Oh come on, there’s nothing in the song that suggests he’s dead. He’s a footloose sailor with probably a woman in every port. The only difference between him and any other serial seducer is he didn’t string Brandy along with empty promises of commitment. He was an honest man, telling her that his life was the sea, and he would never settle down and make a family. Brandy does her best to understand that, but she loves him anyway.
Brandy probably wants to love an unavailable man for her own reasons.
I’ve always thought Brandy and Ride Captain Ride sort of went together well. Brandy’s sailor was one of the 73 men who sailed away to another shore (to laugh their lives away and be free once more). They called everyone (including Brandy) to ride along, but no one took them up on the offer.
I found it telling that they specified 73 men but no women. Sailing out of San Francisco, I had a lot of “not that there’s anything wrong with that” moments with that in the 90s. Then again, now that you mention it, the ship may also have been stocked with plenty of sailors who only indulged in rum, and the ones that expanded their tastes to another British naval tradition may have been the lucky ones because they didn’t specify that no women were allowed, they just didn’t agree to ride.
Brandy has been called the most requested song of all time by many DJs. It’s not surprising, any pop music radio channel plays this song just about every day. I went out to Lowes earlier to pick up a couple of things and Brandy was playing in the store when I walked in. I do like this song because it’s one of the few where I can understand the lyrics.
Her name is Brandy, she was a barmaid
But that was thirty years ago, when they used to have a bar
Now it’s a disco, but not for Brandy
Still with that braided chain
that’s from the north of Spain
She sits there so refined, and drinks herself half-blind
She lost her youth and she lost her sailor
Now she’s lost her mind
Sheesh, it’s a song, a romantic song where such things can be idealized. He’s a fellow who has indeed realized that he would never really be happy without a shifting deck beneath his feet. And he cares for Brandy at least enough to be honest with her, and that’s part of what breaks her heart. He could well still be alive, and still Brandy knows that she can never have what she really wants. Tragic.
I’ve always thought it was clear. Brandy loved the sailor. The sailor loved Brandy but he loved the sea more; so he ended up choosing the sea and leaving Brandy behind.
Yeah, I liked that song when it first came out. And some of their other tunes were pretty good too. “Sweet Somethin” really resonated with me, as did “Stanton Station”.
Well, he didn’t until that song started getting played non-stop on radios around the world. And remember, this was before mp3’s or CD’s, so that poor sailor was at the mercy of the Top 40 on constant repeat. So EVERY single port, EVERY seaside bar, every hotel or cafe, he heard nothing but Brandy, Brandy, Brandy…
And that’s why he signed up for that 10-year stint on an Arctic Icebreaker. The voyage no one came back from, which was his hope when he left port…
Doooo doo do do doo, Doooo doo do do doo. 