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Please Let Me Wonder
1965 single by the Beach Boys

"Please Let Me Wonder" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1965 album The Beach Boys Today!. Written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, it was the first song Wilson wrote under the influence of marijuana. The lyrics are about a man who does not know if a girl loves him and is afraid of learning the answer, and so he prefers to fantasize that she does. On February 15, the song was issued as the B-side to their "Do You Wanna Dance?" single before the album's release.

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Background and arrangement

"Please Let Me Wonder" was the first song Wilson wrote under the influence of marijuana.1 Wilson said that he produced the song "as a tribute to Phil Spector",23 although the arrangement, which highlights different, individual instruments throughout the song, was in direct contrast to the methods employed by Spector for his Wall of Sound.4

AllMusic reviewer Matthew Greenwald wrote of the song:

Built around a lilting, gracious melody that vaguely recalls some of Wilson's doo wop influences, it's also somewhat akin to some of the contemporary (and mostly upcoming) ballad statements that folk-rock would embrace. ...Through the years, it has become known as one of the most treasured of Brian Wilson's more obscure album cuts. A quantum leap for this gifted composer.5

The instrumentation includes drums, timpani, tambourine, bass, two guitars, acoustic guitar, piano, tack piano, organ, horns, and vibraphone.6 In journalist David Howard's description, the song "specifically demonstrates" Wilson's "newfound insight" of "deconstruct[ing] songs into tiny increments and deal with each instrument individually, stacking sounds one at a time."7 Contributing to this effect, academic Jody O'Regan writes that the arrangement has "Some little accents, like the use of vibraphone, [that] only happen three times, and not always in a repetitive fashion. Similarly, a second electric guitar pops in and out during chorus sections to thicken the texture of the song, while horn parts surface in verse two, to delineate the sound of each song section."8

Lyrics

The song is about a man who is afraid that a girl will reveal that she does not love him,9 and so he instead prefers to fantasize that she does.10 Greenwald said that "the lyrics are filled with a sense of longing and uncertainty, sort of a flip side to Wilson's 'When I Grow Up to Be a Man.'"11 Journalist Scott Interrante's reading of the lyrics is that Wilson uses "a virginity metaphor to discuss his fears of commitment and intimacy in his own marriage."12

Recording

The backing track was recorded on January 7, 1965, at Western Studio.13 Wilson later remembered of the song, "I wrote that at my apartment in West Hollywood. As soon as I finished I felt I had to record it so I called up my engineer, Chuck Britz, and woke him up. 'Please Let Me Wonder' was recorded at 3:30 in the morning. I drove to the studio in the middle of the night and recorded it."1415 The session logs indicate that the instrumental track was actually recorded between 7:00 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.16 Vocals were overdubbed on January 9.17

The song ends with Brian Wilson saying in a spoken-word delivery, "I love you". According to him, this was an improvised line during recording.18

Release

On February 15, 1965, "Please Let Me Wonder" was issued as the B-side of "Do You Wanna Dance?", the third single from The Beach Boys Today!.19 On February 28, the band (with Brian) appeared on Shindig! for a performance that included a truncated version of "Please Let Me Wonder".20

Billboard described the song as an "interesting and well done change of pace ballad."21 Cash Box described it as "an easy-going, slowrockin’ ode about the ambiguities of a love relationship."22 Record World said "The harmony is pure and the tune is slow. Will lull many a teen into a romantic mood."23

Personnel

Per Craig Slowinski.24

The Beach Boys Additional musicians and production staff

Cover versions

See also: List of cover versions of Beach Boys songs

Citations

Bibliography

References

  1. Wilson & Greenman 2016, p. 191. - Wilson, Brian; Greenman, Ben (2016). I Am Brian Wilson: A Memoir. Da Capo Press. ISBN 978-0-306-82307-7. https://books.google.com/books?id=9CmiBQAAQBAJ ↩

  2. Sharp, Ken (January 2, 2009). "Brian Wilson: God's Messenger". American Songwriter. https://americansongwriter.com/brian-wilson-gods-messenger/5/ ↩

  3. Prince, Patrick (March 2, 2011). "Brian Wilson gives a brief summary of his hit songs". Goldmine Mag. https://www.goldminemag.com/articles/brian-wilson-gives-a-brief-summary-of-his-hit-songs ↩

  4. Interrante, Scott (May 19, 2014). "When I Grow Up: The Beach Boys - "Please Let Me Wonder"". PopMatters. https://www.popmatters.com/181997-when-i-grow-up-the-beach-boys-please-let-me-wonder-2495657543.html ↩

  5. "Matthew Greenwald review". AllMusic. http://www.allmusic.com/song/please-let-me-wonder-t14595756 ↩

  6. O'Regan 2014, p. 189. - O'Regan, Jody (2014). When I Grow Up: The Development of the Beach Boys' Sound (1962-1966) (PDF) (Thesis). Queensland Conservatorium. doi:10.25904/1912/2556. https://research-repository.griffith.edu.au/bitstream/handle/10072/367243/O%27Regan_2014_02Thesis.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y ↩

  7. Howard 2004, p. 58. - Howard, David N. (2004). Sonic Alchemy: Visionary Music Producers and Their Maverick Recordings (1st ed.). Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Hal Leonard. ISBN 9780634055607. https://books.google.com/books?id=O0VMAgAAQBAJ ↩

  8. O'Regan 2014, p. 184. - O'Regan, Jody (2014). When I Grow Up: The Development of the Beach Boys' Sound (1962-1966) (PDF) (Thesis). Queensland Conservatorium. doi:10.25904/1912/2556. https://research-repository.griffith.edu.au/bitstream/handle/10072/367243/O%27Regan_2014_02Thesis.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y ↩

  9. Carlin 2006, p. 73. - Carlin, Peter Ames (2006). Catch a Wave: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson. Rodale. ISBN 978-1-59486-320-2. https://books.google.com/books?id=eYyovo_AbqAC ↩

  10. Bolin, Alice (July 8, 2012). "The Beach Boys Are Still Looking at an Impossible Future". PopMatters. https://www.popmatters.com/160169-when-i-grow-up-to-be-a-man-2495839691.html ↩

  11. "Matthew Greenwald review". AllMusic. http://www.allmusic.com/song/please-let-me-wonder-t14595756 ↩

  12. Interrante, Scott (May 19, 2014). "When I Grow Up: The Beach Boys - "Please Let Me Wonder"". PopMatters. https://www.popmatters.com/181997-when-i-grow-up-the-beach-boys-please-let-me-wonder-2495657543.html ↩

  13. Badman 2004, p. 82. - Badman, Keith (2004). The Beach Boys: The Definitive Diary of America's Greatest Band, on Stage and in the Studio. Backbeat Books. ISBN 978-0-87930-818-6. https://archive.org/details/beachboysdefinit0000badm ↩

  14. Sharp, Ken (January 2, 2009). "Brian Wilson: God's Messenger". American Songwriter. https://americansongwriter.com/brian-wilson-gods-messenger/5/ ↩

  15. Prince, Patrick (March 2, 2011). "Brian Wilson gives a brief summary of his hit songs". Goldmine Mag. https://www.goldminemag.com/articles/brian-wilson-gives-a-brief-summary-of-his-hit-songs ↩

  16. Badman 2004, p. 82. - Badman, Keith (2004). The Beach Boys: The Definitive Diary of America's Greatest Band, on Stage and in the Studio. Backbeat Books. ISBN 978-0-87930-818-6. https://archive.org/details/beachboysdefinit0000badm ↩

  17. Badman 2004, p. 82. - Badman, Keith (2004). The Beach Boys: The Definitive Diary of America's Greatest Band, on Stage and in the Studio. Backbeat Books. ISBN 978-0-87930-818-6. https://archive.org/details/beachboysdefinit0000badm ↩

  18. Wilson, Brian. "Brian Wilson on "Please Let Me Wonder"". YouTube. Retrieved 30 July 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNPeCQu7sgA ↩

  19. Badman 2004, p. 84. - Badman, Keith (2004). The Beach Boys: The Definitive Diary of America's Greatest Band, on Stage and in the Studio. Backbeat Books. ISBN 978-0-87930-818-6. https://archive.org/details/beachboysdefinit0000badm ↩

  20. Badman 2004, p. 90. - Badman, Keith (2004). The Beach Boys: The Definitive Diary of America's Greatest Band, on Stage and in the Studio. Backbeat Books. ISBN 978-0-87930-818-6. https://archive.org/details/beachboysdefinit0000badm ↩

  21. "Singles Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. February 20, 1965. p. 24. Retrieved 2021-04-02. https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/60s/1965/Billboard%201965-02-20.pdf ↩

  22. "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. February 20, 1965. p. 12. Retrieved 2022-01-12. https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/60s/1965/CB-1965-02-20.pdf ↩

  23. "Singles Reviews" (PDF). Record World. February 20, 1965. p. 12. Retrieved 2023-07-22. https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Record-World/60s/65/RW-1965-02-20.pdf ↩

  24. Slowinski, Craig (2007). "The Beach Boys - The Beach Boys Today!" (PDF). Retrieved October 27, 2012. http://www.tiptopwebsite.com/custommusic2/craigslowinskicom.pdf ↩