I have known and loved the simplicity of the song for a long damn while. I also have no fucking idea how one can create a poll in this new environment.
But I heard a new interpretation of Brandy from the come-latelys that I cannot see how the lyrics can support.
Her man is simply out at sea, on his next voyage. He is not dead, she is not some pining 25 year old widow, right?
Never heard that interpretation.
Now that you mention it though, if you examine the tenses, the sailor is always referred to in past tense (“was”, “said”). Brandy “used to” watch his eyes. But sometimes Brandy is referred to in the present tense. She “walks” through the town, etc.
It could be that the sailor died, but more likely, he just never returned to that port. “He made it clear he couldn’t stay / No harbor was his home.”
~Max
This.
Never thought he died either. He’s just “married” to the sea and will likely die there rather than settle down anywhere.
He’s not dead; he just didn’t settle down with Brandy.
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Is Brandy’s sailor dead?
0 voters
Song was early 70s right? He might not be much older than me right now, so he could be alive. Thing is, the sea wasn’t his life, his love, and his lady, that was just an excuse because he’d already married another barmaid in some other town.
I voted “no” because brandy pictures him as alive. But it was a long time ago, and really, she doesn’t know whether he’s alive or dead, and sailors lead risky lives. So maybe i should have voted “maybe”.
It’s a sweet but sad song about an incredibly naive girl, who believes all the sailor’s lies. I’ll wager he never even thinks of Brandy.
Girls: do not emulate Brandy,
But he had always told the truth, lord, he was an honest man!
I’ve gone back and forth over the years regarding whether the sailor was being sincere or just blowing Brandy off. I usually like to lean toward sincere.
I never considered that he was dead, though I suppose I can see how one might interpret it that way.
It is decidedly so.
discobot imposter detected.
What I really think is going on is that Brandy wants the guy to marry her and stay home. If she loves him so much, and everyone speaks so highly of her then he’d probably marry her if she didn’t mind him continuing to go out to sea. But whatever she says about it, he’s seen his buddies go through this before, they get married go out to sea, and when they return their wife is there with a list of chores she wants done. He’s the type of guy who will never settle down. They call him the wanderer. Yeah, the wanderer. He’ll roam around, around, around…
Even though the song is written in the present tense, I never assumed that it was tied to any one time period. Whiskey, wine and lockets have existed for a long time.
She’s still in the town…wait a couple years and he’ll be back. And he still won’t marry her—no harbor was his home. Or maybe he will—her eyes could steal a sailor from the sea.
BTW they had another hit.
He’s Schrödinger’s sailor, obviously. Until she sees him again he’s both dead and alive.
That reminds me of the ancient greek saying “there are three kinds of people: those who are alive, those who are dead, and those who are at sea.” It is often quoted in the context of how horrendous and unhealthy a sea voyage was, so that the occupants would be so often malnourished and sickly that they may as well be half-dead, but I like to think of it as meaning that once the ship goes out, no one knows the fate of the occupants until it is spotted again, so they can’t be thought of as either alive or dead.
He was dead the whole time!
I think he’s alive. Simply because I think it would have ended differently if he were dead - she probably wouldn’t still be waiting for him to finally put down roots with her. She’d likely to have married someone else - either a local or one of the sailors who keeps saying she could ‘steal a sailor from the sea’ - even though her heart still belonged to sailor who gave her the bracelet.
“I see dead sailors!”
Or, if it was the North Atlantic: Icy dead sailors.