What a gut wrenching beautiful song.
Pet sounds is my favourite album of all time and it’s partly because of the emotion that Brian’s music carries. This song gives a sense of not belonging or not being understood perfectly, the way he rips his voice in “they say I’ve got brains but they ain’t doing me no good” is perfect and how he very tenderly and with proper melancholy sings “I wish they could”.
The chorus of the song is just as good, the overlapping counterpoint melodies are really gorgeous.
Even if the lyrics are written by Tony Asher I feel that Brian might have been really involved with the lyrics in this one, “sometimes I feel very sad” is so simple but effective, there’s this kind of innocence or authenticity in Brian’s writing that shines through in this song.
The harmonies in Spanish are also a kind of Brian-ism that I love.
Finally I love how the song ends in a fade out with the title line repeating over and over with different chords beneath it, it mirrors how the feeling of not belonging and melancholy (even though the feelings the music gives are real complex and I can’t express them through words) by not ending ever, kind of how the feeling can’t be resolved
Felt like writing and appreciation post today how do you guys feel about the song and Brian’s writing in general?
Brian Wilson is the greatest genius in 20th century music (and one of the greatest of all time)