The song has an immature, moralistic, and jealous mindset.
PoprocksCk has the meaning correct. And it's a common, bitter trope that's sexist, maybe misogynistic.
He loves the girl from afar. He's waited for her. She is going out with someone else though. His jealousy is triggered by their physical relationship, and he can only perceive it as him manipulating her, taking advantage. He can't accept that she might legitimately like him, or make her own decisions about her body
The other guy might be a player, and in the mind of the narrator that's all he is. But he clearly has something the narrator doesn't have. Most likely it's confidence, because he doesn't just stand around and wait. It might even be that he appreciates the girl for who she is, and doesn't view her as an exalted princess on a pedestal.
So the narrator is fantasizing that the guy has hurt her and dumped her, and started going out with other girls - running wild. She will then obviously come to realize that the narrator was the one with true love. And eventually the guy will get his heart broken, revenge served cold.
But let's be forgiving of our poor narrator because this song came out in 1965, before the Sexual Revolution really got going. And it's easy to forgive when the song is truly a great one. Those rich Beach Boys harmonies, with Brian Wilson's beautiful high falsetto leading the way. This song is as thrilling and beautiful as the Beach Boys get.
The song has an immature, moralistic, and jealous mindset. PoprocksCk has the meaning correct. And it's a common, bitter trope that's sexist, maybe misogynistic.
He loves the girl from afar. He's waited for her. She is going out with someone else though. His jealousy is triggered by their physical relationship, and he can only perceive it as him manipulating her, taking advantage. He can't accept that she might legitimately like him, or make her own decisions about her body
The other guy might be a player, and in the mind of the narrator that's all he is. But he clearly has something the narrator doesn't have. Most likely it's confidence, because he doesn't just stand around and wait. It might even be that he appreciates the girl for who she is, and doesn't view her as an exalted princess on a pedestal.
So the narrator is fantasizing that the guy has hurt her and dumped her, and started going out with other girls - running wild. She will then obviously come to realize that the narrator was the one with true love. And eventually the guy will get his heart broken, revenge served cold.
But let's be forgiving of our poor narrator because this song came out in 1965, before the Sexual Revolution really got going. And it's easy to forgive when the song is truly a great one. Those rich Beach Boys harmonies, with Brian Wilson's beautiful high falsetto leading the way. This song is as thrilling and beautiful as the Beach Boys get.
[Edit: Tone down]