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| The Beach Boys - Caroline, No |
The Beach Boys - Caroline, No Lyrics and Youtube Music VideosAlbum:
Pet Sounds Released:
1966 Where did your long hair go
Where is the girl I used to know
How could you lose that happy glow
Oh, Caroline no
Who took that look away
I remember how you used to say
You'd never change, but that's not true
Oh, Caroline you
Break my heart
I want to go and cry
It's so sad to watch a sweet thing die
Oh, Caroline why
Could I ever find in you again
The things that made me love you so much then
Could we ever bring 'em back once they have gone
Oh, Caroline no
Writer/s: WILSON, BRIAN DOUGLAS / ASHER, TONY
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by
LyricFindCaroline, No This is a heartbreaking song about a girl who is moving on with her life, leaving the singer to wonder why she changed and what went wrong. Brian Wilson considers it one of his most successful ballads, along with "In My Room," "Surfer Girl" and "God Only Knows." He calls these ballads, "sweet, pretty, angelic songs that people liked." Beach Boys leader Brian Wilson wrote this song with the lyricist Tony Asher, who also worked with him on "God Only Knows." It was a very personal song for both writers. Wilson married his first wife, Marilyn, in December, 1964, and the couple were going through many changes in their relationship. In the notes for the reissued album Wilson explained: "We were young, Marilyn nearing 20 and me closing in on 24, yet I thought we'd lost the innocence of our youth in the heavy seriousness of our lives."
Wilson took his concept of lost innocence to Asher, who drew from his own personal experience to complete the lyrics. Asher had recently broken up with his girlfriend, Carol, who moved across the country to New York City. When Asher visited her, he was struck by how much she had changed - her new haircut inspired the first line in the song.
Asher wrote a lyric in the song as "Carol, I Know," which Wilson interpreted as "Caroline, No," which both men agreed was a much more interesting title. Brian Wilson put a variety of unusual instruments on this track, including harpsichord, ukulele and vibraphone. He used some of the top Los Angeles session players on the recording, including Hal Blaine on drums, Carol Kaye on bass and Glen Campbell on guitar. Blaine created a unique percussion sound by hitting an empty, upside-down water bottle, which is what you hear at the beginning of the track. Brian Wilson recorded this without the rest of the group - on the single it's listed as "Brian Wilson," not "The Beach Boys." The released version was recorded a half step slower so that when played back, the vocal would sound a little higher in pitch. (The same technique McCartney used on "When I'm Sixty Four" - the acetate is in the original key of C major as opposed to C# on "Pepper".) It was supposed to give the vocal a more "youthful" sound. (thanks, Barry Kesten - Bellmore) This was the last song on the original version of the Pet Sounds album. At the end of the song, the sounds of a passing train and barking dogs come in. The train came from a sound effects reel, but the dogs were original: Brian Wilson brought his pooches Banana and Louie into the studio and recorded their barks. This was done to tie in the "Pet Sounds" concept. This song was referenced in the third verse of Neil Young's "Long May You Run," which is addressed to his famous Pontiac hearse; "Maybe the Beach Boys have got you now, with those waves singing Caroline, oh Caroline, no." (thanks, Ekristheh - Halath)