Music Review: Cody Simpson "Pretty Brown Eyes"

Cody Simpson

Pretty Brown Eyes

Album: Surfers Paradise

Year: 2013

       Cody Simpson meets a beautiful girl at the beach in the presumptuous   “Pretty Brown Eyes.”

            A distorted voice comments on the girl’s looks in the morning, saying she’s still attractive even if she has bags under eyes and some pimples on her face. Simpson wholeheartedly agrees. It sets a stalkerish tone. (“Go to sleep, wake up/You’re pretty with no makeup/Got to sleep, wake up/You’re pretty with no makeup/I like this right here.”)

            He sips his water and wipes the sweat off his face with a towel. Grabbing his surfboard and bag, he heads to the pier to get something to eat.  On the left side of him, he spots a gorgeous girl and freezes. He watches as she flips her cascading blonde hair over her shoulder. In a red tankini that flatters her hourglass figure, she could be the swimsuit model on the cover of the Sports Illustrated. He tries to squeak out a “hello” but can’t think of any conversation topics beyond it. Usually, he can talk to a girl without any problem. However, she’s not any girl and he thinks he just fell in love. Then she notices him and grins. (“This girl she came round the corner/Looking like a model/Magazine figure/She was shaped like a bottle/Long straight hair/She was fly as a bird/First time ever/I was lost for words/Felt so right/Just couldn't be wrong/Love at first sight/If that exists at all/I couldn't move/Felt like I was stuck/And then baby girl looked up.”)

          In the chorus, he opens with a compliment and asks her out right away, wanting to know if she has plans for the evening. He knows of some cool places in town they can go.  (“And I said:/Hey there pretty brown eyes/Whatcha doing later tonight?/Would you mind if I spend time with you?/And I said/Hey there pretty brown eyes/Whatcha doing later tonight?/Would you mind if I spend time with you?.”)

            The distorted voice returns, repeating the intro.

         She tells him yes and asks if he lives around here. He tells her he grew up in the area. The beach is like a second home to him. As they walk to his car, he finds out she’s from Miami. Yes! He taps the steering wheel, excited at his luck.  It means she’s up for anything and not a prude like the other girls in his town. He mentions a couple of nightclubs to her and she says she would like to go to one of them.  Once they get there, he orders them both drinks. Halfway through their drinks, the she hears Timbaland’s “yeah’s.” She exclaims it is Justin Timberlake’s “Sexyback” and she has to dance. Holding her drink, he gazes at her while she spins her hips in time with the beat. With moves like that, she’ll be more than okay going home with him. (“This girl she was a little hottie/
She knows she's got it/Came from the city so she loves to party/The JT song make her move that body/She's dancing all night long/I could tell that she was a wild one/That's why I was shy at first/But I finally worked up the nerve.”)

              The chorus is sung again. However, he adds four “spend a little/a little time with you” at the end of it.

              

              In the bridge, he sees another guy has started to talk to her. As she giggling, she touches his arm. His nostrils begin to flare and he rushes over to where she is. He puts his arm around her shoulder and states that she’s with him.  Once he’s gone, he tells her not to pull anything like that ever again. She won’t find another guy who is as cool and handsome as he is. He says she’s enough fun for the night. He’ll take her back to his place, play her a song of his, and maybe they’ll take off forAustraliatomorrow. (“Hey hey little pretty brown eyes/Don'tcha ever be looking at them other guy/'Cause ain't never had no surfer like me/Start swimming over here and ride my wave/'Cause I see that you party like there's no tomorrow/Let's leave the party/I'll grab my guitar/I got the keys/So jump in my car/Sit back, relax/Australia's kinda far.”)

           The chorus is sung again.
         

           He sings four “spend a little bit/a little bit of time with you” to end the single.

          Simpson’s buttery, bootlicking vocals are coated with sprinkles, a mountain of whipped cream and a cherry on top to disguise the bitter center. He will say whatever she needs to hear in order to get her to sleep with him. He makes assumptions about who she is based on stereotypes without even really getting to know her. He also immediately takes ownership of her, hinting with a forced smile that she should follow his rules or else. He has expectations and they better be met.

           The smarmy “Pretty Brown Eyes” won’t take no for an answer, implying she is nothing more than an object.