"Can't Wait Too Long" (also known as "Been Way Too Long") is a song written by

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (June 20, 1942 – June 11, 2025) was an American musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often Brian Wilson is a genius, called a genius for his novel approaches to pop compositio ...

for the American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band

the Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their f ...

. The song dates from 1967, and remains unfinished by the group. In 2008, a newly recorded "Can't Wait Too Long" was released for Wilson's solo album ''

That Lucky Old Sun "That Lucky Old Sun (Just Rolls Around Heaven All Day)" is a 1949 popular song with music by Beasley Smith and words by Haven Gillespie. Background Like "Ol' Man River", its lyrics contrast the toil and intense hardship of the singer's life ...

''.

Composition

The Beach Boys version consists of an elaborate collection of vocal and instrumental tracks comparable to the group's earlier compositions "

Good Vibrations "Good Vibrations" is a song by the American rock music, rock band the Beach Boys, produced and composed by Brian Wilson with lyrics by Mike Love. Released as a single on October 10, 1966, it achieved immediate critical and commercial success, ...

" and "

Heroes and Villains "Heroes and Villains" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1967 album ''Smiley Smile'' and their unfinished ''Smile (The Beach Boys album), Smile'' project. Written by Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks, Wilson envisioned ...

". It includes a melody line played instrumentally without sung lyrics, a bass line bearing resemblance to the ''

Smile A smile is a facial expression formed primarily by flexing the muscles at the sides of the mouth. Some smiles include a contraction of the muscles at the corner of the eyes, an action known as a Duchenne smile. Among humans, a smile expresses d ...

'' sessions' version of " Wind Chimes", plus several sections of chorus and a vocal middle section. It was recorded throughout 1967 and 1968, well after the sessions for ''

'' ended. On February 11, 1980, overdubs were attempted on the original late 1960s recordings.

sings lead vocals. There are very few lyrics. The title phrase is sung several dozen times, sometime alternating with "been away too long baby". Elsewhere is a simple couplet: "I miss you darlin' / I miss you so hard" which was evidently meant to be followed with "So come back baby / and don't break my heart", as Wilson can be heard instructing the other Beach Boys. The final arrangement of the tune segues into an R&B inspired arrangement, and towards the end of the master outtake, there is a bass riff that had been labeled for years as an edit piece that is part of the "

" suite — consult the bootleg album, '' Unsurpassed Masters Vol. 17''.

Reception

Biographer

David Leaf David Leaf (born April 20, 1952) is an American writer, director, and producer who is best known for his associations with Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys since the late 1970s. Leaf's 1978 biography, '' The Beach Boys and the California Myth'', ...

said: "

he song He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...

needs no analysis or description other than to say that it’s an incredible piece of music ... sections of it are complete enough to be a terrific example of how Brian, in

Van Dyke Parks Van Dyke Parks (born January 3, 1943) is an American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, arranger, record producer, singer, and former Warner Bros. Records executive whose work encompasses orchestral pop, elaborate recording experiments, Ame ...

's words, used to 'saturate the tape with music.'"

Releases

The song was eventually released in a

sound collage In music, montage (literally "putting together") or sound collage ("gluing together") is a technique where newly branded sound objects or Musical composition, compositions, including songs, are created from collage, also known as musique concrè ...

form in September 1990, as a bonus track on a CD reissue compiling two Beach Boys albums onto one disc—''

Smiley Smile ''Smiley Smile'' is the twelfth studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released on September 18, 1967. Conceived as a simpler and more relaxed version of their unfinished ''Smile'' album, ''Smiley Smile'' is distinguished for i ...

''/'' Wild Honey''. A shorter form of the song was also released in June 1993 on the group's 5-disc anthology, '' Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of the Beach Boys''. On the latter version, Brian Wilson is heard instructing brother

Carl Carl may refer to: *Carl, Georgia, city in USA *Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community *Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name *Carl², a TV series * "Carl", an episode of tel ...

on some other lyrics which were never recorded. In May 2001, a 51-second

a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

version of the song was issued on disc two of the Beach Boys rarities compilation album '' Hawthorne, CA''. This same version reappears on the 2013 ''

Made in California ''Made in California (1962–2012)'' is a compilation album, compilation box set by the Beach Boys, released on August 27, 2013. The set, released through Capitol Records, was designed by Mark London in a form emulating a high school yearbook. Th ...

'' box set. An early version of the track can be found on '' 1967 – Sunshine Tomorrow'', released June 30, 2017. A longer version, titled "Been Way Too Long (Sections)", appears on '' I Can Hear Music: The 20/20 Sessions'', released in December 7, 2018. Another edit was released for the 2022 compilation '' Sounds of Summer: Expanded Edition''.

Sources

{{authority control 1967 songs Brian Wilson songs The Beach Boys songs Songs written by Brian Wilson Song recordings produced by Brian Wilson Songs released posthumously