Censorship in Music

1. Van Harrison - Brown Eyed Girl

2. What's interesting about the title is it was supposed to be called "Brown Skinned Girl" but due to the racial tensions in our society, he changed it to make it "radio friendly." The song is however about an interracial relationship which most certainly caused unease and was banned by radio stations for the line "making love in the green grass." Many stations used the reference for intercourse as their reason for not playing it, but it is evident that there are racist undertones in their reasoning. When it was played, the line was replaced by "laughin' and a-runnin', hey, hey." 

a) The censoring was done mostly by enterprises who were not comfortable with how suggestive and radical the song was, as many radio stations would not play it.

b) While there was resistance to the song, it became a huge hit in the 60's. Since then, the song has gotten 9 million airplays, is the most downloaded and played song of the 1960's. The uncensored version is also frequently played in 60's and rock radios today. The outcome was that even though there was some censorship, that did not ruin the real song and its intentions, being found as wildly enjoyable for all listeners.

3. I believe the reason for banning Brown Eyed Girl is absurd. It's one line that is there to express passion, it does not spread any sort of hateful message. It's not explicitly stated but I definitely believe that the song was banned for the interracial relationship that is portrayed in it, making it a racial conflict that shouldn't even be an issue. I am glad that it still is a song that many people cherish regardless of the nature of the song and what certain individuals thought.  

Works Cited
Morrison, Oliver. "Turn That Down! 40 Banned and Censored Songs." National Coalition Against Censorship.26 July 2016. Web. 02 Dec. 2016.

"Brown Eyed Girl." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 02 Dec. 2016.