What does the song Walk Away Renee mean?
That’s a great song. The song is one of a number Brown wrote about Renee Fladen-Kamm, then-girlfriend of The Left Banke’s bassist Tom Finn and object of Brown’s affection. She was associated with the band for a few weeks, and described as a free-spirited and quite tall blonde. The song was written one month after Brown met her. “Walk Away Renée” was one of series of love songs the infatuated Brown wrote after meeting his newfound muse. Other songs written about her include the band’s second hit “Pretty Ballerina” and “She May Call You Up Tonight”. After decades of obscurity, she was identified in 2001 as a noted singer, vocal teacher and artist on the West Coast. Brown says of his unrequited love for Renée: “I was just sort of mythologically in love, if you know what I mean, without having evidence in fact or in deed…But I was as close as anybody could be to the real thing” Fladen-Kamm was looking on during the recording of the song, and her presence nearly prevented its completion.
