Song of the Day: Breakin’ My Heart (by Mint Condition)


Whenever “Breakin’ My Heart” by Mint Condition comes on, it’s like flipping back to the spring of ’91 — those final high school days buzzing with possibility and that sweet uncertainty of what came next. I remember those silky keys and that laid-back groove spilling out of boomboxes in the parking lot after school, turning ordinary afternoons into something electric. It was the ultimate slow jam for passing notes in class and those marathon phone calls about crushes that felt like the whole world.

What made the track stick so deep was its smooth, patient vibe, like it was custom-made to linger in those tender high school romance moments — Stokley’s voice carrying that perfect mix of ache and hope. At senior prom, when “Pretty Brown Eyes” finally hit, the gym lights dimmed, and suddenly every sway felt like a promise. It bridged those innocent, heart-on-your-sleeve high school flings right into the haze of early college, where relationships got messier, longer-distance, and way more real, with calls late at night from someone met through college halls and weekend jaunts to clubs.

That song soundtracked our whole transition that summer before freshman year — cruising with windows down, radio cranked, as we traded high school goodbyes for the thrill and nerves of campus life. Mint Condition’s harmonies wrapped up all the nostalgia of backyard parties and first kisses, while hinting at the tougher navigations ahead, like figuring out if those feelings could stretch across states. Even now, it pulls me right back to that bridge between worlds — young love evolving, full of promise and those first real heartbreaks.

Breakin’ My Heart (Pretty Brown Eyes)

Pretty
Brown
Eyes

Pretty brown eyes, you know I see you
It’s a disguise, the way you treat me
(The way you treat me, pretty brown eyes)
You keep holding on to your thoughts of rejection
If you’re with me, you’re secured

You keep telling me that your time is always taken
But I keep seeing you out alone
(Out alone, pretty brown eyes) yeah
Listen to love, your heart is pounding with desire
Waiting to be unleashed

Quit breakin’ my heart
Breakin’ my heart (pretty brown eyes)
Yeah, breakin’ my heart, oh, yeah
Breakin’ my heart (pretty brown eyes)
Sugar, yeah, yeah

Don’t tell your friends
That I don’t mean nothing to you
Please, don’t deny the truth
(Pretty brown eyes)
Tell me right now, I know your heart is in the right place
You know I won’t let you down, oh, yeah, yeah

You can’t disguise all the pounding of your heart, yeah
(I see your eyes) I see your eyes
(Pretty brown eyes) and you can’t hide
Start to make sense and quit playing
These love games (silly little games)
Tell me what you’re gonna do, yeah

Quit breakin’ my heart
Breakin’ my heart (pretty brown eyes)
Yeah, breakin’ my heart, ooh
Breakin’ my heart (pretty brown eyes), yeah

I just want to know one thing
Will you be with me?
(Pretty brown eyes)
Ooh, ooh, ooh, oh, oh
Here comes my darlin’ (here comes my darlin’)
Here comes romance (here comes romance)
Here comes my lovin’ (here comes my lovin’)
(Please, honey will you dance?)

Quit breakin’ my heart
Breakin’ my heart (pretty brown eyes)
Breakin’ my heart, yeah
Breakin’ my heart, whoa

Got me cryin’ all inside (pretty brown eyes)
Ohh, ho, ho, ooh, I’m talking ’bout (breakin’ my heart)
I’m talkin’ ’bout you, I’m talkin’ ’bout me
I’m talkin’ ’bout we, I’m talkin’ ’bout we, we (pretty brown eyes)

Here comes my darlin’ (here comes my darlin’)
Here comes romance (here comes romance)
Here comes my lovin’, will you dance (here comes my lovin’, please, honey will you dance?)
Oh yeah, sugar pie, baby
Breakin’ my heart

Here comes my darlin’ (here comes my darlin’)
Here comes romance (here comes romance)
Will you dance (here comes my lovin’, please, honey will you dance?)
Oh, hoo, ohh, yeah (pretty brown eyes)
Heart, breakin’ my heart (pretty brown eyes)
Breakin’ my heart (pretty brown eyes)
Breakin’ my heart, breakin’ my heart

Song of the Day: What Kind of Man Would I Be (by Mint Condition)


The next song for the current romance-themed “Song of the Day” column comes direct from 1996 and from one of the most underrated and under-appreciated R&B bands of the past 20 years.

“What Kind of Man Would I Be” by the band Mint Condition remains one of those songs that people always say they love, but never knowing just who sang it. It’s been a long and hard road for Mint Condition, but the fact that even now the band remains together, strong and still putting out albums. Not many R&B groups from the 80’s and 90’s ever last beyond a few releases. One of the secrets which makes Mint Condition always relevant in the music and R&B scene is the fact that these are musicians. Their sound is not overdubbed, auto-tuned and they sing with an honest passion about subject matters without bragging about themselves.

This song, at first listen, sounds like a very depressing track. Some have mistaken it as a story sung about one man’s infidelity when in fact it’s a song about staying true and loyal to that one special person in their life. It’s a song that tells that age’s long story about the temptation to stray and cheat on one’s partner.

“What Kind of Man Would I Be” is a celebration of how true love will always win out over temptation. It also tries to dispel the notion that all men cheat no matter who they are. At least, for one song, it makes a point that not all men are dogs and will cheat at a moment’s notice. This is a song that I try to live my life by and hopefully others would find inspiration to do the same.

What Kind of Man Would I Be

[Intro]
You know
We can’t do this
We just can’t
listen
[Verse 1:]
You say u feel disintented
Cause latley he takes you for granted
Still faithful and true you remained and to hurt so have I
You pore out your heart and I listen
And we catch a vibe reminiscing
Temptations so strong not to mention
The urging inside
[Chorus:]
But what kind of man would i be
If i lived unfaithfuly
And what kind of girl would you be
If you did the same
Cause I dont wanna see her cry
And you dont need a reason to lie
Cause if we laid down tonight
It wont justify on the lovers side
[Verse 2:]
This feeling is strong and we know it
But we gotta see past the moment
Theres too much to lose if we blow it
This is no lie
Still here we are both together
With promises made that we never
Yet feeling it now more than ever
I cant denie
[Chorus x1]
[Bridge]
Here we are all alone
But some how we’ve got to stay strong
[Chorus: until song fades out]
(Makes me wanna say ohhhhhhhhhhhhh)
(Just gotta say ohhhhhhhhhh)
(She makes me wanna say ohhhhhhhhh)
(Just gotta say ohhhhhhhhh)
But what kind of man would I be ohhhh can’t be unfaithful
sorry baby

With promises made that we never
Yet feeling it now more than ever
I cant denie
[Course x1]
[Bridge]
Here we are all alone
But some how we’ve got to stay strong
[Course: until song fades out]
(Makes me wanna say ohhhhhhhhhhhhh)
(Just gotta say ohhhhhhhhhh)
(She makes me wanna say ohhhhhhhhh)
(Just gotta say ohhhhhhhhh)
But what kind of man would I be ohhhh can’t be unfaithful
sorry baby