Tunesday : God Only Knows

God Only Knows

(Wilson, B / Asher, T) Performed by The Beach Boys

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

It was back in May that Mallory told us that Brian Wilson would be touring for the fiftieth anniversary of the Pet Sounds album, and as he would be coming to our local theatre, it was an easy sell for us to get tickets for the family to go. I remember The Beach Boys touring back in the 80s - their Kokomo years - and I had no desire at all to see them back then. So it's surreal to me that, thirty years later, I have a daughter who says that Pet Sounds is one of her favourite albums; that God Only Knows is her favourite song of all time. That she cried when they sang it at the concert last night.

When I was deciding which song to use this week, I almost went cheeky with Brian Wilson by Barenaked Ladies: Not only is that one of our favourite songs to hear live by one of our favourite groups, but ex-band member Steven Page was part of a free concert in town last Saturday: Dave and Kennedy went to see him (yes, he did Brian Wilson), they had a great time, and I had a sense of the ironic - Page reduced to doing a free little concert, singing about "lying in bed, just like Brian Wilson did", while Brian Wilson himself is still selling out a biggish venue; singing to a fanatic crowd that included my own nineteen year old daughter. There's a nugget of something snarky there, though, so I won't belabour the comparison. 

In addition to doing all of the Pet Sounds album (which includes some great songs like Good Vibrations and Wouldn't It Be Nice [the latter of which would get my vote for most romantic Beach Boys song of all time], as well as the experimental clunkers), Brian Wilson and his impressive band did all the great hits - from California Girls to Help Me Rhonda. And in addition to the presence of Brian Wilson himself, Al Jardine, co-founder of The Beach Boys, was in the band (and while Wilson was obviously struggling to sing and play his piano, Jardine sounded and played like himself). Al Jardine's son, Matthew, is also a member of this group, and he sings all the high Carl Wilson parts exactly like Wilson did. (When Al was introducing Matthew as his son and bringing him forward to sing Don't Worry Baby, Al said, "He really sings the crap out of this song", and as Mallory has a physical revulsion to the word "crap", and as she hates it when her family teases her about this, we couldn't help staring at her meaningfully; she couldn't help glaring back impatiently. Matthew Jardine sang the crap out of that song.)

As for Brian Wilson himself: He really seemed old; had to hold another man's hand to walk out onto the stage; couldn't quite hit any of the notes. I think that he sat behind his baby grand straight on to the audience so that we couldn't see that he wasn't actually playing. And the crowd didn't care. When he finished God Only Knows, the crowd erupted into a standing ovation that lasted for some minutes before he asked us to sit down again. From somewhere in the balcony a man shouted, "Thank you Brian." And Brian Wilson looked up, in what was probably the only spontaneous moment in the concert, and replied, "You're welcome".

Mallory was grateful and effusive on the drive home; synced her phone's playlist into the car's radio so we could listen to The Beach Boys all the way. These girls of ours are adults now, and I am happy that they still want to do things like this with us. God only knows what I'd be without them.