The Beach Boys

Released: November 8, 1965

Songwriter: Harold Dorman

Producer: Brian Wilson

[Intro]
(Downbeat, Denny. Denny. Downbeat!)
(What?)
(Get out of here!)
(Oh, man!)
(Oh, rock out!)

[Verse]
Standing on a mountain looking down on a city
The way I feel is a doggone pity
Teardrops falling down the mountainside
Many times I've been here, many times I've cried
We used to be so happy when we were in love
High on a mountain of love
Night after night I'm a-standing here alone
Weeping out my heart till the cold grey dawn
Praying that you're lonely and you'll come here too
Hoping just by chance that I'll get a glimpse of you
(Oh yeah!)
Trying hard to find you somewhere up above
High on a mountain of love

[Pre-Chorus]
The mountain of love, the mountain of love
You should be ashamed
You used to be a mountain of love
But you just changed your name

[Chorus]
Way down below there's a half a million people
Somewhere there's a church with a big tall steeple
Inside the church, there's an altar filled with flowers
Wedding bells are ringing and they should've been ours
That's why I'm so handy, my dream is gone above
High on a mountain of love

(Keep playing it like it is!)

High on a mountain of love

[Pre-Chorus]

[Chorus]
Way down below there's a half a million people
Somewhere there's a church with a big tall steeple
Inside the church, there's an altar filled with flowers
Wedding bells are ringing and they should've been ours
That's why I'm so handy, my dream is gone above
High on a mountain of love[x4]

[Outro]
(What, honey?)
High on a mountain of love
(Hahahaha)
Ooh baby...
(That's good.)
One more time. Oooh baby. Ooo
(That's a good voice)

The Beach Boys are one of the world’s best-selling bands of all time and the first American pop band to reach the 50-year milestone. Their vocal harmonies are among the most unmistakable and enduring of the rock and roll era.

Formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California, by Brian Wilson, his two brothers Carl and Dennis, their cousin Mike Love, and classmate Al Jardine, the group’s first single “Surfin'” got them signed to Capitol Records and they quickly became one of the most popular and successful artists of the surf music craze of the 1960s. From 1962 to 1966, The Beach Boys scored over twenty top 40 hits in the US including the chart-toppers “I Get Around”, “Help Me Rhonda” & “Good Vibrations” along with the top 5’s “Surfin USA”, “Fun, Fun, Fun”, “California Girls”, “Barbara Ann” & “Sloop John B”. Several of the band’s singles also found top 40 success in Canada, Australia, Sweden and the UK. In 1965, de facto leader Brian Wilson suffered a mental breakdown due to the stress of writing, producing & touring combined with substance abuse issues, causing him to step down and stop traveling with the band on tour.

Inspired by producer Phil Spector and The Beatles' Rubber Soul, Brian focused on studio work, determined to keep the group relevant as the surf music scene was fading with their 1966 album Pet Sounds. Despite tension between members in the studio about this new direction, lack of faith from the record label, mixed reviews, and comparatively lukewarm reception initially in the US, the album still found massive success in the UK and earned accolades from fellow artists including The Beatles, who acknowledged that the album was their inspiration to further push the boundaries of pop music with their landmark album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Eventually Pet Sounds would be acknowledged as one of the greatest albums ever recorded by several media outlets like The Times, Mojo Magazine, The Guardian, VH1, BBC and Rolling Stone.

more tracks from the album

Beach Boys’ Party!

From the album

Beach Boys’ Party! (1965)

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Beach Boys’ Party!