Please Let Me Wonder
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"Please Let Me Wonder" is a song by 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 ...
from their 1965 album ''
The Beach Boys Today! ''The Beach Boys Today!'' is the eighth studio album by the American Rock music, rock band the Beach Boys, released March 8, 1965, by Capitol Records. It signaled a departure from their previous records with its orchestral sound, intimate subjec ...
''. 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 ...
and
Mike Love Michael Edward Love (born March 15, 1941) is an American singer and songwriter who is one of the vocalists of the Beach Boys, of which he was an original member alongside his cousins Brian Wilson, Dennis Wilson, and Carl Wilson and their frien ...
, it was the first song Wilson wrote under the influence of marijuana. The lyrics are about a man who does not know if a girl loves him and is afraid of learning the answer, and so he prefers to fantasize that she does. On February 15, the song was issued as the B-side to their "
Do You Wanna Dance? "Do You Want to Dance" is a song written by American singer Bobby Freeman and recorded by him in 1958. It reached number No. 5 on the United States ''Billboard'' Top 100 Sides pop chart, No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' R&B chart, and No. 1 in Canad ...
" single before the album's release.


Background and arrangement

"Please Let Me Wonder" was the first song Wilson wrote under the influence of marijuana. Wilson said that he produced the song "as a tribute to
Phil Spector Harvey Phillip Spector (December 26, 1939 – January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter who is best known for pioneering recording practices in the 1960s, followed by his trials and conviction for murder in the 2000s. S ...
", although the arrangement, which highlights different, individual instruments throughout the song, was in direct contrast to the methods employed by Spector for his
Wall of Sound The Wall of Sound (also called the Spector Sound) is a music production formula developed by American record producer Phil Spector at Gold Star Studios, in the 1960s, with assistance from engineer Larry Levine and the conglomerate of session m ...
.
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
reviewer Matthew Greenwald wrote of the song: The instrumentation includes drums, timpani, tambourine, bass, two guitars, acoustic guitar, piano, tack piano, organ, horns, and vibraphone. In journalist David Howard's description, the song "specifically demonstrates" Wilson's "newfound insight" of "deconstruct ngsongs into tiny increments and deal with each instrument individually, stacking sounds one at a time." Contributing to this effect, academic Jody O'Regan writes that the arrangement has "Some little accents, like the use of vibraphone,
hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...
only happen three times, and not always in a repetitive fashion. Similarly, a second electric guitar pops in and out during chorus sections to thicken the texture of the song, while horn parts surface in verse two, to delineate the sound of each song section."


Lyrics

The song is about a man who is afraid that a girl will reveal that she does not love him, and so he instead prefers to fantasize that she does. Greenwald said that "the lyrics are filled with a sense of longing and uncertainty, sort of a flip side to Wilson's ' When I Grow Up to Be a Man.'" Journalist Scott Interrante's reading of the lyrics is that Wilson uses "a
virginity Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereo ...
metaphor to discuss his fears of commitment and intimacy in his own marriage."


Recording

The backing track was recorded on January 7, 1965, at Western Studio. Wilson later remembered of the song, "I wrote that at my apartment in West Hollywood. As soon as I finished I felt I had to record it so I called up my engineer,
Chuck Britz Charles Dean Britz (November 7, 1927 – August 21, 2000) was a recording engineer who worked with Jan and Dean, Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys, P.F. Sloan and The Grass Roots on numerous albums between 1962 and 1967. Biography Britz was b ...
, and woke him up. 'Please Let Me Wonder' was recorded at 3:30 in the morning. I drove to the studio in the middle of the night and recorded it." The session logs indicate that the instrumental track was actually recorded between 7:00 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Vocals were overdubbed on January 9. The song ends with Brian Wilson saying in a spoken-word delivery, ''"I love you"''. According to him, this was an improvised line during recording.


Release

On February 15, 1965, "Please Let Me Wonder" was issued as the B-side of "
Do You Wanna Dance? "Do You Want to Dance" is a song written by American singer Bobby Freeman and recorded by him in 1958. It reached number No. 5 on the United States ''Billboard'' Top 100 Sides pop chart, No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' R&B chart, and No. 1 in Canad ...
", the third single from ''
The Beach Boys Today! ''The Beach Boys Today!'' is the eighth studio album by the American Rock music, rock band the Beach Boys, released March 8, 1965, by Capitol Records. It signaled a departure from their previous records with its orchestral sound, intimate subjec ...
''. On February 28, the band (with Brian) appeared on ''
Shindig! ''Shindig!'' is an American musical variety series which aired on ABC from September 16, 1964 to January 8, 1966. The show was hosted by Jimmy O'Neill, a disc jockey in Los Angeles,Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' described the song as an "interesting and well done change of pace ballad." ''
Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...
'' described it as "an easy-going, slowrockin’ ode about the ambiguities of a love relationship." ''
Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...
'' said "The harmony is pure and the tune is slow. Will lull many a teen into a romantic mood."


Personnel

Per Craig Slowinski. ;The Beach Boys *
Al Jardine Alan Charles Jardine (born September 3, 1942) is an American musician who co-founded the Beach Boys. He is best known as the band's rhythm guitarist, background vocalist, and for occasionally singing lead vocals on singles such as number-one hit ...
– harmony and backing vocals *
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 ...
– lead, harmony and backing vocals, upright piano,
Farfisa Farfisa () is a manufacturer of electronics based in Osimo, Italy, founded in 1946. The company manufactured a series of compact electronic organs in the 1960s and 1970s, including the Compact, FAST, Professional and VIP ranges, and later, a se ...
organ *
Carl Wilson Carl Dean Wilson (December 21, 1946 – February 6, 1998) was an American musician, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys. He was their lead guitarist, the youngest sibling of bandmates Brian Wilson, Brian and Dennis Wilson, ...
– harmony and backing vocals, 12-string lead guitar *
Dennis Wilson Dennis Carl Wilson (December 4, 1944 – December 28, 1983) was an American musician, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys. He was their drummer and the middle brother of bandmates Brian Wilson, Brian and Carl Wilson as well as ...
– harmony and backing vocals, percussion, tambourine,
tom-tom A tom drum (also known as a tom-tom) is a cylindrical drum with no snares, named from the Anglo-Indian and Sinhala language. It was added to the drum kit in the early part of the 20th century. Most toms range in size between in diameter, thoug ...
*
Mike Love Michael Edward Love (born March 15, 1941) is an American singer and songwriter who is one of the vocalists of the Beach Boys, of which he was an original member alongside his cousins Brian Wilson, Dennis Wilson, and Carl Wilson and their frien ...
– harmony and backing vocals ;Additional musicians and production staff


Cover versions

* 1984 –
Tatsuro Yamashita , occasionally referred to as Tatsu Yamashita or Tats Yamashita, is a Japanese singer-songwriter and record producer, who is known for pioneering the city pop style of music. His most well-known song is "Christmas Eve", a best-selling song rel ...
, ''
Big Wave Big wave surfing is a discipline within surfing in which surfers paddle into, or are towed into, waves that are at least 20 feet (6.2 m) high, on surf boards known as "guns" or towboards. The size of the board needed to successfully surf these w ...
'' * 1992 - Mi-Ke (Japanese language version), ''Taiyou no Shimo no Surfing JAPAN (太陽の下のサーフィン JAPAN)'' * 1997 –
The King's Singers The King's Singers are a British a cappella vocal ensemble founded in 1968. They are named after King's College in Cambridge, England, where the group was formed by six choral scholars. In the United Kingdom, their popularity peaked in the ...
, ''Spirit Voices'' * 2021 - John Greene, ''Hawaiiana''


References

Citations Bibliography * * * * * * {{Authority control The Beach Boys songs Songs written by Brian Wilson Songs written by Mike Love Song recordings produced by Brian Wilson 1965 songs