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Brian Wilson Lyrics
Drove downtown in the rain
Nine-thirty on a Tuesday night,
Just to check out the late-night record shop,
Call it impulsive, call it compulsive, call it insane
But when I'm surrounded I just can't stop
It's a matter of instinct, it's a matter of conditioning,
A matter of fact
You can call me Pavlov's dog
Ring a bell and I’ll salivate - how'd you like that?
Dr. Landy tell me you're not just a pedagogue
'Cause right now
I’m lying in bed just like Brian Wilson did
Well I'm lying in bed just like Brian Wilson did, ho
So I'm lying here just staring at the ceiling tiles,
And I'm thinking about, oh what to think about
Just listening and re-listening to Smiley Smile,
And I’m wondering if this is some kind of creative drought
Because
I’m lying in bed just like Brian Wilson did
Well I'm lying in bed just like Brian Wilson did, ho
And if you want to find me I'll be out in the sandbox,
Just wondering were the hell all the love has gone,
I’m playing my guitar and building castles in the sun, whoa, whoa, oh
And singing "Fun, Fun, Fun",
I’m lying in bed just like Brian Wilson did
Well I'm lying in bed just like Brian Wilson did, ho
I had a dream that I was three hundred pounds
And though I was very heavy
I floated 'til I couldn't see the ground
I floated 'til I couldn't see the ground, oh
Somebody help me, I couldn't see the ground
Somebody help me, I couldn't see the ground
Somebody help me because
I’m lying in bed just like Brian Wilson did
Well I'm lying in bed just like Brian Wilson did, oooh yeah
Drove downtown in the rain
Nine-thirty on a Tuesday night,
Just to check out the late-night record shop,
Call it impulsive, call it compulsive, call it insane, ah ho
But when I'm surrounded I just can't stop
Nine-thirty on a Tuesday night,
Just to check out the late-night record shop,
Call it impulsive, call it compulsive, call it insane
But when I'm surrounded I just can't stop
A matter of fact
You can call me Pavlov's dog
Ring a bell and I’ll salivate - how'd you like that?
Dr. Landy tell me you're not just a pedagogue
'Cause right now
I’m lying in bed just like Brian Wilson did
Well I'm lying in bed just like Brian Wilson did, ho
And I'm thinking about, oh what to think about
Just listening and re-listening to Smiley Smile,
And I’m wondering if this is some kind of creative drought
Because
Well I'm lying in bed just like Brian Wilson did, ho
Just wondering were the hell all the love has gone,
I’m playing my guitar and building castles in the sun, whoa, whoa, oh
And singing "Fun, Fun, Fun",
Well I'm lying in bed just like Brian Wilson did, ho
And though I was very heavy
I floated 'til I couldn't see the ground
I floated 'til I couldn't see the ground, oh
Somebody help me, I couldn't see the ground
Somebody help me, I couldn't see the ground
Somebody help me because
Well I'm lying in bed just like Brian Wilson did, oooh yeah
Nine-thirty on a Tuesday night,
Just to check out the late-night record shop,
Call it impulsive, call it compulsive, call it insane, ah ho
But when I'm surrounded I just can't stop
Song Info
Copyright
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Writer
Steven Page
Duration
4:47
Submitted by
ojms On Apr 01, 2001
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I feel like all of you are catching the first level of the meaning of the song and missing the second level. Yes he is referencing Brian Wilson, but the song is about him, he is lying in bed LIKE Brian Wilson did. The song is about trying to fill voids in your life with obsessions. In this case he's obsessed with old records. Hence the Pavolovian response to seeing them. He's buying more and more records because people do this when they're upset. And sitting their listening to his Beach Boys records he's reminded of the plight of Brian Wilson. But the song isn't really about Brian Wilson, it's about the guy listening to Brian Wilson.
I'm more than depression...Steven is expressing the parallels between his creative struggle and Brian Wilson's. Slightly biographical on Wilson.
Sir Larrikan, I have one correction to make concerning your post about "Smiley Smile." "Good Vibrations" was NOT recorded after Brian Wilson's mother died. Audree Wilson died in 1997, "Good Vibrations" was recorded and released as a single in 1966, and featured on the album "Smily Smile" in 1967, 30 years before Brian Wilson's mother died.
And another thing, "Good Vibrations" was originally meant to be included on the legendary "lost" follow-up to "Pet Sounds", "SMiLE". Wilson had his famous mental breakdown during the period when "SMiLE" was being recorded. Brian never finished SMiLE (until 2004). SMiLE was supposed to be Wilson's grand masterpiece, it would've blown "Sgt. Pepper's" out of the water if it were finished back in the 60s. Instead of putting out SMiLE, the Beach Boys made "Smiley Smile", featuring the hit single "Good Vibrations", plus low-key, minimalist, rough sounding remakes of several SMiLE songs. "Smiley Smile", although it is a good album, is nothing compared to SMiLE. The "Creative drought" may refer to the fact that Wilson went through an actual "creative drougt" after SMiLE, "Smiley Smile" being a product of this "drought".
i think people are putting too much value into the brian wilson references. above all, i think the song is about the narrators depression and is only using brian wilson as an example
I love this song. wiseone is right. It's about depression, in extreme detail. I love the lines: I had a dream that I was three hundred pounds and though I was very heavy I floated 'til I couldn't see the ground I floated 'til I couldn't see the ground, somebody help me
This song is about Brian Wilson's period of being a recluse. It's word describe about everything that went on in his life at that time. Ex: He was 300 pounds. The lyric that talks about playing in the sand refers to the rumor that Wilson filled his bedroom up with sand to increase his creativity. Brian Wilson loves this song and has performed it on his most recent live CD and he performs it in concert as well. It's great that he can take the song in stride.
I read somewhere, I think in the liner notes of the Greatest Hits album, but i'm not sure, that when he first heard it, Brian Wilson didn't like it.
hearts for brian wilson. both the song and the man.
Tobosoquesco is probably right, hence the reference to a "creative drought ".
Steven Page for President!!
I love this song