“God Only Knows”
The Beach Boys
An Eclectic Analysis
"God Only Knows"-- The Beach Boys
Friday, May 1, 2009
Historical Background
It’s said that when Brian Wilson heard The Beatles’ U.S. release of Rubber Soul in 1965 he claimed: “That’s it. I really am challenged to do a great album.” With that Wilson dropped from active touring with the Beach Boys and retreated back to Hawthorne, California and into his studio and over the next year created what would ultimately become one of the most lauded albums in Western pop music history—Pet Sounds. Musically, it is the deepest and most complex cut of the Beach Boy’s oeuvre. This “challenge” from the Beatles lead Wilson to expand the pop idiom in new and strange ways through creative arrangement and advancing Phil Spector’s idea of the using of the studio as an instrument, and he did all of it with practically one ear!
However, it seems that a sense of tragic irony follows Mr. Wilson wherever he goes. Now considered absolute gold by critics, producers, arrangers, composers, lyricists, and regular listeners alike, when it was released by Capitol Records in 1966, though, it was considered a commercial failure in the U.S., only making it to #10 on the on the Top 40 charts. This lackluster welcome of his magnum opus sent Wilson Though, this now has now has commonly come to be understood as mostly Capitol’s fault for their lack of promotion and advertisement of the album, Pet Sounds only went platinum in 2000 (“Pet Sounds”, Stevens).
But the irony continues; in the UK the album was met much greater praise, reaching #2 on their LP charts, and Paul McCartney has been quoted in saying that “It blew me out of the water”. He continues on to say that “I've often played Pet Sounds and cried. I played it to John [Lennon] so much that it would be difficult for him to escape the influence ... it was the record of the time,” and thus what came out in response to Wilson’s magnum opus in 1967 is the prime candidate for greatest rock album of all time and probably will never be topped: Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Brian Wilson).
Of all the songs on Pet Sounds there is one that has a special hold on this analyst as well as many others and is the one I will be analyzing; “God Only Knows” is the eighth track on the album and is the hidden gem of the album. McCartney has often also referred to “God Only Knows” as his top favorite song saying “ ‘ God Only Knows’ is one of the few songs that reduces me to tears every time I hear it. It’s really just a love song, but it’s brilliantly done. It shows the genius of Brian. I’ve actually performed it with him and I’m afraid to say that during the sound check I broke down. It was just too much to stand there singing this song that does my head in, and to stand there singing it with Brian”(“God Only Knows”). And he’s not the only one to think that and it hard not to see why. Simultaneously heartbreaking, uplifting, brilliantly recorded, ingeniously arranged and composed yet deceptively simple and baring this work is the most transparent in showing the depth and breadth of Brian Wilson’s innate ear for melody and prowess behind the boards in the studio.
One final yet important not about the song itself is the fact that is was one of the first to use the “God” in the title. At first, Wilson was reported to have not wanted to use it for fear it would be controversial and consequently limit its airplay. But as history would have it, this leap worked out for them and for the song.
However, it seems that a sense of tragic irony follows Mr. Wilson wherever he goes. Now considered absolute gold by critics, producers, arrangers, composers, lyricists, and regular listeners alike, when it was released by Capitol Records in 1966, though, it was considered a commercial failure in the U.S., only making it to #10 on the on the Top 40 charts. This lackluster welcome of his magnum opus sent Wilson Though, this now has now has commonly come to be understood as mostly Capitol’s fault for their lack of promotion and advertisement of the album, Pet Sounds only went platinum in 2000 (“Pet Sounds”, Stevens).
But the irony continues; in the UK the album was met much greater praise, reaching #2 on their LP charts, and Paul McCartney has been quoted in saying that “It blew me out of the water”. He continues on to say that “I've often played Pet Sounds and cried. I played it to John [Lennon] so much that it would be difficult for him to escape the influence ... it was the record of the time,” and thus what came out in response to Wilson’s magnum opus in 1967 is the prime candidate for greatest rock album of all time and probably will never be topped: Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Brian Wilson).
Of all the songs on Pet Sounds there is one that has a special hold on this analyst as well as many others and is the one I will be analyzing; “God Only Knows” is the eighth track on the album and is the hidden gem of the album. McCartney has often also referred to “God Only Knows” as his top favorite song saying “ ‘ God Only Knows’ is one of the few songs that reduces me to tears every time I hear it. It’s really just a love song, but it’s brilliantly done. It shows the genius of Brian. I’ve actually performed it with him and I’m afraid to say that during the sound check I broke down. It was just too much to stand there singing this song that does my head in, and to stand there singing it with Brian”(“God Only Knows”). And he’s not the only one to think that and it hard not to see why. Simultaneously heartbreaking, uplifting, brilliantly recorded, ingeniously arranged and composed yet deceptively simple and baring this work is the most transparent in showing the depth and breadth of Brian Wilson’s innate ear for melody and prowess behind the boards in the studio.
One final yet important not about the song itself is the fact that is was one of the first to use the “God” in the title. At first, Wilson was reported to have not wanted to use it for fear it would be controversial and consequently limit its airplay. But as history would have it, this leap worked out for them and for the song.
Open Listening #1
The piece opens with clanking organs and pianos under a simple what sounds like horn melody that for some reason distinctly gives me the feeling of being at sea or listening to the song on a boat. Perhaps it’s the heavy reverbs that make it feel dense, like sea-salt air. The addition of sleigh-bells gives it a cheery feeling. Overall I think feeling is what this song accomplishes, and it is one of a pure love. The sounds and lyrics work to evoke a sentiment the way one would by looking a still picture rather than try to tell a story with characters, plot, and dialogue like you would get from looking at a film.
Perhaps the most striking and memorable moment of the piece is the opening line: “ I may not always love you”. It catches you off guard, the tone so far has implied something more sentimental but this is what you get and it makes one do a double take, somewhere in the vein of “Did he really just say that?” But then any anxiousness is assuaged when we get the rest of the verse and song and realize he’s actually using it to say that he would only stop loving if the world ceased to exist.
Instrumentally, I noticed that the instruments seem to change and drop in and out with nearly every change of section but somehow this did not seem to interrupt the songs flow or energy for the most part. Except there was one part that seemed a little of kilter—the little instrumental bridge between the verses—but maybe just because it is the only time the rhythm is really broken up and the continuous quarters seem lost.
Finally, I have to talk about the chorus. It’s amazingly simple in every respect; it’s just one line, but its length is inversely proportional to how much it can mean: “God only knows what I’d be without you”. And by the time the end of the song finishes with a round on that line, it is stuck permanently in your head for the rest of the day.
Perhaps the most striking and memorable moment of the piece is the opening line: “ I may not always love you”. It catches you off guard, the tone so far has implied something more sentimental but this is what you get and it makes one do a double take, somewhere in the vein of “Did he really just say that?” But then any anxiousness is assuaged when we get the rest of the verse and song and realize he’s actually using it to say that he would only stop loving if the world ceased to exist.
Instrumentally, I noticed that the instruments seem to change and drop in and out with nearly every change of section but somehow this did not seem to interrupt the songs flow or energy for the most part. Except there was one part that seemed a little of kilter—the little instrumental bridge between the verses—but maybe just because it is the only time the rhythm is really broken up and the continuous quarters seem lost.
Finally, I have to talk about the chorus. It’s amazingly simple in every respect; it’s just one line, but its length is inversely proportional to how much it can mean: “God only knows what I’d be without you”. And by the time the end of the song finishes with a round on that line, it is stuck permanently in your head for the rest of the day.
Syntax (Musical)
I’d like to break the syntactical analysis into two parts, musical and recording, because I think in this case, since there is enough information available on both and each are uniquely and equally responsible for the overall sound and meaning of the song it would be detrimental and irresponsible not to.
With that given, this song is not that hard to break down. Firstly, all the music in the song was written and arranged by Brian Wilson. The lyrics, however, were written by a young Hollywood lyricist and copywriter, Tony Asher, whom Wilson had met earlier and then collaborated with for a majority of the songs on the album.
I bought a version of the score online that can be viewed below and gives us chords and melody and lyrics but doesn’t have any other instrumental parts scored out which is unfortunate. However, I found a page,, by Greg Panfile, that has also done a type of harmonic analysis, and I found it to be very helpful and refer and include parts of analysis as I believe they better explain some the harmonic quirks.
Form-wise the song is relatively simple. Given there is an Introduction (I), Verse (A), Chorus (B), Interlude/Bridge (C), and Coda (D), the overall form of the song plays out like this:
I—A—B—A—B’—C—C ’—B’’—A—B—D
From a theory perspective we get something more challenging than what we would expect from first listening to the song. The first thing I notice is that this song doesn’t seem to have a distinct key, but rather perpetually fluctuates between two key tonal areas A major and E major, but sometimes we could. Neither seems truly distinct or dominates over the other, and without actually looking at the score do I believe that any lay-listener would catch this.
Given that every single chord played in this piece plays out for exactly 4 beats, or one-bar, it will be easier just to write chord names. The Intro starts in what seems to be A major. What we get is this:
(Panfile)
We rock back and forth from A-E for three bars before moving on to F#m while the bass preps us for the verse at the end of the sixth bar. These last four bars A-E-F#m-E also foreshadow and gorund us for the central motif of the song.
Then we move into the verse, which plays out like so:
Looking at the chords we encounter our first ambiguity. It looks like we’ve moved to D major because our first 3 chords place us there but then the Bm comes back except this time as a major which is immediately followed by E which implied a V-I in E major. Now all D’s become D#’s further and the D#dim7 to E acts as another (V)-I in E further cementing us in that key. In 12 bars, Wilson has already thrown away every recipe in the pop cookbook and our ears don’t even know it!
Next we get that irresistible hook, the chorus.
Over the same four bars as in the intro we get the unforgettable line, but somehow we seem to have gotten back to A major. Damn. Looking at the end of the verse we see a glimpse of genius. Theory-wise, the choice of the C#m is perfect as it acts as pivot chord because it works in both keys: it’s the vi in E major and the iii A major and the bass has already been leading us logically down a pentachord from E so when we finally land in A nothing seems out of place.
We go back to the verse. Harmonically nothing changes. When we get back the next chorus however we get a change. Instead of keeping with the pop-standard of
duple-bar-multiples per section, Wilson cuts us off early. Instead of getting that last E we only get
But he does more than just to be cheekily novel as we see in the next section where we get a seemingly random instrumental break that is never returned later in the song.
The score I found omits this, but a pitzicatto string section plays the instrumental break over the following chords like so:
(Panfile)
Once again we see Brian’s utilization of the pivot chord with the F#m which works as the ii of E major coming out of the chorus and the vi in A major. Also once again we seem prepared to have moved to a new key, D major because A and G would be the IV and V respectively but what we get next as the bridge, which consists of the Boys engaging a heavily contrapuntal scat/do-wop breakdown, begs to differ.
But upon further inspection we find that these 8 chords are merely the same as the verse except we have transposed everything up a 4th ,so instead of being in D/E we are in G/A. So in fact, we never really were in D at all in that instrumental part of the break but in fact just getting ready to be in G major!
Then to follow in these footsteps we hear the chorus, except also transposed up a fourth. So instead of being in the A major area we are in the D major area.
And once again we omit the fourth measure. But this time we don’t modulate instead we get a D.S. a Coda and go right back into a third verse, except this time like the way we heard it originally:
With the last verse we go straight into a coda, which consists of the original Chorus section—A—E--F#m—E—sung as two-part round and showing off more of Brian’s ear for natural and rich counterpoint.
With that given, this song is not that hard to break down. Firstly, all the music in the song was written and arranged by Brian Wilson. The lyrics, however, were written by a young Hollywood lyricist and copywriter, Tony Asher, whom Wilson had met earlier and then collaborated with for a majority of the songs on the album.
I bought a version of the score online that can be viewed below and gives us chords and melody and lyrics but doesn’t have any other instrumental parts scored out which is unfortunate. However, I found a page,, by Greg Panfile, that has also done a type of harmonic analysis, and I found it to be very helpful and refer and include parts of analysis as I believe they better explain some the harmonic quirks.
Form-wise the song is relatively simple. Given there is an Introduction (I), Verse (A), Chorus (B), Interlude/Bridge (C), and Coda (D), the overall form of the song plays out like this:
I—A—B—A—B’—C—C ’—B’’—A—B—D
From a theory perspective we get something more challenging than what we would expect from first listening to the song. The first thing I notice is that this song doesn’t seem to have a distinct key, but rather perpetually fluctuates between two key tonal areas A major and E major, but sometimes we could. Neither seems truly distinct or dominates over the other, and without actually looking at the score do I believe that any lay-listener would catch this.
Given that every single chord played in this piece plays out for exactly 4 beats, or one-bar, it will be easier just to write chord names. The Intro starts in what seems to be A major. What we get is this:
Chords: A E A E A E F#m E
Melody: C# D E B A C# D E B A
Bass: E F# G
(Panfile)
We rock back and forth from A-E for three bars before moving on to F#m while the bass preps us for the verse at the end of the sixth bar. These last four bars A-E-F#m-E also foreshadow and gorund us for the central motif of the song.
Then we move into the verse, which plays out like so:
Chords: D Bm F#m B E D#dim E C#m(Panfile)
Bass: A B F# E D# E F# E (D#) C# (B)
Looking at the chords we encounter our first ambiguity. It looks like we’ve moved to D major because our first 3 chords place us there but then the Bm comes back except this time as a major which is immediately followed by E which implied a V-I in E major. Now all D’s become D#’s further and the D#dim7 to E acts as another (V)-I in E further cementing us in that key. In 12 bars, Wilson has already thrown away every recipe in the pop cookbook and our ears don’t even know it!
Next we get that irresistible hook, the chorus.
Chords: A E F#m E(Panfile)
Over the same four bars as in the intro we get the unforgettable line, but somehow we seem to have gotten back to A major. Damn. Looking at the end of the verse we see a glimpse of genius. Theory-wise, the choice of the C#m is perfect as it acts as pivot chord because it works in both keys: it’s the vi in E major and the iii A major and the bass has already been leading us logically down a pentachord from E so when we finally land in A nothing seems out of place.
We go back to the verse. Harmonically nothing changes. When we get back the next chorus however we get a change. Instead of keeping with the pop-standard of
duple-bar-multiples per section, Wilson cuts us off early. Instead of getting that last E we only get
Chords: A E F#m E
(Panfile)
But he does more than just to be cheekily novel as we see in the next section where we get a seemingly random instrumental break that is never returned later in the song.
The score I found omits this, but a pitzicatto string section plays the instrumental break over the following chords like so:
Chords: A G
Melody: C# A C# A B F# B A G F#
(Panfile)
Once again we see Brian’s utilization of the pivot chord with the F#m which works as the ii of E major coming out of the chorus and the vi in A major. Also once again we seem prepared to have moved to a new key, D major because A and G would be the IV and V respectively but what we get next as the bridge, which consists of the Boys engaging a heavily contrapuntal scat/do-wop breakdown, begs to differ.
Chords: G Em Bm E(Panfile)
Scat: Ah ah ah ah dodo do dodoo Bom bompa bompapa
Chords: A G#dim A F#m
Scat: Bom bom Bompa pa pa bom Ba bom Ah, ah...
But upon further inspection we find that these 8 chords are merely the same as the verse except we have transposed everything up a 4th ,so instead of being in D/E we are in G/A. So in fact, we never really were in D at all in that instrumental part of the break but in fact just getting ready to be in G major!
Then to follow in these footsteps we hear the chorus, except also transposed up a fourth. So instead of being in the A major area we are in the D major area.
Chords: D A Bm(Panfile)
And once again we omit the fourth measure. But this time we don’t modulate instead we get a D.S. a Coda and go right back into a third verse, except this time like the way we heard it originally:
Chords: D Bm F#m B E D#dim E C#m(Panfile)
Bass: A B F# E D# E F# E (D#) C# (B)
With the last verse we go straight into a coda, which consists of the original Chorus section—A—E--F#m—E—sung as two-part round and showing off more of Brian’s ear for natural and rich counterpoint.
Syntax (Recording and Production)
The instrumental tracks were recorded in Hollywood California on March 10th , 1966 at Western Recorders studio. It took a total of 20 live takes to get what would ultimately become the master instrumental track. The session was engineered by Chuck Britz and later produced by Wilson. As he did with most of his songs, the instrumental tracks were recorded live and played as an ensemble and recorded directly to a four track deck rather than recording each of the instruments separately. Wilson often rode the faders and did live mixing as the recording was going on, making each performance unique and highly un replicable (“Pet Sounds”, “God Only Knows”)
Instrumentally, the song is as advanced arrangement-wise as it is harmonically. For this simple, short pop song over 23 studio musicians have been reported to be used, though only 16 are credited with being used for the final master. And the range of instruments also goes far beyond the pop standard of guitars and drums. “God Only Knows” is known to have the following instruments were recorded but not all were used:
Drums, Precussion, Electric Bass, Upright Bass, danelectro bass, piano, organ, accordion, clarinet, bass clarinet, flute, French horn, baritone sax, violin, viola, cello, harpsichord .
Wilson was known for using a technique where he would often double instrument, mostly rhythm ones like piano or bass, and adding dense reverb and delay to give it the “Wall of Sound” feel. Also, he was inclined to synthesize two instruments into the same track and add reverb to get startling new textures such as organ and French horn. This is now become a standard production trick today to try and get fuller and unique sonic blends. (“Pet Sounds”)
The instrumental tracks were the bounced down to 1 track on an Ampex 8-track recorder, which was the newest technology of the day. And allowed him to use the rest of the tracks for the Beach Boys signature dubbed vocal melodies and harmonies.
For “God Only Knows” this was done at Columbia studios which was the only studio with an 8-track at the time. The rest of the tracks were filled in with Carl Wilson on lead vox, and whose voice was doubled to give is a fuller sound. Brian and his cousin Bruce Johnston filled in the remaining tracks with their backing vocals, Brian doing both the high and low registers while Bruce sang in the middle(“God Only Knows”).
Mastering-wise this song, this song was ultimately mixed into mono, even though stereo was around. Brian is reported to have favored mono because at the time most playback devices where his music would be heard, such as TV, radio, and car stereo were only capable of playing mono. He also felt that in the mastering stage he could coax more out of mix and that by releasing it as such he didn’t have to worry that it wouldn’t sound the not the way he intended because of the speakers or their positioning, which its crucial in replicating a stereo image (“Pet Sounds”).
Instrumentally, the song is as advanced arrangement-wise as it is harmonically. For this simple, short pop song over 23 studio musicians have been reported to be used, though only 16 are credited with being used for the final master. And the range of instruments also goes far beyond the pop standard of guitars and drums. “God Only Knows” is known to have the following instruments were recorded but not all were used:
Drums, Precussion, Electric Bass, Upright Bass, danelectro bass, piano, organ, accordion, clarinet, bass clarinet, flute, French horn, baritone sax, violin, viola, cello, harpsichord .
Wilson was known for using a technique where he would often double instrument, mostly rhythm ones like piano or bass, and adding dense reverb and delay to give it the “Wall of Sound” feel. Also, he was inclined to synthesize two instruments into the same track and add reverb to get startling new textures such as organ and French horn. This is now become a standard production trick today to try and get fuller and unique sonic blends. (“Pet Sounds”)
The instrumental tracks were the bounced down to 1 track on an Ampex 8-track recorder, which was the newest technology of the day. And allowed him to use the rest of the tracks for the Beach Boys signature dubbed vocal melodies and harmonies.
For “God Only Knows” this was done at Columbia studios which was the only studio with an 8-track at the time. The rest of the tracks were filled in with Carl Wilson on lead vox, and whose voice was doubled to give is a fuller sound. Brian and his cousin Bruce Johnston filled in the remaining tracks with their backing vocals, Brian doing both the high and low registers while Bruce sang in the middle(“God Only Knows”).
Mastering-wise this song, this song was ultimately mixed into mono, even though stereo was around. Brian is reported to have favored mono because at the time most playback devices where his music would be heard, such as TV, radio, and car stereo were only capable of playing mono. He also felt that in the mastering stage he could coax more out of mix and that by releasing it as such he didn’t have to worry that it wouldn’t sound the not the way he intended because of the speakers or their positioning, which its crucial in replicating a stereo image (“Pet Sounds”).
Phenomenological Analysis
The entire song is only 2:51. Despite its brevity, we still get a chock full of sonic data thrown at us which I’ve tried to put into timeline format here.
00:00—00:08
The song opens with what sounds like a piano and maybe a harpsichord beating out chords, but the reverberance makes it smooth and diminishes the attacks. An organ, plays but with sustained, adding another layer of thickness. An effected French horn plays a melody that rises high and crests like a wave and then recedes a little. It doesn’t sound like a pure French horn, and has been perhaps been blended with something else that gives more of a synthesizer feel.
00:08—00:15
Bass comes in playing a loping line, pretty low register, gives body to the mix. It sounds more electric, but I could be completely wrong. This, along with the addition of the steady shaking of sleigh bells gives propels us along.
00:15—00:17
Everything playing except bass drops out, and another instrument comes in that sounds like the affected French horn but sounds like it could be played on a key instrument, like and affected organ. This instrument and the bass play in unison and pull us up and away into the next section.
00:17—00:35
The prominence of the sleigh-bells are traded for wooden precussion making more hollow klicking and klacking sounds. Bells remain but lower in the mix. Vocals come in the middle-higher register and everything seems to pull back to give them space. A cleaner sounding piano beats out chords, a little softer. Our deep bass seems to have moved up higher is register and doesn’t sound like the bass we first heard.
00:35—00:40
We experience almost and exhaling and release sensation that marks the chorus as everything in the mix—bass, vox, rhythm—seems to fall, but not heavily.
00:40—1:05
The deeper bass comes back in and with the help of the bass of piano and help gives a push back upward. Wood precussion drops out momentarily, but bells continue. We get a new type of organ sounding instrument, perhaps playing with an accordian, playing more sustained as the vocals come back in, giving back a new blanket of sound.
1:05—1:14
We get a sudden break with the previous parts of the song. Instrumentation changes and the momentum we have been accustomed to the last minute is usurped as a different higher organ that sounds more synthy and Carribean comes in and, with the base, seems to ping-pong around different notes. The notes sound like as if the keys were plucked at rather than layed upon gently like before. Everything else is dropped but we get a new percussive force, the snare drum, making little accents and comments in between the breaths and hiccups that the melody is making.
1:14—1:29
Bells and woods come in like before and we are back on our journey. The sustained keyboard instruments continue to provide a warmth and padding. Still though, we seem to be in familiar sonic territory, something seems to have changed after the break. Now we get multiple voices coming in scat style. The first on sings “oohs” in a sighing manner. “Doo doo”s come in to answer it and then more prominent and nasal sounding “bompa ba”s come in and seem to want to take over the melody. This continues with “ooh”s and “doo”s working together in harmony as “bompa bah” point out a melody to us. However our harmony vocals have the last word and like before lift us out of this section
1:29—1:52
Lead vocal returns and restates his intentions this time in a higher register. Our instrumental arrangement is similar before. At about 1:46—1:48 and we get a subtle flute, I believe, whirling in the high end like birds who seem to answer the vocals the last word of a line and then do the same at 1:50—1:52 except slightly lower.
1:52—1:59
Our chorus motif returns but this time it is aided by the additional return of the French horn singing to itself and repeating the line it played in the opening bars in the background.
2:00—2:10
Then something seems to shift. Just the synthy organ and bass play while the vocal repeats the chorus but something seems different. Bells drop but woods stay and become more present. At 2:04 a different vocal comes in repeating the thought of the of the lead. When it finishes at 2:09 we get a snare fill suggesting that everything will return. But we back off
2:10—2: 51
The lead vocal continues repeating while vocals are added back in and play tag with each other while overdubs hum high, loopy “ooh”s. Snare fills continue to interject filling empty spot. At 2:16 the sleigh bells return. At some point another layer of piano or organ return and we feel fuller body return. The whole thing gives us a rocking sort feeling as if the voices are two children on a see-saw while the oohs act as other children playing around them. This feeling is carried on until the song fades out.
00:00—00:08
The song opens with what sounds like a piano and maybe a harpsichord beating out chords, but the reverberance makes it smooth and diminishes the attacks. An organ, plays but with sustained, adding another layer of thickness. An effected French horn plays a melody that rises high and crests like a wave and then recedes a little. It doesn’t sound like a pure French horn, and has been perhaps been blended with something else that gives more of a synthesizer feel.
00:08—00:15
Bass comes in playing a loping line, pretty low register, gives body to the mix. It sounds more electric, but I could be completely wrong. This, along with the addition of the steady shaking of sleigh bells gives propels us along.
00:15—00:17
Everything playing except bass drops out, and another instrument comes in that sounds like the affected French horn but sounds like it could be played on a key instrument, like and affected organ. This instrument and the bass play in unison and pull us up and away into the next section.
00:17—00:35
The prominence of the sleigh-bells are traded for wooden precussion making more hollow klicking and klacking sounds. Bells remain but lower in the mix. Vocals come in the middle-higher register and everything seems to pull back to give them space. A cleaner sounding piano beats out chords, a little softer. Our deep bass seems to have moved up higher is register and doesn’t sound like the bass we first heard.
00:35—00:40
We experience almost and exhaling and release sensation that marks the chorus as everything in the mix—bass, vox, rhythm—seems to fall, but not heavily.
00:40—1:05
The deeper bass comes back in and with the help of the bass of piano and help gives a push back upward. Wood precussion drops out momentarily, but bells continue. We get a new type of organ sounding instrument, perhaps playing with an accordian, playing more sustained as the vocals come back in, giving back a new blanket of sound.
1:05—1:14
We get a sudden break with the previous parts of the song. Instrumentation changes and the momentum we have been accustomed to the last minute is usurped as a different higher organ that sounds more synthy and Carribean comes in and, with the base, seems to ping-pong around different notes. The notes sound like as if the keys were plucked at rather than layed upon gently like before. Everything else is dropped but we get a new percussive force, the snare drum, making little accents and comments in between the breaths and hiccups that the melody is making.
1:14—1:29
Bells and woods come in like before and we are back on our journey. The sustained keyboard instruments continue to provide a warmth and padding. Still though, we seem to be in familiar sonic territory, something seems to have changed after the break. Now we get multiple voices coming in scat style. The first on sings “oohs” in a sighing manner. “Doo doo”s come in to answer it and then more prominent and nasal sounding “bompa ba”s come in and seem to want to take over the melody. This continues with “ooh”s and “doo”s working together in harmony as “bompa bah” point out a melody to us. However our harmony vocals have the last word and like before lift us out of this section
1:29—1:52
Lead vocal returns and restates his intentions this time in a higher register. Our instrumental arrangement is similar before. At about 1:46—1:48 and we get a subtle flute, I believe, whirling in the high end like birds who seem to answer the vocals the last word of a line and then do the same at 1:50—1:52 except slightly lower.
1:52—1:59
Our chorus motif returns but this time it is aided by the additional return of the French horn singing to itself and repeating the line it played in the opening bars in the background.
2:00—2:10
Then something seems to shift. Just the synthy organ and bass play while the vocal repeats the chorus but something seems different. Bells drop but woods stay and become more present. At 2:04 a different vocal comes in repeating the thought of the of the lead. When it finishes at 2:09 we get a snare fill suggesting that everything will return. But we back off
2:10—2: 51
The lead vocal continues repeating while vocals are added back in and play tag with each other while overdubs hum high, loopy “ooh”s. Snare fills continue to interject filling empty spot. At 2:16 the sleigh bells return. At some point another layer of piano or organ return and we feel fuller body return. The whole thing gives us a rocking sort feeling as if the voices are two children on a see-saw while the oohs act as other children playing around them. This feeling is carried on until the song fades out.
Textual and Musical Representation
The lyrics of this song were co-written by Tony Asher and Brian Wilson. You can read them below:
I may not always love you
But long as there are stars above you
You never need to doubt it
I’ll make you so sure about it
God only knows what I’d be without you
If you should ever leave me
Though life would still go on believe me
The world could show nothing to me
So what good would living do me
God only knows what I’d be without you
God only knows what I’d be without you
If you should ever leave me
Well life would still go on believe me
The world could show nothing to me
So what good would living do me
God only knows what I’d be without you
God only knows what I’d be without you
God only knows
God only knows what I’d be without you
God only knows what I’d be without you
God only knows
God only knows what I’d be without you
God only knows what I’d be without you
God only knows
God only knows what I’d be without you
God only knows what I’d be without you
God only knows
God only knows what I’d be without you
God only knows what I’d be without you
God only knows
God only knows what I’d be without you
God only knows what I’d be without you
God only knows
God only knows what I’d be without you
This song is a love song, and one of the most touching ever written. Yet you wouldn’t get that from the first line, “I may not always love you,” which may be the most ironic lyrics in the history of love songs. The song follows the singer/character in first who may or may not be talking to his lover directly. But, as we get into the next part of the verse we realize he’s just using the line to try and make explicit how deeps his love is; he will continue to love until his death, because the only reason he would stop would be when the universe ends and there are no more stars existing. And so as long as he is living he will do whatever he needs to prove himself to his lover.
Next comes the focal sentiment of the piece: “God only know what I’d be without you.” It is a line so powerful in that it is so simple. The singer feels absolutely blessed to have his lover because she is what make him him. Had anymore been written, I believe only clutter would have been added and effectiveness lost. I feel McLuhan would consider this a very “cool” lyric because it is so open to interpretation yet universal statement. It makes one wonder what kind of person the singer’s lover is, and allows them to supply to their own beliefs to what makes the perfect soulmate. It makes them think about who shapes them. The lyrics also makes one think that this song is actually more of the singer talking and music to himself rather than talking directly to his significant other. It is implied to be rhetorical and not actually posed as serious question but rather a musing one would make to oneself. Also, as mentioned in the historical background, this was one of the first POP songs to make use of the word “God” both in the title and within the lyrics. This choice, when listening now years later, doesn’t seem out of place. In fact it, only supports the singers sincerity and imbues the song with a sense of spirituality.
The second and only other verse takes up a more melancholic tone. Here the singer dwells upon the thought of being abandoned by his love and the suffering it would incur. He takes on a realist tone in the second line, admitting that “Though life would still go on,” he doesn’t believe he could keep on living because the “world could show nothing to him”. Here it seems that Asher and Wilson seem to be playing word games, probably in the more literal sense. In the second line “life” could be considered a more depersonal metaphor meaning that the world and time continues—people will keep going about and living their lives. The world does not stop for someone’s emotions. But this world would no longer be able to show him anything he states in the third line. While that is not true in the literal sense, I’m sure he could learn facts and other things, he seems to be talking about world in a more personal metaphoric sense—i.e. that his lover is his world and was the only one who could actually “show” him anything of value.
Thus the chorus that follows, though it is the same line seems to take up a new definition. After just considering this prospect and possibly freaking himself out, the singer now has a new sense of relief and appreciation for his lover.
The second verse repeats, possibly implying that this qualm is one deep-rooted in his psyche
The round singing of the chorus builds and reaffirms the singer’s gratitude toward his lover with every repeat until the song fades out.
I may not always love you
But long as there are stars above you
You never need to doubt it
I’ll make you so sure about it
God only knows what I’d be without you
If you should ever leave me
Though life would still go on believe me
The world could show nothing to me
So what good would living do me
God only knows what I’d be without you
God only knows what I’d be without you
If you should ever leave me
Well life would still go on believe me
The world could show nothing to me
So what good would living do me
God only knows what I’d be without you
God only knows what I’d be without you
God only knows
God only knows what I’d be without you
God only knows what I’d be without you
God only knows
God only knows what I’d be without you
God only knows what I’d be without you
God only knows
God only knows what I’d be without you
God only knows what I’d be without you
God only knows
God only knows what I’d be without you
God only knows what I’d be without you
God only knows
God only knows what I’d be without you
God only knows what I’d be without you
God only knows
God only knows what I’d be without you
This song is a love song, and one of the most touching ever written. Yet you wouldn’t get that from the first line, “I may not always love you,” which may be the most ironic lyrics in the history of love songs. The song follows the singer/character in first who may or may not be talking to his lover directly. But, as we get into the next part of the verse we realize he’s just using the line to try and make explicit how deeps his love is; he will continue to love until his death, because the only reason he would stop would be when the universe ends and there are no more stars existing. And so as long as he is living he will do whatever he needs to prove himself to his lover.
Next comes the focal sentiment of the piece: “God only know what I’d be without you.” It is a line so powerful in that it is so simple. The singer feels absolutely blessed to have his lover because she is what make him him. Had anymore been written, I believe only clutter would have been added and effectiveness lost. I feel McLuhan would consider this a very “cool” lyric because it is so open to interpretation yet universal statement. It makes one wonder what kind of person the singer’s lover is, and allows them to supply to their own beliefs to what makes the perfect soulmate. It makes them think about who shapes them. The lyrics also makes one think that this song is actually more of the singer talking and music to himself rather than talking directly to his significant other. It is implied to be rhetorical and not actually posed as serious question but rather a musing one would make to oneself. Also, as mentioned in the historical background, this was one of the first POP songs to make use of the word “God” both in the title and within the lyrics. This choice, when listening now years later, doesn’t seem out of place. In fact it, only supports the singers sincerity and imbues the song with a sense of spirituality.
The second and only other verse takes up a more melancholic tone. Here the singer dwells upon the thought of being abandoned by his love and the suffering it would incur. He takes on a realist tone in the second line, admitting that “Though life would still go on,” he doesn’t believe he could keep on living because the “world could show nothing to him”. Here it seems that Asher and Wilson seem to be playing word games, probably in the more literal sense. In the second line “life” could be considered a more depersonal metaphor meaning that the world and time continues—people will keep going about and living their lives. The world does not stop for someone’s emotions. But this world would no longer be able to show him anything he states in the third line. While that is not true in the literal sense, I’m sure he could learn facts and other things, he seems to be talking about world in a more personal metaphoric sense—i.e. that his lover is his world and was the only one who could actually “show” him anything of value.
Thus the chorus that follows, though it is the same line seems to take up a new definition. After just considering this prospect and possibly freaking himself out, the singer now has a new sense of relief and appreciation for his lover.
The second verse repeats, possibly implying that this qualm is one deep-rooted in his psyche
The round singing of the chorus builds and reaffirms the singer’s gratitude toward his lover with every repeat until the song fades out.
Virtual Feeling
In terms of the context of virtual feeling, this song, at least personally, plumbs some of my deepest depths. At first I feel relax and buoyed by the bobbing introduction. But then as the sonic space makes room and that first line comes in I become disconcerted me and takes the wind out of my sails. It anguished me to think about having to say to someone that I do love that that may not always be the case. But the music seems to continue oblivious to what is being said and is what anchors us. But as each line comes along and then pauses, I start regaining my initial cheer. The chorus makes me exhale and think about how lucky I am to have known the very few and special people who have shaped me. But this daydream feeling is interrupted by the break that makes me snap back and pay attention. But I slip back and a montage seems roll in my head as sweet vocals interplay around my ears. Then the vocals remind me that, seriously, I wouldn’t know what to do without these people. Then any qualms are washed away as voices everywhere tell me how lucky I am.
Onto-Historical Worlds
The Beach Boys were considered one of the first few “American” bands. They took their home and their culture of California girls, sun and surf, of cruising down highways in a convertible, of innocence and youth, and popularized it into a world-wide image for America. People could listen to the Beach Boys anywhere else in the world and hear those guitars and pianos soaked in reverb while those boys sang their tight harmonies and they think in their head that that was how all of America was. Never mind the fact that in 1966, the United States was not all fun in the sun—racial and civil tensions were high and disparities were everywhere.
So does there thematic material, which some could make an argument for being inane and naive, and it’s popularity make it symbolic of the white escapism of the 1950’s and 60’s? Still, they never planned any of this. The Beach Boys starting writing about what they knew; there is a sense of earnestness to their works and their sound ground them as one of the more actually serious bands of the time. That is especially evident in this song.
Musically they can be considered to be the first true “garage band” as argued by David Walsh in his insightful, and very unknowinglyonto-historical article “Listening to Brian Wilson”. The group was a true family outfit made of three Wilson brothers and a first-cousin Mike Love who started out first playing in their garage under the band called the Pendletones. Each had their own tastes and brought their own influence to the group,
“Wilson's melodic genius, almost unparalleled in the history of pop, was fashioned as much by Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue as by the close-harmony singing of groups such as the Four Freshmen: from an early age, his taste inclined towards the complex, the ambitious, the operatic. But little brother Carl turned him on to Chuck Berry guitar riffs, and his well-off cousins the Loves converted him to the R&B” (Walsh).
Thus, what we get from their music is an indirect collage of all the sonic movements going on around America.
So does there thematic material, which some could make an argument for being inane and naive, and it’s popularity make it symbolic of the white escapism of the 1950’s and 60’s? Still, they never planned any of this. The Beach Boys starting writing about what they knew; there is a sense of earnestness to their works and their sound ground them as one of the more actually serious bands of the time. That is especially evident in this song.
Musically they can be considered to be the first true “garage band” as argued by David Walsh in his insightful, and very unknowinglyonto-historical article “Listening to Brian Wilson”. The group was a true family outfit made of three Wilson brothers and a first-cousin Mike Love who started out first playing in their garage under the band called the Pendletones. Each had their own tastes and brought their own influence to the group,
“Wilson's melodic genius, almost unparalleled in the history of pop, was fashioned as much by Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue as by the close-harmony singing of groups such as the Four Freshmen: from an early age, his taste inclined towards the complex, the ambitious, the operatic. But little brother Carl turned him on to Chuck Berry guitar riffs, and his well-off cousins the Loves converted him to the R&B” (Walsh).
Thus, what we get from their music is an indirect collage of all the sonic movements going on around America.
Open Listening #2
Going back to this piece keeping in mind everything I have just explored, I begin to see and understand exactly why and how this piece works so well. So rather than just taking it in as-is, I recognized the intentionality behind all of Brian’s little moves in orchestration and production and how he used them to help support the text to evoke so much with what seems and sounds like so little.
For example, how the intro goes from being heavy in instrumentation but then as we move into the verse he precisely lets just the bass take us there with its rising three notes. By peeling away the other textures that add harmony and leaving us with only single notes on the bass, rather than chords which imply keys better, we are unaware that we have even really moved to another possible tonal center. This reduction simultaneously works to open up space for the vocals to come in and thus be our main focus.
Also having being able to look at the score I noticed that he also made a conscious decision to use more unstable or ambiguous chords to help match what the text was saying at a given moment, such as how a D#dim chord plays through the line that talks about doubt. This also happens melodically such as when he sings “stars above you” and his vocals go up from A-B-C#.
I noted that despite the inherent pop sensibility to write in 2 or 4 bars, he was able to use harmony to get by sections like the chorus with only three bars without us ever noticing the deletion because the chords that follow seem to just meld, rather than each section be its own standalone thing.
I realize that my initial feelings of being at see are most likely because of the rhythmic feel of the song, which seems to bob forward at a pleasing pace like a tide. Also I never really noticed how much the percussion instruments were vital to this and there is actually few real drum parts, in fact I don’t think there is a single kit fill or cymbal hit in the entire song!
Finally, though I was perturbed by the seeming out of place instrumental break I actually, upon analysis and more focused listening came to appreciate it for what it was both as a rhetorical theory device and as sprinkle of texture that made me excited to hear what would come next rather than lo a detraction from the song.
For example, how the intro goes from being heavy in instrumentation but then as we move into the verse he precisely lets just the bass take us there with its rising three notes. By peeling away the other textures that add harmony and leaving us with only single notes on the bass, rather than chords which imply keys better, we are unaware that we have even really moved to another possible tonal center. This reduction simultaneously works to open up space for the vocals to come in and thus be our main focus.
Also having being able to look at the score I noticed that he also made a conscious decision to use more unstable or ambiguous chords to help match what the text was saying at a given moment, such as how a D#dim chord plays through the line that talks about doubt. This also happens melodically such as when he sings “stars above you” and his vocals go up from A-B-C#.
I noted that despite the inherent pop sensibility to write in 2 or 4 bars, he was able to use harmony to get by sections like the chorus with only three bars without us ever noticing the deletion because the chords that follow seem to just meld, rather than each section be its own standalone thing.
I realize that my initial feelings of being at see are most likely because of the rhythmic feel of the song, which seems to bob forward at a pleasing pace like a tide. Also I never really noticed how much the percussion instruments were vital to this and there is actually few real drum parts, in fact I don’t think there is a single kit fill or cymbal hit in the entire song!
Finally, though I was perturbed by the seeming out of place instrumental break I actually, upon analysis and more focused listening came to appreciate it for what it was both as a rhetorical theory device and as sprinkle of texture that made me excited to hear what would come next rather than lo a detraction from the song.
Performance Guide
Performance-Guide
If one were given the daunting task of having to recreate and perform or record this song here is some advice I would give.
-Instrumentally: More of them is better. Conceivably I would like to play this song with a full band, plus a string section, and a horn section. However, one must take careful precaution that there is no ego, this song is not about your prowess at your instrument. A real musician knows that when performing less is often more. Play with taste and subtlety. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and if any part decides it’s more important than another then the message is lost.
-Rhythm: Perhaps may be the most important part because it is what unconsciously keeps the listener attentive. The tempo should be like sway; it is not plodding nor brusque, nor is it mechanical. Much of this is taken on by instruments such as the pianos and bells that beat out quarter notes, so these musicians should feel the song rather than read it.
-Vocals: Preferably can be sung like on the recording because otherwise you lose 2 very important parts of the song, the scat and the last round. That given, it is also given that you must know your parts cold if you want it to come off sounding tight. The lead vocal is relatively plain in timbre and dynamic range; there is not a lot of waver or tremolo.
-The ending: I feel that this type of round singing could have the tendency to move toward the epic. I am undecided here, and I feel that this section is more open to interpretation. If you want to stick straight to the song that is fine, but don’t let it crescendo. The song always seems to want to do that, especially every time you hear the drum fill, but we never crest and go full out, we are restrained and rather let the emotion in vocals do its job of getting stuck in the listener's head.
If one were given the daunting task of having to recreate and perform or record this song here is some advice I would give.
-Instrumentally: More of them is better. Conceivably I would like to play this song with a full band, plus a string section, and a horn section. However, one must take careful precaution that there is no ego, this song is not about your prowess at your instrument. A real musician knows that when performing less is often more. Play with taste and subtlety. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and if any part decides it’s more important than another then the message is lost.
-Rhythm: Perhaps may be the most important part because it is what unconsciously keeps the listener attentive. The tempo should be like sway; it is not plodding nor brusque, nor is it mechanical. Much of this is taken on by instruments such as the pianos and bells that beat out quarter notes, so these musicians should feel the song rather than read it.
-Vocals: Preferably can be sung like on the recording because otherwise you lose 2 very important parts of the song, the scat and the last round. That given, it is also given that you must know your parts cold if you want it to come off sounding tight. The lead vocal is relatively plain in timbre and dynamic range; there is not a lot of waver or tremolo.
-The ending: I feel that this type of round singing could have the tendency to move toward the epic. I am undecided here, and I feel that this section is more open to interpretation. If you want to stick straight to the song that is fine, but don’t let it crescendo. The song always seems to want to do that, especially every time you hear the drum fill, but we never crest and go full out, we are restrained and rather let the emotion in vocals do its job of getting stuck in the listener's head.
Meta-Critique
Meta-Critique
And now for the self-analysis. Firstly the biggest thing I had trouble with was trying to keep each of the sections truly delineated in their own syntax; that is not let my mind and my thoughts influence my reporting in say musical syntax by using more referential/emotional words. I found this also very hard to do in sound-in-time because I didn’t know when a word could be considered referential or possibly syntactical in a another realm such as “reverb” or “round”.
I believe if I had the full score, with all the instrumental parts charted out it could be helpful in figuring just what instrument was playing where and thus help illuminate why he may have chosen a French horn over a trumpet or an organ over a piano.
I must admit to the fact that no matter how hard I try, this Husserlian distancing will never truly work, and I feel that personal feelings associated with this song will always pervade my view of this work to some extent throughout this analysis. I feel that my feelings work against me from finding more possibly troubling problems in this piece. I would recommend to future analysts to do as much as possible without and background research on the band or the song as by reading others comments and views of this album, good or bad, as it may taint your initial feelings and reactions and analysis. After reading so much about why and how Brian is a genius and how beautiful this song and then going and say analyzing a score or lyrics I find myself also coming to similar conclusions and not knowing if this is genuinely something I would have found on my own or influenced by the fact that I read it.
Works Cited
"God Only Knows." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 16 Apr 2009, 19:07 UTC. 2 May 2009 <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=God_Only_Knows&oldid=284261676>.
"Musicians on Brian." Website. Brian Wilson Productions, 2009.
Panfile, Greg. "Mind of Brian I: God Only Knows". Website.
"Pet Sounds." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 28 Apr 2009, 21:07 UTC. 2 May 2009 <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pet_Sounds&oldid=286722890>.
Walsh, David. "Listening to Brian Wilson." World Socialist Web Site. Sept. 1, 2000.
Wilson, Brian and Tony Asher. "God Only Knows." Pet Sounds. Performed by the Beach Boys. Capitol Records, 1966.
And now for the self-analysis. Firstly the biggest thing I had trouble with was trying to keep each of the sections truly delineated in their own syntax; that is not let my mind and my thoughts influence my reporting in say musical syntax by using more referential/emotional words. I found this also very hard to do in sound-in-time because I didn’t know when a word could be considered referential or possibly syntactical in a another realm such as “reverb” or “round”.
I believe if I had the full score, with all the instrumental parts charted out it could be helpful in figuring just what instrument was playing where and thus help illuminate why he may have chosen a French horn over a trumpet or an organ over a piano.
I must admit to the fact that no matter how hard I try, this Husserlian distancing will never truly work, and I feel that personal feelings associated with this song will always pervade my view of this work to some extent throughout this analysis. I feel that my feelings work against me from finding more possibly troubling problems in this piece. I would recommend to future analysts to do as much as possible without and background research on the band or the song as by reading others comments and views of this album, good or bad, as it may taint your initial feelings and reactions and analysis. After reading so much about why and how Brian is a genius and how beautiful this song and then going and say analyzing a score or lyrics I find myself also coming to similar conclusions and not knowing if this is genuinely something I would have found on my own or influenced by the fact that I read it.
Works Cited
"God Only Knows." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 16 Apr 2009, 19:07 UTC. 2 May 2009 <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=God_Only_Knows&oldid=284261676>.
"Musicians on Brian." Website. Brian Wilson Productions, 2009.
Panfile, Greg. "Mind of Brian I: God Only Knows". Website.
"Pet Sounds." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 28 Apr 2009, 21:07 UTC. 2 May 2009 <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pet_Sounds&oldid=286722890>.
Walsh, David. "Listening to Brian Wilson." World Socialist Web Site. Sept. 1, 2000.
Wilson, Brian and Tony Asher. "God Only Knows." Pet Sounds. Performed by the Beach Boys. Capitol Records, 1966.
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