So, as promised but a bit later because that’s how things always go for me, here is my picking-apart of a song so we can all start learning a bit about the vocabulary of music. I have randomly chosen the Beach Boys’ song “Darlin’” because it happened to come up on my radio station on Pandora.com. (It’s called “get up smiling ” if you want to try to find it.) If you haven’t heard the song, take a moment to listen to it below. I’d recommend listening with headphones if you have a pair handy; it’s hard to hear the bass on normal computer speakers.

Let’s start with a quick structural overview. There are two major patterns to observe: first, the pattern of verse, chorus and other parts; second, the rhyme scheme within each of those parts. The verse-chorus structure is pretty typical for a pop song, with an introductory chorus, alternation between two verses and the chorus, and a short bridge before the final chorus and the fadeout. We can abbreviate this as C-V1-C-V2-C-B-C-fade.

I will get into the chorus in more detail later, but at the moment let’s examine the fascinating rhyme structure of the verse lyrics and the way that interplays with the vocal melody. This song is unique in that each verse consists of six lines arranged as three couplets. This means (in case you don’t remember poetry from English class) that the first two lines rhyme (AA), the second two lines rhyme on a different sound (BB), and the last two lines also rhyme on yet another sound (CC). Rhyme structure is important in pop songs, as it reinforces the ability of the listeners to learn and remember the lyrics. The melody follows this as well: the first two lines have identical melody, as do the second two. The last two lines in the verse repeat the melody of the first two, then launch into the small “joining” piece, “Oh, Darlin’”, which lets us know we’re moving back into the chorus again. This structure somewhat mimics the traditional (gospel/blues/slave) “call and response” structure, except of course it is the solo vocalist singing both parts.

Now for the chorus. It is, at its core, quite simple and “sing-along-able”–the complexity lies in the two contrapuntal lines being sung by the soloist and by the backup singers. As previously mentioned, the introduction to the song is an instance of the chorus, but in this case only the backup singers are heard. This gives us the chance to hear clearly and learn this portion of the melody. The tonal quality (timbre) of the voices mimics the horns in the instrumental lines–while the Beach Boys are primarily a vocal band, their various songwriters were always conscious of the “voices” of the instruments used and there would be plenty of experimenting to get just the right sound. (This gets more interesting when you listen to various live versions of songs, when it wasn’t possible to precisely control both instrumentation and recording practice.) The background part of the chorus is simple lyrically and melodically, but the word “Darlin’” repeats twice, thereby making sure we’ll remember the name of the song.

The solo part of the chorus is higher in the balance of the recording, of course, as we are meant to listen to this part. While the background is punchy (staccato) and hornlike, the solo is smoother (legato) and accurately conveys the depth of love he has for the subject “Darlin’”. The fact that there are two independent yet complementary lines going on at the same time is what makes this counterpoint. By focusing your mind on one or the other, you can hear each clearly, but relaxing your mind you will hear the ebb and flow of the two parts–an entirely different sonic experience.

The bridge, generally, serves to add some variation and keeps the audience’s attention by giving them something different instead of another verse, before the final chorus (and in this case, fadeout). As such, the chords and instrumentation change, as do the lyrics (consisting of a single line and a couplet) and melody (the couplet lines do not have the same melody, as the verse couplets do). Yet it still ends with the “Oh, Darlin’” that launches into the chorus. There is also, at the beginning of the bridge, an upward movement of chords that is not present in the verse, which serves as warning that we are doing something different this time. The lyrics tie in to the previous verse’s final couplet (”Gonna love you every single night / Cause I think you’re too out of sight”) by singing a variation on that line:

Oh, every night, oh Darlin’

Gonna love you every single night, yes I will
Cause I think you’re too doggone out of sight

Lyrically, then, we can tell this is a love song: a man has been rescued from a life without love by Darlin’. Musically, it is also a song of celebration.

It is uptempo, in 4/4 time with a strong emphasis (as is usual in rock songs) on the 2 and 4 beats, a/k/a the backbeat. The staccato horns, tambourine, and rolling piano line keep the song moving forward and upward: no sappy embrace, this song, but a jubilant dance, the kind of hug that picks you up and spins you around.

I leave you with two more versions of Darlin’ (and the recognition that, yes, this might be overkill). The first is a live version from a 70s incarnation of the Beach Boys, and the second is a live version from Brian Wilson and his current band, several years ago.

Many of our readers are directed here through the Taylor Hicks fan network, so I will introduce Pet Sounds by reminding you that it was Taylor’s first album of the month on HQ back in October 2007.  To people who like to read Top 10 lists, you’ll find Pet Sounds or songs from it at the top of many lists, including “Greatest Album Ever” and many artists’ “Most Influential Albums”.  This jewel of an album, clocking in at just over 30 minutes and packed with some of songwriter Brian Wilson’s best work, was released in 1966 and was a direct influence on its more famous and popular contemporary, the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper album.

Like many great works of art, Pet Sounds was not appreciated by the general public in its own time.  The vaguely symphonic sound, more mature lyrics and comprehensive feel of the album were confusing to Beach Boys fans who were anticipating another record full of happy, sun-surf-and-cars pop songs.  It was better appreciated by the tastemakers of the time, the other musicians who were outgrowing the “teenage” phase of rock & roll and getting ready to move into the drug-fueled psychedelia of the late 60s.  Unfortunately for Brian Wilson, a man of fragile confidence, he was about six months ahead of the rest of the world.

In the above video, Brian sings lead on a demo version of “God Only Knows,” which was named “Greatest Love Song” several years ago.  I’ve chosen “God Only Knows” as representative of the entire Pet Sounds album, because it is one of the best known cuts and also because it really is well representative of the album.  It also happens to be one of my favorite songs.  The album version is sung by Brian’s youngest brother, Carl, because of the emotion Brian felt Carl could bring to the song.  (If you were going to classify the Wilson brothers according to genre, Brian is pop and jazz, Carl was soul and blues, and Dennis, the middle brother, was raw rock & roll.)

“God Only Knows” is a love song, but it is a curious love song.  It begins with the phrase, “I may not always love you,” which does not seem particularly committed until you continue along to, “but long as there are stars above you, you never need to doubt it.  I’ll make you so sure about it: ‘God Only Knows’ what I’d be without you.”  (Please note that the punctuation is not original, this is just how I see it when I hear it.)  Imagine, for a moment, your significant other confessing, “I don’t know what kind of person I would be without your influence on me.”  That is the emotional impact of this song.  Pet Sounds is full of these not-so-obvious turns of phrase, and it requires the listener to actually listen, to stop and think about the words.

For those musically inclined, the music itself should stop and make you think.  Brian was greatly influenced by the jazz harmonies of the Four Freshmen and by the compositions of George Gershwin. At the same time, he was also being influenced by the same thing that everyone else in the music scene was influenced by in 1966: marijuana. He became obsessed with creating the perfect album, and with experimentation in the studio. He spent hours getting exactly the right sound for his songs, hours that his record company saw as dollar signs going down the toilet. To get Capitol off his back, the Beach Boys released the semi-live Party! album and the single “Barbara Ann”. Compare the howling of “Barbara Ann” with the delicate instrumentation of “God Only Knows” or even the island-influenced arrangement of the cover “Sloop John B” and you can understand why teenage fans might have been confused.

However, to certain fans, those who were growing up along with the Beach Boys (all, by that time, in their 20s), or perhaps those who had always been more mature than their peers, Pet Sounds became the soundtrack to a more angst-filled time of life.  The themes of love, loss and pain were laid bare, but always with Brian’s signature hopeful music.  And that is what keeps the album from becoming a vat of depression in which to wallow (although I and many other fans will admit to having done that): there is always a major chord, an uplifting progression, a quirky turn of phrase to draw you out of your despair and appreciate the genius of this music and the beauty of love.

Brian Wilson will be performing at the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom on Sunday, July 13.  If you would like to experience Pet Sounds for yourself, I recommend listening to it in mono first, as Brian mixed it, and then listening to the later stereo version.  It is available on Amazon.com.