The Beach Boys

Released: January 8, 1973

Songwriter: Al Jardine

Producer: The Beach Boys

[Intro - Brian Wilson]
On my way to sunny California
On my way to spend another sunny day

[Chorus]
Water, water
Get yourself in the cool, clear, water
The sun shines brightly down on Penny's place
(The sun shines brightly down on the bay)
The air's so clean it'll just take your mind away
(Take your mind away, take your mind away)

[Verse 1]
Have you ever been south of Monterey?
Barrancas carve the coast line
And the chaparral flows to the sea
'Neath waves of golden sunshine
And have you ever been north of Morro Bay?
The south coast plows the sea
And the people there are of the breed
They don't need electricity

[Chorus 2]
Water, water
Cool cascades of clear, clear water
The sun dance final scene sets the hills ablaze
(Get yourself in that water)
Horizon edges quick up the mountain's way
(Up the mountain's way, up the mountain's way)

[Verse 2]
Have you ever been down Salinas way
Where Steinbeck found the valley?
And he wrote about it the way it was in his travelin's with Charley
And have you ever walked down through the sycamores
Where the farmhouse used to be?
There, the monarch's autumn journey ends
On a windswept cyprus tree

[Chorus]
Water, water (Get, get yourself in that)
Get yourself in that cool, clear, water
(Get yourself in that, get yourself in that water)
The sun shines brightly down on Penny's place
(Get yourself in that water)
The air's so clean that it just takes your mind away
(Take your mind away, take your mind away)

[Verse 3]
Have you ever been to a festival
The Big Sur congregation?
Where Country Joe will do his show
And he'll sing about liberty
And the people there in the open air are one big family
Yeah, the people there love to sing and share
Their new found liberty

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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