"Good Vibrations": Lyric Comparison

To recap my last post: "Good Vibrations" is, to me, the best song ever written. The melodies, structure, and instrumentals work together perfectly. The one aspect of the song that I did not yet explain was the lyrics. I'll be honest, the lyrics didn't initially blow me away, but as I've listened to the song over and over (and over), I've realized the vital role they play. This realization was spurred on by my discovery of what the lyrics possibly could have been instead.

This possibility presents itself in another version of the song. Brian Wilson, on his album Brian Wilson Presents Smile, uses a different set of lyrics than those in the original release. I believe these lyrics were offered up back in 1966 by someone who was working on the track. In the end, however, the lyrics written by Mike Love were picked. I'm not a huge Mike Love fan, but I am glad that the band went with his lyrics in this scenario, because the alternate ones...well, they're not great, in my opinion.

While differing amounts of syllables and an altered rhyme scheme both play a role in making something sound a bit off about this version, I think the most jarring difference is the actual words themselves, which is what I'll be examining here.

Right away, the opening lines of the originally released version (I’ll just call it the original) and the version Brian Wilson recorded later on (I’ll call it the alternate) paint two very different pictures. The original begins:

"I-I love the colorful clothes she wears,

And the way the sunlight plays upon her hair"

That’s nice. It’s relaxing, it's romantic, it provides a warm image. The “new” opening lyrics are a bit different:

"I-I love the colorful clothes she wears,

And she’s already workin’ on my brain"

As I mentioned, different amounts of syllables and different rhyme schemes, but even disregarding that, the lyrics are just...strange. They almost seem sinister in a way and not at all relaxing. If the sentiment that was supposed to be expressed was something along the lines of "she captivates me," there are so many better ways to convey that, in my opinion.

The original second verse went:

"Close my eyes, she’s somehow closer now

Softly smile, I know she must be kind

When I look in her eyes

She goes with me to a blossom world"

I won’t gush over this verse. It lacks any rhyme scheme at all and "I know she must be kind" reads a bit awkwardly, but at the very least, it manages to maintain the same mood as the first one: relaxing, romantic, and warm.

And now the alternate version:

"I, I bet I know what she's like

And I can feel how right she'd be for me

It's weird how she comes in so strong

And I wonder what she's pickin' up from me

And I'm pickin' up..."

Apologies to Oingo Boingo, but using “weird” in a song’s lyrics always strikes me as a bit, well, weird. But at least that was the general idea behind “Weird Science.” "Good Vibrations," even this new version, doesn't seem to try to make itself out to be a whacky, quirky tune. Additionally, the first line just feels very empty, providing the listener with no real information. Also, using “and” twice in a row to begin the last two lines is awkward.

And finally a quick note, I think it's included in some extended versions of the original song, but I'm not a fan of the “Hum-be-num, hum-be-num-oh” part that gets repeated a bunch of times. I’m a “don’t bore us, get to the chorus” kind of person, but everything in the original "Good Vibrations" (or at least the widely released version of the original) seemed purposeful and necessary, which I liked. It was a bunch of different parts put together, but they were all interesting while managing to fit well as one song. And importantly for me, it kept me on my toes. The song isn’t an albatross, the original and alternate versions are 3:35 and 4:37 respectively, but that "hum-be-num" section seems unnecessary and it drags on a bit too long.

All in all, the alternate version of "Good Vibrations," had it been the only one in existence, would probably have been one of my favorite songs, at least for some time. But I certainly wouldn’t be discussing it here as my pick for the best song ever.

This is not meant to take anything away from Brian Wilson and his seemingly preferred choice of lyrics (though perhaps he was forced to use this version due to some legal trouble with Mike Love). He still managed to put together a masterpiece and I’m completely on the side of their publicist that the man is a genius.