Wouldn't It Be Nice

Album

Pet Sounds

Label

Capitol Records

Genre

Progressive Pop

Composer(s)

Brian Wilson;Tony Asher

Entered Chart

Jul 30, 1966

Peak Date

Sep 17, 1966

Released

July 18, 1966

Recorded

January 22 – April 1966 Studio Gold Star and Columbia, Hollywood

Catalog #

Capitol 5706

B-Side

God Only Knows*

This innocent love song is told from the perspective of a young man who is deeply in love and enjoys spending every waking moment his sweetheart. In an era when most Americans married in their early 20s, these kind of songs often ended in wedding vows, but Brian Wilson took a different approach, making it a song about savoring their time in the present, as they are too young to be married. Even though he was very sophisticated musically, Wilson was looking for ways to relate to the teen audience and hit upon the "too young to be married" theme for this song. This was the leadoff track to The Beach Boys legendary Pet Sounds album. While the "Wouldn't It Be Nice" and "God Only Knows" singles sold very well, the album had very disappointing sales when it was first released. The album has since garnered massive critical acclaim and sold well in reissues, but upon first release it only made #10 on the charts. In the UK, it did much better, going to #2 and giving The Beach Boys a lot more notoriety. Brian Wilson wrote the song with contributions from vocalist Mike Love and lyricist Tony Asher. Asher wrote all of the lyrics except for the "Good night, my baby, sleep tight, my baby" lines at the end of the song, which were Love's contribution. Wilson worked with a few different lyricists over the years, and Asher's talent was phrasing the words for commercial appeal - he was a copywriter at an advertising agency. Looking back on his time with Wilson, Asher said, "It was a great joy making music with him but that any other relationship with Brian was a great chore. I found Brian's lifestyle so damn repugnant. I mean, for say, every four hours we'd spend writing songs, there'd be about 48 hours of these dopey conversations about some dumb book he'd just read. Or else he'd just go on and on about girls... his feelings about this girl or that girl... it was just embarrassing." Mike Love sang the bridge; Brian Wilson did the verses. Love explained in the liner notes for the Pet Sounds boxed set that Brian Wilson made him do over 30 takes singing one background section of this song. Around the 20th take, Love started affectionately calling him "dog ears," as he could hear things other humans couldn't. "Brian must have been part canine because he was reaching for something intangible, imperceptible to most, and all but impossible to execute," wrote Love. This song has been adapted and used for Cadbury chocolate commercials in South Africa. This song featured in the movie 50 First Dates starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore. In the film, Sandler falls in love with Barrymore, but she has no short term memory and forgets about him every morning. He realizes that some part of her knows of him because she sings this song, which she heard with him. >> In 2006, The National Review magazine compiled a list of what they claim are the 50 most conservative rock lyrics. This was one of the songs they mentioned, claiming it advocates abstinence and promotes marriage. This song was prominently featured in the Michael Moore movie Roger & Me. In one scene, a recently laid off auto worker talks about hearing it on the radio as he was driving home after his firing. It also appears at the end of movie as the credits are rolling. >> Brian Wilson's autobiography is titled Wouldn't It Be Nice. >> The song was also featured at the very end of the movie Shampoo. Warren Beatty watched as the woman he realized he loved and tried too late to make a life with (Julie Christie) drives out of his life forever with another man (Jack Warden). Great roles played by Lee Grant and a very young Carrie Fisher as well. Roll credits. >>

Wouldn't it be nice if we were older?
Then we wouldn't have to wait so long
And wouldn't it be nice to live together
In the kind of world where we belong?

You know it's gonna make it that much better
When we can say goodnight and stay together

Wouldn't it be nice if we could wake up
In the morning when the day is new?
And after having spent the day together
Hold each other close the whole night through

Happy times together we've been spending
I wish that every kiss was never ending
Oh, wouldn't it be nice?

Maybe if we think and wish and hope and pray
It might come true
Baby, then there wouldn't be a single thing we couldn't do
Oh, we could be married (oh, we could be married)
And then we'd be happy (and then we'd be happy)
Oh, wouldn't it be nice?

You know it seems the more we talk about it
It only makes it worse to live without it
But let's talk about it
Oh, wouldn't it be nice?

Goodnight, my baby
Sleep tight, my baby
Goodnight, my baby
Sleep tight, my baby