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Long Promised RoadThe Beach Boys

Released: August 30, 1971

Songwriter: Jack Rieley Carl Wilson

Producer: The Beach Boys

[Verse 1]
So hard to answer future's riddle
When ahead is seeming so far behind
So hard to laugh a child-like giggle
When the tears start to torture my mind
So hard to shed the life of before
To let my soul automatically soar

[Chorus]
But I hit hard at the battle that's confronting me, yeah
Knock down all the roadblocks a-stumbling me
Throw off all the shackles that are binding me down

[Verse 2]
Sew up the wounds of evolution
And the now starts to get in my way
So what if life's a revelation
If the mind speaks of only today
So real, the pain of growing in soul
Of climbing up to reality's goal

[Chorus]
But I hit hard at the battle that's confronting me, yeah
Knock down all the roadblocks a-stumbling me
Throw off all the shackles that are binding me down

[Bridge]
Long promised road
Trail starts at dawn, carries on to the season's ending
Long promised road
Flows to the source, gentle force, never ending, never ending

[Verse 3]
So hard to lift the jeweled scepter
When the weight turns a smile to a frown
So hard to drink of passion nectar
When the taste of life's holding me down
So hard to plant the seed of reform
To set my sights on defeating the storm

[Chorus]
So I hit hard at the battle that's confronting me, yeah
Knock down all the roadblocks stumbling me
Throw off all the shackles that are binding me down
Oh yeah

Hit hard at the battle that's confronting me, yeah
Knock down all the roadblocks stumbling me
Throw off all the shackles that are binding me down, whoo yeah
Hit hard at the battle that's confronting me, yeah
Knock down all the roadblocks stumbling me, yeah
Throw off all the shackles that are binding me down

[Outro]
I'd love to see you
I'd love to see you
I'd love to see you
I'd love to see you

The Beach Boys

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.

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Feel Flows: The Sunflower & Surf’s Up Sessions 1969–1971

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