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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Feb 15, 2023 22:14:42 GMT
Here we go again. I need help with these lyrics!
"Sometimes I realize my days are getting on. Sometimes I realize it's time to move along." OK, I always thought Brian was simply talking about aging, about feeling comfortably numb, and it was time to get out of the recliner, out of the house, and on to the deli, on to a walk in the park, or even on to the studio. Makes sense, huh? He's about to turn 70, no more time to waste, get your poor old body to move. But then he throws in, "And I wanna go home." WTF! Where are you, Brian? I thought you were home. Busy doing nothing. He isn't talking about being on tour and out on the road, and wants to go home, is he?
"My life, I'm better off alone. My life, I'm better on my own." I think he means that he's more comfortable by himself, minimal distractions, less people to complicate his life. Yeah, that's Brian, even though he has complained of loneliness for decades. More on that in a second. Then he sings, "I'm better on my own." First, no, I do not think that is a reference to his solo career vs. Beach Boys' career. But, what is he singing about? Hello. Brian, you got married and adopted five children. You're hardly on your own. Remember the song on Imagination, "Happy Days"? Or, is this NOT a personal statement, just a cool lyric that sounds good?
Finally..."Goodbye." What do you mean "goodbye", Brian? Goodbye to The Beach Boys? Goodbye to life? When Brian sings "goodbye", I get a visual of him leaving the house and walking out the door, or getting into his car and driving away. I didn't read anything heavy into it. But it could be. Yes, it could be.
We've touched on this before, but "Pacific Coast Highway" would've/could've/should've(?) fit better AFTER "Summer's Gone". It definitely fits better lyrically. But then we wouldn't have a song called "Summer's Gone" as the last Beach Boys' song. It's too late now, the song order of "Pacific Coast Highway" into "Summer's Gone" is ingrained in our heads. But if it wasn't, if it would've been the other way around, with "Pacific Coast Highway" closing the album - with Brian singing "Goodbye" - it would've been a more powerful ending, a more powerful emotion, a totally stunning final vocal/lyric, IMO of course.
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Post by Kapitan on Feb 15, 2023 22:21:02 GMT
I think you're trying to fit it too directly to Brian's own personal life. Even if he wrote every word of it, it doesn't mean it does or even should match his reality. It's a song!
But as far as what the narrator is singing, I think it's more like "I don't really fit in this world. I'm going to die soon. And that's fine." That's what I think. Home isn't his house after being on the road; it's the grave. Goodbye is goodbye.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Feb 15, 2023 22:28:14 GMT
I think you're trying to fit it too directly to Brian's own personal life. Even if he wrote every word of it, it doesn't mean it does or even should match his reality. It's a song! But as far as what the narrator is singing, I think it's more like "I don't really fit in this world. I'm going to die soon. And that's fine." That's what I think. Home isn't his house after being on the road; it's the grave. Goodbye is goodbye. Yes, I absolutely do relate the song to Brian's life, even though, as I questioned above, it don't fit in many cases! It just comes across as too personal of a song to not be autobiographical. And, aren't most of Brian's best, deepest songs autobiographical to a large extent? Maybe not word for word, but we get the message.
Interesting. Not once did I think of "goodbye" as you put it...that kind of goodbye.
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Post by Kapitan on Feb 15, 2023 23:05:31 GMT
I'd say if we want to make it fit neatly into his real life, that is part of what makes it a successful lyric ... but it does not make it actually true.
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Post by Kapitan on Feb 19, 2023 15:54:47 GMT
Track #12 Summer's Gone (Brian Wilson, Jon Bon Jovi, Joe Thomas)Summer's gone Summer's gone away Gone away with yesterday Old friends have gone They've gone their separate ways Our dreams hold on For those who still have more to say Summer's gone Gone like yesterday The nights grow cold It's time to go I'm thinking maybe I'll just stay Another summer gone Summer's gone It's finally sinking in One day begins Another ends I live them all and back again Summer's gone I'm gonna sit and watch the waves We laugh, we cry, We live, then die And dream about our yesterday HistoryA fragment of what became "Summer's Gone" was one of the four or so demos brought to Capitol to secure the record deal, and later brought to Mike to secure his engagement. (It seems the others were "That's Why God Made the Radio," "Strange World," and either an early version or instrumental version of what became "Spring Vacation" or parts of what became "Pacific Coast Highway.") Said Joe Thomas: Please discuss this, what does in hindsight seem to have become the final song on the final new Beach Boys album, after all, "Summer's Gone." This discussion will conclude this album's discussion.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Feb 20, 2023 13:06:59 GMT
The lyrics to "Summer's Gone" are perfectly fine and Brian delivers them splendidly. He nails it!
I always thought - and continue to think - that "Summer's Gone" deserved better fate. If it's not an all-timer it's pretty darn close. It's hard to improve upon. It might be Brian and Joe Thomas's shining hour. I don't think "Summer's Gone" got enough attention in a lot of ways. It was a perfect song for a video. I sometimes think it should've been released as a single and FM radio targeted. I can hear it! It would fit. Brian's vocal - one of the best of his "later years" - would sound perfectly on FM radio. I'm thinking of songs like "Comfortably Numb" and "Time" by The Alan Parsons Project. It's Brian Wilson's message. It's The Beach Boys' latter day "Til I Die" or "Sail On Sailor". And they let it pass. It just faded away with the C50 reunion...
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Post by Kapitan on Feb 21, 2023 12:10:11 GMT
I think these lyrics are generally pretty good. (I don't get Sheriff John Stone's comparison of a latter-day Til I Die or Sail On Sailor, though. The former, sure, but I don't see the connection to the latter. Or is the point just that it could have been a minor hit?) It's not all over the place or loaded with contradictions the way it seems several Thomas cowrites are. The one part I raise an eyebrow toward is the end: "we live and die, and dream about our yesterday." We dream about our yesterday after we die? But all in all, despite the apparent change of heart during the recording of the album, it seems that "Summer's Gone" became the last song on the last Beach Boys album after all, and it's a good one for that role.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Feb 21, 2023 12:44:32 GMT
I think these lyrics are generally pretty good. (I don't get Sheriff John Stone 's comparison of a latter-day Til I Die or Sail On Sailor, though. The former, sure, but I don't see the connection to the latter. Or is the point just that it could have been a minor hit?) Certainly not lyrically, but there is kind of an ocean-y, wave-y, contemplative, maybe weather-beaten feeling. Am I reaching?
But I also thought "Summer's Gone" could've been an FM radio-targeted single (somewhat like "Sail On Sailor" which would never be embraced by AM radio) and that wouldn't chart as high as it should've, based on its quality. I think it would've been a grower. OK, I'll be honest, "Summer's Gone" probably wouldn't have even charted as a single. I just think something more lasting should've come out of That's Why God Made The Radio, and to me, that something should've been "Summer's Gone". It had a lot going for it which I described above.
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Post by kds on Feb 21, 2023 13:48:54 GMT
I think the lyrics of Summer's Gone are almost as good as PCH.
Even though it's pretty much about the grand finale of a great band, I feel like it can also be taken literally about the melancholy feeling that tends to come with the ending of yet another summer. The lyric "I'm gonna sit and watch the waves" in particular has always spoken to me. When this album was released, I was in the habit of taking my vacation in mid September. So, for all intents and purposes, summer ended when my vacation ended. I remember, on our last day before heading home, my friend and I would always go to the Inlet area of Ocean City, MD, and sit for a little bit and just listen to and watch the water and smell that salty air one final time.
I think Summer's Gone does work perfectly as a final bow for The Beach Boys.
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Emdeeh
Pacific Coast Highway
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Post by Emdeeh on Feb 21, 2023 14:53:51 GMT
Groan ... I just don't like the idea of "Summer's Gone" as an album or a career finale. Where I live, summer is the hot and miserable season, and fall is when you can get outdoors and have fun. So I want TWGMTR to end on a hopeful note, which is why I set my playlist so that "Strange World" is at the end of the album.
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Post by Kapitan on Feb 21, 2023 15:41:49 GMT
Groan ... I just don't like the idea of "Summer's Gone" as an album or a career finale. Where I live, summer is the hot and miserable season, and fall is when you can get outdoors and have fun. So I want TWGMTR to end on a hopeful note, which is why I set my playlist so that "Strange World" is at the end of the album. That's an interesting perspective on whether the end of summer even has the connotations it's meant to have. I agree with you about the actual end of summer experience: it's a relief! Our Augusts are usually very hot and often very dry. Summer has gone from fun to oppressive. Autumn is, at least at first, a very welcome change. But despite my reality, I still do think of the symbolism of end of summer as depressing, probably just as a holdover from childhood and returning to school.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Feb 22, 2023 14:02:08 GMT
But this is Brian Wilson, and Brian Wilson near the top of his game, and that makes all the difference. I remember reading, and I'm paraphrasing, "Brian Wilson had a way of making feeling sad sound appealing", or something like like. But you know what I mean. Brian had that knack, with his singing and songwriting, of making sad songs make you feel happy. And I think he pulled that off with "Summer's Gone". Mike Love and others might view a song like "Summer's Gone" as a downer (and I'm not taking a shot at Mike); I think it's a rare talent.
Music history and/or fans have a way of categorizing eras and specifically songs into defined, stripped lists or choices. As BB/BW diehards, we know that there are SEVERAL songs that deserve more recognition, but, over time, things just have a way of..falling a certain way...and some songs are overlooked. I think Brian Wilson's best songs post-1969 fall this way, and many times, these are the only songs that get recognized:
Sunflower - "This Whole World" Surf's Up - "Til I Die" CATP - "Marcella" Holland - "Sail On, Sailor" 15 Big Ones - "It's OK" Love You - "The Night Was So Young" (open for debate) M.I.U. Album - none (really open for debate, maybe "My Diane" but I would disagree) L.A. (Light Album) - "Good Timin'" Keepin' The Summer Alive - "Goin' On" I'll stop there.
In my opinion, I think "Summer's Gone" belongs in that arbitrary category.
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Post by kds on Feb 22, 2023 14:16:33 GMT
I'm not sure if I've thought of Summer's Gone as sad song that invokes happiness. I'd say at best, it brings up that feeling of "beautiful sadness" (to quote Butters from South Park), meaning you're sad something is over, but glad to have experienced it.
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Post by Kapitan on Feb 22, 2023 14:25:58 GMT
I think it gives a fair idea of the reality of aging, the knowledge of where you are in life. It's sad, yes, but not depressed. There are mixed feelings and contradictions ("it's time to go / I'm thinking maybe I should stay" and "we laugh, we cry / we live, then die") that seem inescapable for this kind of song. It definitely isn't happy. But as I said, I don't think it's depressing, either--at least not in a negative way. There is a beauty in the ultimate sadnesses; in a way they are some of the deepest affirmations of life. However, I don't put it up with his best "latter-day" songs (if you count latter day as post-1969, Sheriff John Stone's dating). It's a good one, but for me it's definitely not top 10. I think I'd probably put it in the 3-5 range on this album. But my issues with it are more musical than lyrical, for sure. (Not that it's not good musically either. It just bobs and floats, which is nice for the imagery but not especially rewarding for me.)
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Feb 22, 2023 14:38:22 GMT
I didn't do a good job in making my point about Brian's sad songs making you feel happy, so I'll give it another shot. I should've been more specific. The song itself - the lyrics and the music - might not be happy, but the LISTENING EXPERIENCE is. Take "Caroline, No", maybe one of Brian's saddest songs, and it couldn't be delivered more sadly (but in a good way; see that's what I mean). "Caroline, No" is a sad song, an unhappy song. You don't feel joy from the lyrics, but you come off feeling...better...by experiencing it. It's fulfilling. It's great. I think you, not intentionally, separate the sadness or depressing aspect of the song/lyrics and come away feeling good. I do anyway. The power of the music, the vocal, Brian Wilson's genius.
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