Surf's Up

About Surf's Up

"Surf's Up" is a song written by Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks for American rock band the Beach Boys. Its title is an ironic nod to the group's earlier associations with surf music; nothing in the song is about surfing. Through its stream of consciousness lyric, the song details a man who experiences a spiritual awakening, resigns himself to God and the joy of enlightenment, and prophesies an optimistic hope for those who can capture the innocence of youth. From 1966 to 1967, "Surf's Up" was partially recorded for the group's unfinished studio album Smile before being shelved indefinitely. After Wilson was filmed performing the song for Inside Pop, a 1967 television documentary covering the 1960s rock revolution, the composition acquired relative mystique. In 1971, the original studio recording was completed and served as the title track for the group's 17th studio album. It was also released as a single, serving as the A-side to "Don't Go Near the Water", which did not chart. In 2016, "Surf's Up" was ranked number 122 on Pitchfork's list of the 200 best songs of the 1970s. In 2011, MOJO staff members voted it the greatest Beach Boys song. In 1967 it was acknowledged by clarinetist David Oppenheim, who called it "too complex to get the first time around...'Surf's Up' is one aspect of new things happening in pop music today. As such, it is a symbol of the change many of these young musicians see in our future." Musicologist Philip Lambert named the song "the soul of Smile" for being the "sum total of its creators' most profound artistic visions" with its "perfect marriage of an eloquent lyric with music of commensurate power and depth." more »

Year:

2004

4:08

170 Views

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A diamond necklace played the pawn. 
Hand in hand, some drummed along
To a handsome mannered baton. 

A blind class aristocracy. 
Back through the opera glass you see
The pit and the pendulum drawn. 

Columnated ruins domino!
Canvas the town and brush the back-drop. 
Are you sleeping? 

Hung velvet over taking me. 
Dim chandelier awaken me. 
To a song dissolved in the dawn. 

The music hall, a costly bow. 
The must all is lost for now, 
To a muted trumpeter swan. 

Columnated ruins domino!

Canvas the town and brush the back-drop. 
Are you sleeping? Brother John? 

Dove nested towers,
The hour was strike the street, quicksilver moon. 

Carriage across the fog-two-step to
Lampight cellar tune. 

The laughs come hard
In Auld Lang Syne. 

The glass was raised, the fired-roast. 
The fullness of the wine. 
A dim last toasting. 
While at Port, adieu or die. 

A choke of grief, heart-hardened eye, 
Beyond belief, a broken man too tough to cry. 

Surf's Up! Aboard a tidal wave. 
Come about hard and join the young
And often spring you gave. 

I heard the word. 
Wonderful thing! 
A children's song.
A children's song, have you listened as they play? 
Their song is love and the children know the way.

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Brian Wilson

Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American musician, best known as the leader and chief songwriter of the group The Beach Boys. On stage, Wilson provided many of the lead vocals, and often harmonized with the group in falsetto. Early during his on-stage career, Wilson primarily played bass guitar on stage, but gradually transitioned to primarily playing piano/keyboards. Besides being the primary composer in The Beach Boys, he also functioned as the band's main producer and arranger. After signing with Capitol Records in mid-1962, Wilson wrote or co-wrote more than two dozen Top 40 hits including "Surfin' Safari", "Surfin' USA", "Shut Down", "Little Deuce Coupe", "Be True to Your School", "In My Room", "Fun, Fun, Fun", "I Get Around", "Dance Danc… more »

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