The Beach Boys

Released: July 24, 1967

Songwriter: Van Dyke Parks Brian Wilson

Producer: The Beach Boys

[Verse 1: Brian Wilson]
I've been in this town so long that back in the city
I've been taken for lost and gone
And unknown for a long long time
Fell in love years ago
With an innocent girl
From the Spanish and Indian home
Of the heroes and villains

[Verse 2: Brian Wilson]
Once at night catillian squared the fight
And she was right in the rain of the bullets that eventually brought her down
But she's still dancing in the night
Unafraid of what a dude'll do in a town full of heroes and villains

[Chorus: Brian Wilson]
Heroes and villains
Just see what you've done
Heroes and villains
Just see what you've done

[Verse 3: Brian Wilson]
Stand or fall I know there
Shall be peace in the valley
And it's all an affair
Of my life with the heroes and villains

[Bridge - Wordless Vocals]

[Verse 4: Brian Wilson]
My children were raised
You know they suddenly rise
They started so long ago
Head to toe, healthy, wealthy and wise

[Verse 5: Brian Wilson]
I've been in this town so long
So long to the city
I'm fit with the stuff
To ride in the rough
And sunny down snuff I'm alright
By the heroes and

[Chorus: Brian Wilson]
Heroes and villains
Just see what you've done
Heroes and villains
Just see what you've done

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

The Best of the Beach Boys: Sounds of Summer

From the albums

Smiley Smile (1967)
Made In U.S.A. (1986)
Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of the Beach Boys (1993)
The Best of the Beach Boys: Sounds of Summer (2003)
Fantastic Mr. Fox (Original Soundtrack) (2009)
The Beach Boys with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (2018)

The Beach Boys popular songs

Heroes and VillainsThe Beach Boys

The Beach Boys

The Best of the Beach Boys: Sounds of Summer