasing power of most sailors That is assuming he purchased it, pirates still consider themselves sailors. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2024, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brandy-you-re-a-fine-girl-but-when-did-you-live/1004235/104 "2024-07-15T19:31:16Z")
If you read the lyrics closely, the sailor man only was in Harbor Town once, on a summer’s day. He met Brandy, wooed her (probably had sex) and left her a locket to remember him. He hasn’t been back since. All the other sailor men like Brandy, but she’s pining away for a guy that is never coming back. Whether he has girls in lots of towns with lots of lockets, we can’t discern from the lyrics. When the singer says he was a honest man, sure. His stories about the sea were true, and when he said “no harbor was his home”, that was true. it may even be true he loved Brandy. He loves a lot of women. But she’s still kidding herself. She’ll be sixty, still single, still waiting. “you ever feel that kind of love that comes once in a lifetime?” “Dozens of times.” ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2024, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brandy-you-re-a-fine-girl-but-when-did-you-live/1004235/105 "2024-07-15T19:36:06Z")
> [@Ellecram](#): > > In the eras before water was safe to drink many people drank wine with their meals. A tradition I strive to maintain. > [@Miller](#): > > The fact that he wrote the song about a woman he actually knew seems to rule out the 17th/18th centuries as settings for this song. And, anyway, “Randi” doesn’t sound any less modern to my ear than “Brandy”. Yeah, the Randy thing has been confirmed. But there are some interesting urban legends. One is that Brandy was based on the story of Mary Ellis. It would be cool if true, alas it is not. > **[Mary Ellis grave](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Ellis_grave)** > > The Mary Ellis grave is a grave located behind an AMC Theatre on U.S. Route 1 in New Brunswick, Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. The granite gravestone is located on a 7-foot (2.1 m) high stonework pyramid in the back parking lot. Seven relatives are also buried and marked on the grave itself. > Mary Ellis, a native of South Carolina, was a property owner and fierce feminist in New Brunswick, noted to even vote in city elections before the right for women to vote was passed. Living ... ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2024, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brandy-you-re-a-fine-girl-but-when-did-you-live/1004235/106 "2024-07-15T19:42:25Z")
> [@xizor](#): > > That is assuming he purchased it, pirates still consider themselves sailors. Even in the very unlikely circumstance that this is a song about yo-ho-ho actual friggin’ _pirate_, that would still be an extremely expensive gift for a barmaid he’s explicitly never intending to see again. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2024, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brandy-you-re-a-fine-girl-but-when-did-you-live/1004235/107 "2024-07-15T19:48:41Z")
“Whisky and rye” actually sounds pretty good! Better than “whisky and beer” or “whisky and rum.” As I recall, residents of Cairo, IL, refer to their city as “KAY-ro.” ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2024, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brandy-you-re-a-fine-girl-but-when-did-you-live/1004235/108 "2024-07-15T20:06:01Z")
i thought nantucket and whaling times. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2024, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brandy-you-re-a-fine-girl-but-when-did-you-live/1004235/109 "2024-07-15T20:13:52Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > If you read the lyrics closely, the sailor man only was in Harbor Town once, on a summer’s day. I respectfully disagree. This line makes it seem like it wasn’t a one time event. > Brandy used to watch his eyes when he told his sailor stories I suppose that it _could_ be but I think that would be the minority opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2024, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brandy-you-re-a-fine-girl-but-when-did-you-live/1004235/110 "2024-07-15T20:14:17Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > “Whisky and rye” actually sounds pretty good! It’s not bad. The good old boys were drinking it when I drove my Chevy to the levee. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2024, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brandy-you-re-a-fine-girl-but-when-did-you-live/1004235/111 "2024-07-15T20:16:34Z")
He could have come to the bar over several nights while his ship was docked in the harbor. Doesn’t mean that he came back after it sailed. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2024, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brandy-you-re-a-fine-girl-but-when-did-you-live/1004235/112 "2024-07-15T20:18:23Z")
There, you see! A timeless combination! ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2024, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brandy-you-re-a-fine-girl-but-when-did-you-live/1004235/113 "2024-07-15T20:18:37Z")
I figured the song took place a long time ago but I think that’s true of any maritime song that isn’t tropical or military or fishing, etc. I’m definitely imaging ropes and sails and plenty of danger. Milwaukee has a waterfront border with Lake Michigan and it has an East Side. > **[East Side (Milwaukee)](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Side_(Milwaukee))** > > The East Side is a district of Milwaukee, Wisconsin consisting of several neighborhoods encompassing an area just north of Downtown Milwaukee to the village of Shorewood, bordered by the Milwaukee River to the west and Lake Michigan to the east. The area encompasses residences, museums, bars, shops, theaters, live music clubs and the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee campus. > Concerted settlement in the East Side neighborhood began during the 1880s with well-to-do settlers with upper-class roots... ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2024, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brandy-you-re-a-fine-girl-but-when-did-you-live/1004235/114 "2024-07-15T20:20:35Z")
I lived there for a time in the '80s. I can understand why locals call it the East Side. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2024, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brandy-you-re-a-fine-girl-but-when-did-you-live/1004235/115 "2024-07-15T20:33:42Z")
I always thought of it as 1960’s. Any big ports could have fit. Long Beach and San Pedro came to mind for me. We had the navy base plus fishing fleets and the merchant marine coming in daily. The song has special meaning to me. I almost married a stripper in one of those bars and nearly 60 years later we reconnected with the same results as the first time. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2024, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brandy-you-re-a-fine-girl-but-when-did-you-live/1004235/116 "2024-07-15T20:55:34Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > “She could feel the ocean fall and rise, she saw its raging glory” > > So, on an ocean, with tides. And an area with apparently notable storms. Upper US Pacific coasts fits. Lakes, the Mediterranean, etc. don’t. You missed something there. The whole stanza reads: > Yeah, Brandy used to watch his eyes > When he told his sailor’s story > She could feel the ocean fall and rise > She saw its ragin’ glory > But he had always told the truth > Lord, he was an honest man > And Brandy does her best to understand My take FWIW is that she “saw” those things through his story-telling. He has sailed through storms. He has sailed across large slow waves: up and down over and over and over and … . I doubt the “ocean’s rise and fall” refers to tides. She was so into him that his stories seemed real to her. She’s never personally experienced any of that and this gives no hint to where the harbor is. Just that he has sailed the open oceans someplace sometime in his career. I agree it’s unlikely he was a US / Canadian Great Laker. But plenty of ports on the Med service ships that travel beyond the Med. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2024, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brandy-you-re-a-fine-girl-but-when-did-you-live/1004235/117 "2024-07-15T21:12:14Z")
The implication being that he’s been Bilbao baggin’ a long _list_ of vulnerable women? Hm. An erstwhile Lord of the Rings, indeed. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2024, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brandy-you-re-a-fine-girl-but-when-did-you-live/1004235/118 "2024-07-15T21:18:06Z")
That’s my impression of the lyrics also. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2024, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brandy-you-re-a-fine-girl-but-when-did-you-live/1004235/119 "2024-07-15T21:27:08Z")
Oh come on she allowed herself to be seduced by this sailor she the aloof one beyond the grasp all the other guys. It’s in the lyrics just posted. Let’s go Brandi! > [@LSLGuy](#): > > She could feel the ocean fall and rise > She saw its ragin’ glory 🤔 ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2024, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brandy-you-re-a-fine-girl-but-when-did-you-live/1004235/120 "2024-07-15T21:27:32Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > > [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > > > Because **Ode to Billy Joe** is such a timeless classic. > > The real reason Hollywood hasn’t turned that into a movie is that no matter what they decided to throw off the Tallahatchee Bridge, 3/4ths of social media pundits would disagree with their choice, tanking ticket sales. off topic, but as long as we’re talking about nostalgic songs: Does anybody remember when we used to have an annual thread about Billie Joe? Every year. Starting of course, on the third of June. > [@It's Billie Joe McAllister Day (Annual Thread)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-billie-joe-mcallister-day-annual-thread/660007): > > Yup. It’s the third of June, though once again not particularly dusty in the Delta. Anyone heard anything from Choctaw Ridge? > [@It's Billie Joe McCallister Day (2nd Annual thread)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-billie-joe-mccallister-day-2nd-annual-thread/584227): > > Kinda surprised that no one appears to have started a thread this year. It is definitely the third of June, and my contacts in the Delta suggest that it is, indeed, both sleepy and dusty… etc. , etc. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brandy-you-re-a-fine-girl-but-when-did-you-live/1004235.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brandy-you-re-a-fine-girl-but-when-did-you-live/1004235.md?page=7)