"With Me Tonight" 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 ...

. It was released on their 1967 album ''

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 ...

''. The piece has been characterized as " psychedelic doo wop" and the similar descriptor "

do it yourself "Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, wikt:modification, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals ...

acid casualty doo-wop".

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 ...

called the track "one of the better (or, more accurately, refined) songs on the ''Smiley Smile'' album" and said that "the melody envelopes the listener in a graceful way, and, in this sense, makes it quite different from many of the other songs on the album." In the liner notes of the ''Smiley Smile''/'' Wild Honey'' set, the song is described as "probably the best of the non-official ''Smile'' tunes on the LP."

Recording

"With Me Tonight" originated during 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 as "You're With Me Tonight". The intro was recorded as a vocal chant; later, it was expanded into a song for ''Smiley Smile'' and the "you're" in its title was omitted. One of Brian's vocal instructions to the group was to sing the song while smiling. At approximately 0:26, one can hear a voice say "good." This was thought to be an accident when Arnie Geller, a friend of Brian Wilson's, said it during the vocal take. The group liked it so much that they left it in the final take.

Variations

Early versions of the song entitled "You're With Me Tonight" appear on the compilations '' Hawthorne, CA'' (2001) and ''

The Smile Sessions ''The Smile Sessions'' is a compilation album and box set recorded by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released on October 31, 2011, by Capitol Records. The set is the follow-up to ''The Pet Sounds Sessions'' (1997), this time focusing on ...

'' (2011).

Personnel

''Smiley Smile'' version

The Beach Boys *

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, ...

– lead vocals

''The Smile Sessions'' version

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 ...

- lead and backing vocals *

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 ...

- backing vocals *

- lead and backing vocals,

electric harpsichord An electric piano is a musical instrument that has a piano-style musical keyboard, where sound is produced by means of mechanical hammers striking metal strings or reeds or wire tines, which leads to vibrations which are then converted into ele ...

, fingersnaps, handclaps *

- lead and backing vocals, bass 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 ...

- backing vocals Session musician *

Chuck Berghofer Charles Curtis Berghofer (born June 14, 1937) is an American double bassist and electric bassist, who has worked in jazz and as a session musician in the film industry for more than 60 years, including working on more than 400 movie soundtracks. ...

- double bass

Cover version

* Sandy Salisbury (under the title "On and On She Goes")

References

{{The Smile Sessions 1967 songs The Beach Boys songs Songs written by Brian Wilson Song recordings produced by the Beach Boys