God Only Knows – The Beach Boys
“God Only Knows” is a song written by Brian Wilson and Tony Asher for American rock band the Beach Boys, released in May 1966 as the eighth track on the group’s album Pet Sounds. Two months later, it was released as the B-side of “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” in the United States. In other countries, “God Only Knows” was the single’s A-side. According to historian John Robert Greene, “God Only Knows” led to the reinvention of the popular love song.
The song names God in its title and lyrics, unusual for a pop single of its time, as Asher recalled: “Unless you were Kate Smith and you were singing ‘God Bless America’, no one [in 1966] thought you could say ‘God’ in a song.” The sentiments expressed in its lyric were not specific to any God, and could be addressed to any higher force, being a song about moving forward after loss. Wilson later explained that his and Asher’s intention was to create the feeling of “being blind but in being blind, you can see more”.
Sung by his younger brother Carl Wilson, the Beach Boys’ recording was produced and arranged by Brian using an unorthodox selection of instruments, including French horn, accordions, sleigh bell, harpsichord, and a quartet of violas and cellos heard throughout the piece in counterpoint. The musical structure has been variously cited for its harmonic complexity, inspiring tension through its disuse of authentic cadences and a definite key signature. Its closing section features perpetual rounds, a device that was not normally heard in popular music of the era.
“God Only Knows” was voted 25 in Rolling Stone magazine’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, the second of seven Beach Boys songs to feature (the first being “Good Vibrations” at 6), and was ranked by Pitchfork Media as the greatest song of the 1960s. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame included it as one of “500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll”.
Personnel
Sourced from Keith Badman and liner notes included with the 1999 mono/stereo reissue of Pet Sounds, except where otherwise noted.
The Beach Boys
Bruce Johnston – harmony and backing vocals
Brian Wilson – harmony and backing vocals
Carl Wilson – lead and backing vocals, twelve-string guitar
Additional musicians
Hal Blaine – drums
Jesse Erlich – cello
Carl Fortina – accordion
Jim Gordon – “clip-clop” percussion
Bill Green – flute
Leonard Hartman – clarinet, bass clarinet
Jim Horn – saxophone, flute
Harry Hyams – viola
Carol Kaye – electric bass
William Kurasch – violin
Leonard Malarsky – violin
Jay Migliori – baritone saxophone
Frank Marocco – accordion, clarinet
Ray Pohlman – electric bass
Larry Knechtel – Hammond B3 harpsichord
Don Randi – piano
Lyle Ritz – upright bass
Alan Robinson – French horn
Ralph Schaeffer – violin
Sidney Sharp – violin
Darrel Terwilliger – viola, violin
“Tony” – sleigh bell[1