God Only Knows

I've been watching the DVDs of the first season of the HBO series Big Love (a review will be forthcoming), so I've had occasion to hear The Beach Boys song "God Only Knows" several times, as it is the theme song of the series. It's a clever way to introduce the show, which is about a polygamist, and it certainly gets me in a great frame of mind, since "God Only Knows" is one of the best pop songs ever written.

Penned by Brian Wilson and Tony Asher, "God Only Knows" was a track on the groundbreaking Beach Boys album Pet Sounds, released in 1966. At the time, the group had sort of a tit-for-tat friendly rivalry with The Beatles in creating rock and roll albums that incorporated elements of classical music, elevating the art form. "In December of 1965, I heard the album Rubber Soul by the Beatles. It was definitely a challenge for me. I saw that every cut was very artistically interesting and stimulating. I immediately went to work on the songs for Pet Sounds." The Beach Boys went from a group that was known for fun surfing or car sounds to something far more advanced and ethereal.

There are many great tracks on the album, including "Wouldn't It Be Nice," "Sloop John B," "I Know There's an Answer," and "I Just Wasn't Made for These Times," but the most brilliant number is "God Only Knows," which may be greatest love song ever written. It has a complex melody and harmonies, and begins with the intriguing mixture of a french horn and an accordion, and then what sounds like sleigh bells kick in. Then, lyrically, it takes a bold step--the first line is "I may not always love you."

That beginning, along with the title, were Tony Asher's ideas, which Wilson didn't like at first. The title, he thought, was risky since pop songs didn't refer to God. Of course it's not a religious song--the phrase is a euphemism for an imponderable mystery, and has about as much spirituality as "Jesus H. Christ." But Wilson was hesitant, as he was about the opening line. But the song contemplates love in a realistic frame: "If you should ever leave me, though life would still go on, believe me," Carl Wilson sings. The kicker is what follows, "but the world would show nothing to me, so what good would living do me?" This may be the most honest and accurate encapsulation of what true love is all about that's ever been sung in a pop song.

The Beatles response was Revolver, and then Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, and they sort of retired the trophy, as Brian Wilson slipped into madness. But the songs on Pet Sounds, especially "God Only Knows," have never been duplicated, and remain as fresh as they were forty-three years ago.