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Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys is arguably one of the most influential rock albums of all time. With the deviation from the music of its time and ingenious songwriting by Brian Wilson, Pet Sounds is a focal point in The Beach Boys’ history. But the distinct music of Pet Sounds wouldn’t be possible without one of their previous albums, Today! While still having some surf songs that defined the band originally, the album branched out from the band's sound with its orchestral composition and rock ballads. The album also sets the stage for Pet Sounds with its emotional lyrics in songs such as “When I Grow Up (To Be A Man)” and “She Knows Me Too Well,” which are perfect songs for a band trying to dip its toes into more emotional tracks. Accompanied with catchy surf rock songs, the songs of Today! are musical masterpieces that perfectly set the emotional stage that The Beach Boys were aiming for.
The album starts with a cover of “Do You Wanna Dance?” by Bobby Freeman. The lyrics are inviting a person to dance, the narrator asking to hold their hand and dance with them all through the night. What makes The Beach Boys’ cover of this song so unique is that it includes the band’s three-part harmonies, stunning musical arrangement, and an instrumental breakdown. This cover that respects the original while having that classic Beach-Boys twist that makes it different from its source material perfectly starts off the album.
“Do You Wanna Dance?” is followed by “Good To My Baby,” where the narrator defends their relationship from people who had a negative sight of that. The narrator tells the listener that people think they’re “bad and they treat her so mean,” but that’s only what other people want to see. The narrator then goes on to say that they “don’t have to put on a show” and “when [they] get her alone, [they’re] as happy as a couple can be.” While not as emotionally or musically stunning as other tracks on this album, the interesting thing about “Good To My Baby” is that it has a dark subject presented with a happy musical score, which can represent the narrator’s feelings towards his relationship; though people view his relationship negatively, he’s confident that his girlfriend loves him.
“When I Grow Up (To Be A Man)” is the first song produced by The Beach Boys where they delve into more emotional topics. In this song, the narrator vents about anxieties relating to growing up. The narrator wonders if he’ll still like the things, he does and if he’ll “settle down” or if he’ll “first want to travel the world”. This song also talks about the fears of falling out of love later in life, with the narrator pondering if he’ll “love [his] wife for the rest of [his] life.” The song ends with the narrator realizing that life won’t last forever, and that’s a depressing fact. “When I Grow Up (To Be A Man)” is the first of its kind in The Beach Boys’ discography and in general. This song paved the way for music with lyrics that put life into perspective.
Side two introduces more of the emotional ballads that follow “When I Grow Up (To Be A Man).” For instance, “Please Let Me Wonder” is about a man who’s scared that a girl won’t love him back, so he imagines that she loves him instead of finding out the answer. The narrator pleads, “Please let me wonder if I’ve been the one you love, please let me wonder if I’m who you’re thinking of.” The narrator also admits he hoped “that my love would surround you… I just can’t live without it, this beautiful image I have of you.” These lyrics encapsulate the narrator’s longing for the girl, but his apprehensiveness to do so.
“Kiss Me, Baby” is about a man trying to fix his relationship with his partner after they fought. The narrator begs his lover to “please don’t let me argue like before”, and they can’t remember what they were fighting about. He then says that they “both had a broken heart” after the fight and were suffering in the aftermath. Presumably, the narrator and his lover made up, since the song closes with the same lyrics being repeated until a fade-out (“Kiss me, baby, love to hold you.”) While a bit more simplistic than the following two songs, “Kiss Me, Baby” is a sweet song backed with an amazing musical score.
“She Knows Me Too Well” is one of the tracks with a deeper meaning on Today! The narrator realizes how he treats his girlfriend, but he convinces himself that his treatment of her is excusable because he thinks “she can tell I love her.” In the song, he admits that he’s aware of his treatment of her (“I treat her so mean I don't deserve what I have… I’m not happy till I make her break down and cry.”) He also admits he’s extremely possessive of her (“I get so jealous of the other guy, and then I'm not happy til I make her break down and cry”), but also admits that he’s not faithful to her (“When I look at other girls it must kill her inside, but it'd be another story if she looked at the guys.”) As the chorus is sung between these verses, it represents the narrator excusing his actions towards his girlfriend and can be interpreted as him repeating to himself that everything’s fine because “she knows me too well.”
“In The Back Of My Mind” is another one of the tracks with a much deeper meaning. It depicts the narrator worrying about everything in his life going wrong one day, although he is “blessed with everything.” He’s assured he makes his girlfriend happy “by living so plain”, but he’s scared that one day “it’s gonna change.” He also admits that he tries to “run far away from the thoughts” but “they just keep coming back.” At the end of the song, he finally accepts that he should just enjoy life as is, but the thought of leaving her will “always be way in the back of my mind.” This song, behind “She Knows Me Too Well” and “When I Grow Up To Be A Man,” is one of the main reasons Pet Sounds was possible and the best way to close off Today!
Article by AJ Nuenz
Edited by Kanishka Kataria
Cover page by Francine Gado
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