Many people, including Paul McCartney, have said that the 1966 Beach Boys song “God Only Knows,” a product of Brian Wilson—with a bit of contribution from Tony Asher—is their favorite rock/pop song.
To wit:
Now I won’t beef about the grammatical error in the title (it should be “Only God Knows,” but that would mess up the rhythm), but I do agree that it’s in the top ten of rock songs. (For me, the Beatles’ “A Day in the Life” would probably be #1). The words may be a bit puerile—just another testimony to undying love—but that’s not why the song is famous. It’s the tune and, above all, the vocal embellishments and the complex melody, that makes this song so great. If you don’t mind a bit of arcane music analysis, here’s Rick Beato in a recent video calling “God Only Knows” the “perfect song.” And even if you’re not into Beato’s analysis of melody, you can’t help but see from his analysis how unusual and inventive Wilson’s melody was. Wilson spent days perfecting the song and its recording.
You can see how energized Beato is when he listens to the song and discusses its chords and notes.
Below is the final product as released on the immortal album Pet Sounds (have a look at its lineup of songs at the previous link). There’s a great live performance, with Carl Wilson singing lead (as he did on the record), here. But first, a few words from the Wikipedia entry:
Written by Brian Wilson and Tony Asher, it is a baroque-style love song distinguished for its harmonic innovation and complexity, unusual instrumentation, and subversion of typical popular music conventions, both lyrically and musically. It is often praised as one of the greatest songs of all time and as the Beach Boys’ finest record.
The song’s musical sophistication is demonstrated by its three contrapuntal vocal parts and weak tonal center (competing between the keys of E and A). Lyrically, the words are expressed from the perspective of a narrator who asserts that life without their lover could only be fathomed by God—an entity that had been considered taboo to name in the title or lyric of a pop song. It marked a departure for Wilson, who attributed the impetus for the song to Asher’s affinity for standards such as “Stella by Starlight“. Some commentators interpret “God Only Knows” as promoting suicidal ideations, although such an interpretation was not intended by the songwriters. Others have compared the song’s advanced harmonic structure to the work of classical composers such as Delibes, Bach, and Stravinsky.
Wilson produced the record between March and April 1966, enlisting about 20 session musicians who variously played drums, sleigh bells, plastic orange juice cups, clarinets, flutes, strings, French horn, accordion, guitars, upright bass, harpsichord, and a tack piano with its strings taped. His brother Carl Wilson sang lead, a vocal performance that became regarded as Carl’s best ever, with Brian himself and Bruce Johnston providing additional harmonies. The song ends with a series of repeating vocal rounds, another device that was uncommon for popular music of the era.
The released version (official video), three minutes of musical genius. The video apparently shows two high-school lovers with one about to go off to college.
I’ve previously posted the video below, but wanted to show it again it again because it documents another connection between the Beatles and “God Only Knows”: George Martin (“The Fifth Beatle”) goes to visit Brian Wilson at his home, and they discuss the song at length, later repairing to the studio where Martin fiddles with the original tapes. It’s five minutes well spent.
Finally, two videos documenting the production of this song in the studio. Both show Wilson’s perfectionism.
Now if you have a different “perfect song” (and “perfect” is subject to different interpretations), please name it below. In lieu of that, give us your favorite song, which may or may not be ‘perfect.” Picking one off the top of my head, I’d say the Beatles’ “In My Life” comes close to perfection (original here). The lovely baroque bridge was written and performed by George Martin.
A great song, a great performance. Makes me maudlin, though.
‘God Only Knows’ has a weak melody and only works on the original recording, with the harmonies and orchestration. ‘A Day In The Life’ has no melody to speak of. A truly great song would be ‘Bess, You Is My Woman Now’, the Gershwin’s aria from ‘Porgy and Bess’. Also from that opera, ‘My Man’s Gone Now’ and ‘I Loves You Porgy’. These are among the most gut wrenching, emotionally powerful songs ever written.
Agree 100% 😁
I will say, now that A Day In The Life is in my go-to playlist and I might hear it regularly, I’m struck by one thing :
How short it is!
I had some notion like it was epic – yet, it is so-so brief.
God Only Knows is on a level above that, IMHO – so much so that it’s a song I have to be ready for – doesn’t work just popping up – the way Beethoven symphonies have to be a conscious choice (😁)…
I think that is a sign of great music – Mozart or maybe Rossini especially do this in their opera overtures – it travels rapidly to unrelated lands, your head spins yet just goes along, to return home with a
DUMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmm…….
I have to re-listen and ask “how did he go from that,… to THAT…”..
[ loses self in thought ] … pop music is sorta like overtures, they cover ground in a very to-the-point way.
🎼🎶🎵
Pete Townshend reportedly said that ABBA’s SOS was the best pop song ever written.
I’d add that I think ABBA’s Name of the Game and Cassandra are pop masterpieces too.
Fernando and Dancing Queen are also great
For me, a “perfect song” is one where each transition from verse to chorus to bridge and then back to verse or chorus gives me goosebumps and always moves the song forward.
I’m not a big Bruce Springsteen fan, but his 1984 B-side “Pink Cadillac” does this for me. “Flat Black Ford” by Gillian Welch as well.
The Abbey Road Medley by the Beatles takes the concept a bit further. You have several distinct songs that, by the end, have borrowed the melodies of each other, intertwining these transitions among songs. And it works every single time.
I really like “God Only Knows”, but it has two awkward transitions to get back to the tonic. “Don’t Worry Baby”, for me, is a more “perfect” song.
I’d add to that “Caroline, No” and “Don’t Worry, Baby”, both by the Beach Boys. They’re not “perfect, but they’re damn good.
I recommend the 1996 Lorrie Morgan performance of “Don’t
Worry Baby,” which is, to me, transcendent:
The Foxes and Fossils cover is pretty good, too.
Indeed!
https://youtu.be/ZRuYQ9KRJms?si=ZZlxQ7ai6-bGlCJ0
From Puccini’s only comic opera. I’m posting on the fly today, or I’d give my deep annotation. It is a masterpiece of theatrical irony cloaked in an exquisite miniature gown of silk.
I like God Only Knows, but I like Good Vibrations better, as it’s more upbeat. I did enjoy Rick Beato’s YouTube on the song. I might have been a bit too young for The Beach Boys, or for the Beatles for that matter, as their early works—particularly the Beatles—didn’t move me. I always thought that the Beatles came into their own only after Sgt. Pepper’s, but it’s probably more that I became more aware of popular music at that point.
Regarding perfection, Toto’s “Africa” has been widely reported to be the perfect song. (Do a search.) I love it, and think it’s a very good song. But perfect? The soaring chorus is spectacular.
Of course there are others: “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” performed by Frank Sinatra and the Count Basie band on the album “Sinatra at the Sands” is drop dead near perfection (IMHO). Listen here: https://youtu.be/3IdIxi8kLzE?si=0aLKClUEu8cXx3rp
Re “Africa” — I love this Chorale version:
https://youtu.be/-c9-poC5HGw?si=LTek_mPBn31tWbNY
Speaking of Count Basie, his recording of Corner Pocket on the album April In Paris is a good candidate for a perfect song.
A Day In The Life is a good pick. It’s one of my favorites too.
I’ve recently started a new project, a play list named “Near Perfect Songs.” What I had in mind by “perfect” is not necessarily contenders for THE perfect song, but only that I like every bit of the song. Many songs, most I would say, have sections or points that stand out to me as not being as good as the rest of the song. So my idea for perfect is simply songs that don’t have any such bad spots in them. I’ve just started, with thousands of songs to sift through, so the list so far is short.
#1 Crush by Garbage
Angry Jonny by Poe
Are You Experienced by Hendrix
Cherub Rock by Smashing Pumpkins
Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town by Pearl Jam
2 Wicky by Hooverphonic Live at Koningin Elisabethzaal 2012 (the video is must watch, preferably on a big screen with good sound system)
Burning Down The House by Talking Heads
Dreams by Fleetwood Mac
My favorite song is a constantly changing target, sometimes minute by minute. At the moment some contenders are Shut The Door by Fugazi, New Noise by Refused, the Musical Heritage Society recording of Bolero by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra with Ricardo Muti conducting, Glorybox by Portishead live at Roseland, Blue Collar by BTO, Add It Up by Violent Femmes, Dragon Attack by Queen. . . I should probably stop or I’ll be here all day.
I love Procol Harum – A Whiter Shade of Pale. To me it’s just a gorgeous and melodic song. It brings back some nostalgic feelings from college that now seem like the good and easy times. That’s just nostalgia though.
Madame George–Van Morrison. I’m just in love with all of Van Morrison’s old songs.
Into The Mystic. He is so passionate in his singing.
Conquistador for me, from Procol Harum.
Another fan of Van the Man here. Astral Weeks is a phenomenal album, but I love all his old stuff.
I used to say that he sang like a lion who swallowed an angel.
I have a deep antipithy for “God Only Knows.”
Actually … for the joy everyone attributes to it. People are tricked, because a poet can write a song that sounds joyous, yet screams terror. This song is just such a masterpiece.
I think the narrator is drowning in codependency. He pleads with her to not leave him. He repeats an emeshed mantra over and over, in an effort to make a twisted meme keep her pinned down in sacrifice.
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.
P.S. I think “My Funny Valentine” is perfect
I am fully aware of the codependence, but that does not, to me, mar the song. Think of all the songs with dreadful messages that are still great. For example, Dont Fear the Reaper by by BLue Oyster Cult.
Do you think I have been tricked?
Millions have missed the dark sarcasm in this song. I’m not saying it is not great. On the contrary … it is a masterpiece.
The trick here is this: the happy melody, the delightful instruments and sounds, the nuanced harmony so often cited, the rolling “round” at the end that sounds like waves of love ….
… lulls us into evading the devastating lyric. He is saying that he will take his life if she abandons him.
Brian Wilson was “going through a lot” when he wrote it.
This is a masterful trick in art … happiness, with an invisible trench of despair flowing deep. Here is another masterpiece… Barbara Streisand rendering a ridiculously raucus rah-rah into heartbreak. Please excuse the poor tape .. this is her best performance of the song.
https://youtu.be/fA8OmK3qslw?si=JNysnqO10T6E_TG6
P.S. there are examples of the obverse… a sad sounding song that masks a quiet but growing joy.
Reminds me a bit of the Police’s I’ll be Watching You, which ranges from a heartfelt love to a stalking obsession.
Wow! That Streisand version is amazing! Totally turns the song on its head.
OK, here my top 10 pop/rock songs, in no particular order … today anyway:
November Rain
Stairway to Heaven
More than a Feeling
My Immortal
Big Girls Don’t Cry
Wheel in the Sky
Get off of My Cloud
Why Can’t this Night Go On Forever
Ruby Tuesday (Scorpions)
Paint it Black
Don’t Stop Believin’
Do You Recall
Tai Shan
OK it was 13, so sue me.
It’s an idiomatic expression in English, not a grammatical “error” “Only God knows” is not the same thing. I mean, it’s possible to say that, and has more or less the same meaning, but it doesn’t sound idiomatic in the same way.
“Only God knows what I’d be without you” means the narrator doesn’t know his own feelings. “God only knows what I’d be without you” means the narrator knows his own pain, while God knows the situation but not the pain.
That’s a good way of understanding it.
Sorry, but I call it a grammatical error. What the guy means is clearly that only God knows what she means to him, so it should be Only God Knows.
It would be a far worse mistake to mangle an idiom than to misplace an adverb, though. You made it sound like they were altering a phrase to make it fit the rhythm, when actually they are citing an established idiom. You need colloquial English for a rock song.
I consider myself not a Beatles fan, but a Beatles scholar. One of my daughter’s first word was “Beatles,” at three I had her in the seat of a shopping cart in a grocery store, the Muzak was playing “A Hard Day’s Night,” and she shouted “Beatles!” and everyone in the aisle turned toward her with smiles on their faces. My wedding included “I’ve Just Seen a Face,” and the programs had the “And in the End…” lyrics on the cover. At my funeral my wife has assured me that she’ll play “A Day in the Life,” as well as “I Am The Walrus,” and a fan made mash-up of all the times the Fabs mentioned “love” in their songs.
Don’t know why I mention it, but it makes me smile.
I don’t think I have anything that tops that Beach Boys song. If there is a Beatles song that bests it, it can’t be by much! That seems heresy, but Paul McCartney agrees with me.
But here are some popular music masterpieces from my playlist that are awesome, and at least related to God Only Knows bc of complexity and nuance. I feel like I hear new details every time I play them:
Summer Winds by Frank Sinatra.
Fantasy by Earth Wind and Fire.
Child of Vision by Supertramp. Surprised? So am I. But then there is that terrific long piano piece toward the end.
There are musically simpler songs out there that are also amazing, but it’s hard to compare them with items in this discussion as they are not as complex.
I often argue that Sugar Sugar by The Archies is the greatest pop single in my lifetime. It was the biggest Billboard hit in 1969, (think of all the other great music from that year), and it became that hit without any cult of personality behind the song. A great pop song, great performances, an excellent production. The only thing that the record had to offer was the record itself. Is it great “art”? That is likely debatable, (and arguing about music is like dancing about architecture), and I know that success does not equate with quality, but damn it’s a great record. The Captain and Tenielle’s Love Will Keep Us Together is another great record. Listening with headphones reveals a lot of ear candy deep in the mix.
I really like Rick Beato. Similar to his channel is Aimee Nolte. She has this to say about Here, There and Everywhere.
https://youtu.be/j9403Nxvt3M?si=oQtufek3mabcRHYz
For the music theory nerds there is Adam Neely. I knew when I heard Lady Gaga sing at Biden’s inauguration it was special. Adam Neely explains how it all works.
https://youtu.be/Y_GY3DB8pL4?si=6P4rvS83sIyyBWyW
Love will keep us together was from Neil Sedaka, who had many great songs.
And Howard Greenfield, ditto.
Ok, Here are my two cents (songs):
“Sultans of Swing,” by Dire Straits, because Mark Knopfler is the best guitar player,
and
“It’s My Life,” by Talk Talk, because Mark Hollis was beyond wonderful.
Have you fellow geezers considered that our ages are very guessable by our favorite songs? As reliably as our email providers.
hehehehe
D.A.
NYC
ps Yes, big credit to Dire Straits, fellow Gen Xer. 🙂
Sultans of Swing is awesome. How about Private Investigations?
Two perfect songs:
Here, There, and Everywhere by Lennon and McCartney. Said by Sir Paul to be one of his favorite of his own songs.
Mama Tried by Merle Haggard. I don’t know how many country fans frequent this site, but I find this song to be a finely polished gem of economical story telling, witty lyrics that perfectly fit the music, and a mournful spirit that pulls it all together in barely 2 minutes
I always have a special place for real good country music. My known favorites include Nothing to Lose, and Foolin’, both by Andrew Combs. These are simply gorgeous.
And for a sweet, lovely song that always cheers me up: Bruises by Train.
Great songs! I wasn’t familiar with this artist, but I enjoyed learning about him
God Only Knows truly is a masterpiece and I would never argue against listing it among the best songs ever written. I’d like to add another song for consideration. I don’t think it possesses the same level of craftsmanship and texture that Wilson brought to GOK but it stops me in my tracks every time I hear it – Johnny Cash covering Hurt by NIN. The original is the concluding track on a concept album about self destruction written by a young man still in the teeth of a life plagued by addiction. The cover was one of his final recordings and the lyrics are given new and powerful meaning in the voice of Cash who survived addiction and was looking back on a life that he knew was coming to its end. The accompanying video hits me like a punch and is 3:49 well spent.
When I was a kid, I had a bean bag chair next to my stereo that I’d sit back in, headphones on, and alternate between the Beatles and the Beach Boys (who I considered a local band). So all of this talk gives rise to some serious nostalgia. But the 1970s and ’80s also produced some great rock/alt rock that I prefer today.
My all time, stop-what-I’m-doing to listen favorite song is Acker Bilk’s, Stranger on the Shore (1961). I prefer instrumental versions and especially like the arrangement done by the Spencer Wyatt Band for the soundtrack of the film, “The Majestic” which itself is excellent (the soundtrack, not the film).
From Wikipedia:
“Stranger on the Shore” is a piece for clarinet written by Acker Bilk for his young daughter and originally named “Jenny” after her. The tune was written on a single scrap of paper by Bilk and handed over to arranger Leon Young who crafted the string arrangement, including the characteristic harmonic shifts at the very end.
…It was first released in 1961 in the UK, and then in the US, and reached number 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 2 on the UK Singles Chart.
In May 1969, the crew of Apollo 10 took “Stranger on the Shore” on their mission to the Moon. Gene Cernan, a member of the crew, included the tune on a cassette tape used in the command module of the Apollo spacecraft.”
I can’t find the Spencer Wyatt version online but here’s Bilk’s original: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsKTG30g3mw&list=RDVsKTG30g3mw&start_radio=1
I well remember Acker Bilk. For years his “Stranger on the Shore” could be heard on the radio and over the public address systems of department stores. I also remember the words of my first clarinet teacher, a Jimmy Dorsey alumnus, who said “I don’t want you sounding like Acker Bilk!” Different musicians have different conceptions of sound.
I have to admit that I am a big fan of that Acker Bilk song, but you just do not hear it much these days. The clarinet is glorious.
That is indeed a great song, and very “Paul McCartney-esque”.
For my money also, A Day in the Life wins the prize. (And I don’t always agree with the boss’ takes on music here).
D.A.
NYC
I like this song. I don’t know if it classifies as perfect but it is a feast for ear and eye.
From the opera Satyagraha by Philip Glass
A far more tasty song from Philip Glass is “Lightning”
from his album “Songs from Liquid Days.”
Thank you. I have several of his albums but hadn’t heard this before. I saw an early performance of ‘1000 Airplanes on the Roof’ in Glasgow in the late 80s and it was incredible.
I also love his symphonies based on David Bowie albums.
I’d certainly rate A Day of the Life among my top ten favorite songs. One of those songs that the first time I heard it on the radio, maybe in early 1976, when I was 14, I was pretty much awe-struck and wanted to experience hearing that again. For Christmas that year, I got my own record player and a few days later, at the Lemoore Naval Air Station Navy Exchange (I was a Navy brat), the first album I bought for myself was Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Most of the next 20 albums I bought were all Beatles albums, along with Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours, the Rolling Stones’ Hot Rocks collection, and the Eagles’ Hotel California. In 1976, my family had moved to Lemoore, CA, and I started listening to a Fresno radio station that mixed in a lot of classic album tracks never released as singles, along with the modern pop hits. Other songs I’d regard as “perfect” include F. Mac’s “Gold Dust Woman” and the Kinks’ “Waterloo Sunset”.
I know nothing of musical theory, but I know what I like. Among my favorites is “The Weight”. I love this live version:
https://youtu.be/8BAp5BxpIR8?si=o3wSlxyReztVsato
And since the World Series is scheduled to begin shortly, here’s a John Fogerty tune that always gives me a lift: “Centerfield.” This video contains lots of cool old baseball clips:
https://youtu.be/Xq3hEMUeBGQ?si=FmIH5LI7JMwoB_EB
As a popular song of its era, Grace Slick’s White Rabbit is near the top for me.
As a popular song of a different era with a far different zeitgeist, I put Beethoven’s arrangement of Schiller’s Ode to Joy at the top, for its emotional arcs, particularly the “awe” section.
(Come to think of it, I would like to hear an AI™ version of Ludwig’s OtJ with Grace as one of the soloists….)
Stan Rogers’ rendition of Archie Fisher’s song “The Witch of the Westmerlands” (with Garnet Rogers on the fiddle).
I’m no sort of music expert, but I’d say that this is some damn near perfect blues playing by Charlie Parker on his private recording of “My Heart Tells Me” from June 1944. It’s also my most recent favorite song.
Edit: Also, a song that has been a favorite of mine since I first gave it a serious listen around seven or eight years ago, Peggy Lee’s rendition of “I Don’t Want To Play In Your Yard”. A very beautiful recording and a very beautiful voice.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=v43aQTsVb5o
That was precious. Femme so disarming and with a pout. She doesn’t mean it … but she really really means it.
I’ve been charmed since 1981 by the song as a moment in the film “Reds,” with an adorable amateur rendition by Diane Keaton. Adorable, but aimed like a dart at Eugene O’Neill, played by Jack Nicholson.
https://youtu.be/N4LzkWriLTU?si=onNSYu4aNwaJJqhM
Reds is where I first heard this song too! I came across the Peggy Lee version when I was searching YouTube for a clip of the scene where Diane Keaton sings it.
The Vanishing Breed, by Robbie Robertson
I think that the middle, instrumental part of God Only Knows completely ruins the song. It’s bizarre and out of place. The best song ever, in my opinion, is “A Salty Dog” by Procol Harum.
Harry Nilsson’s song “Without You” will suffice as perfectish.
Cheers to perfection being a striving force…
The song seems even more poignant, knowing that the two writers committed suicide. Several years apart, and unrelated to the song, but the song shows that they were people with powerful feelings.
l think you must include Paul Simon amongst the greatest writers of melodies of the 20th century. Songs like ‘ the Sound of Silence’, ‘Homeward Bound’, ‘The Boxer’ and ‘American Tune’ are among the best.
Well, this post was about great songs, not great writers. So of course Paul Simon would be among them, as well as Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, and many others.
Surprised nobody has mentioned George Harrison’s wonderful (at least, to me) “Here Comes the Sun” so far. Always keeps my spirits up as the northern winter is approaching.
“I’d say the Beatles’ “In My Life” comes close to perfection”
Some replies seem to confuse your reference to “In My Life” with “A Day In The Life”. “In My Life” is so much better.
I planned to have the Sean Connery version of “In My Life” played at my funeral. I loved it. Then he was outed as a wife beater and I decided I wasn’t going to have a funeral, so that was that.
Re ‘God Only Knows’, I like the song, but it’s ironic that the version sung by my all time favourite artist is my least favourite song in his whole repertoire. His voice is great as always, but I just don’t like the production.
Link to the Sean Connery version of “In My Life”. If you disassociate it from his personal life I prefer this version to the Beatles. I find it very moving and powerful.
IIRC it’s George Martin on piano. It’s from the George Martin album “In My Life” which is made up of cover versions of Beatles songs that Martin produced for them.
It came to me last night: “Chelsea morning” by Joni Mitchell. Lyrics much more interesting than “God only knows”, and interesting instrument playing as well.
Here is a live version, which seems to have slightly changed the last line of the song, giving it added meaning.