Possible Connections: LSD & SMiLE
What follows are some cosmic connections made between Brian's 1991 biography and SMiLE. Keep in mind that what we're attempting to find is equivalent alternate representations for Brian's spiritual LSD experiences. These are the type of connections made under the influence, and the type of connections that lead to great discoveries.
This is conjecture on my part, but it's hoped that the enormity of possibilities and coincidences paint a different overall picture than one typically picks-up on regarding SMiLE. Keep in mind that this album is pretty much based on just three trips and related events. On top of that, those psychedelic related events are being creatively portrayed using nonlogical subjective LSD style connections. Anyone looking for logical, or illogical, consistency won't find it here. That's not how it was created. That's not how it works. In the words of Van Dyke Parks,"It's as logical as it's ever going to get."
Be prepared to see many of the quotes from Brian's bio used over and over. After all, we're basically dealing with only 11 pages from that book and few external sources.
The events taken from the first edition of Wouldn't It Be Nice (1991):
(a) Marilyn, Murry, & the fight over drugs & Loren (page 115) which leads into...
(A) Brian's first LSD trip with Lava Lites and a piano (pages 116-118).
(B) Brian's second LSD trip with fire trucks and Barbara Rovell (pages 122-123).
(b) The bookstore acid flashback with mysteries full of meaning (pages 128-129).
(c) Brian's visit to his astrologer (page 131).
(C) Brian's third LSD trip, a smaller dose, the ultimate joyride (pages 144-145).
(D) Dennis Wilson and "Surf's Up" (page 162).
(E) 'The Elements' part of David Anderle's interview with Paul Williams in Crawdaddy! The Good Humor SMiLE Site considers this to likely be the best available account of what happened during Brian's 3rd LSD trip. It reads: "...he (Brian) was really into the elements. He ran up to Big Sur for a week*, just 'cause he wanted to get into that, up to the mountains, into the snow, down to the beach, out to the pool, out at night, running around, to water fountains, to a lot of water, the sky, the whole thing was this fantastic amount of awareness of his surroundings."
Anderle continues, "We were aware, he made us aware, of what fire was going to be, and what water was going to be; we had some idea of air. That was where it stopped."
The letters above in (parenthesis), on the left, will be used to note the source what is being referenced.
Lyrics from The SMiLE Sessions will be typed using a royal blue type.
Lyrics from Brian Wilson Presents SMiLE will be typed using orange type.
My comments will be typed using a sea green type.
Dumb Angel ('Dumb' as in "unable or unwilling to speak," and 'Angel' as in "a messenger from God") is a good title for an album that hides a spiritual LSD inspired level.
Brian's astrologer gives him the direction he needs for his next album, Pet Sounds. (c) "I then told the astrologer about the hallucination I'd had in the bookstore last December, presenting it as a riddle. Genevelyn thought about it for a moment, then explained something that made perfect sense to me. If I wasn't able to find inspiration for songs outside myself, as in books, then I had to look someplace else. I had to look inward. I had to write about the spirituality I felt in my heart."
Riddles, books, and very personal experiences (in the same vein as Pet Sounds) would play a big part in SMiLE.
Our visit to SMiLE begins with the shop on the album cover. (b) Brian, "...I pulled my Corvette out of the garage...and, twenty minutes later, parked in front of Pickwick Bookstore in Hollywood....I couldn't remember what songs had been on the radio. I couldn't even remember why I'd gone to the store....I walked into the store anyway."
SMiLE, like Brian's strange and mysterious acid flashback, begins with a store front. Frank Holmes' drawing would typically be the first contact one has with SMiLE, just as the Pickwick Bookstore store front was likely the beginning of Brian Wilson's flashback ordeal.
Our Prayer -
During the recording session for "Our Prayer" Brian asks, "Do you guys feel any acid yet?"
Keep in mind that in Wilson's case the religious/spiritual experience and LSD are completely intertwined.
(A) "The night arrived....There was a sacredness to it all---from the way we said hello to the way Loren handed me a small paper stamp..."
A religious/sacred tone is established right from the outset with "Our Prayer." A religious/sacred tone is similarly struck right off the bat during Wilson's first trip (A).
Gee -
(b) "'I walked into the store.... The clerk, who knew me, said hello and mentioned that he was crazy about "Barbara Ann," which was all over the radio."'
"Gee," like "Barbara Ann," is a Beach Boys cover version of an early rock 'n' roll record.
"Gee," as it appears on Brian Wilson Presents SMiLE, sounds as if it's coming from a radio speaker.
This little production touch seems to tie "Gee" in with "Barbara Ann" because "Barbara Ann" was "all over the radio."
Heroes And Villains -
Musically: Brian Wilson had written a long decending musical phrase prior to SMiLE (think of the plucked intro to "You Still Believe In Me"), but the extra long descending verse of "Heroes And Villains" may take the cake in this regard. This, along with some instrumental sections like the ending of "Heroes And Villains: Prelude To Fade" and some vocal parts for "Heroes And Villians: Fade" may be a musical representation of seeing things melt. In the Pickwick Bookstore Brian saw books melting.
(b) "The moment was completely surreal. Then I saw the books melting down the shelves, dripping down like wax down the side of a candle."
"I've been in this town so long..." (C) (E) Brian's 3rd LSD likely had an outdoor, town, agrarian, setting if one goes by the SMiLE lyrics & David Anderle's Crawdaddy! comments.
"I've been taken as lost and gone..." (A) "Then he vanished. I was lost."
"...and unknown..." (A) "'What's happening to you, Brian?" she (Marilyn) sobbed. "I feel as if I don't even know you.'"
"Fell in love years ago with an innocent girl from a Spanish and Indian home..." (B) "She (Marilyn) plunged into decorating our new house....The dining room was consumed by a long, monstrous Spanish table."
I think it would be fair to say that Marilyn was an innocent girl at the time as she was only 18 years old. She was also innocent drug-wise. Besides the Spanish table the home had the tent with its Indian print fabric. It was a Spanish and Indian home.
"Once at night, cotillion squared the fight." The dance is a fight. (a) "The confrontation seemed to confirm...they were all against me....With all of them (Murry, Marilyn, Mike and Al) on one side and me on the other..." (B) "I relived arguments I'd had with my dad."
"...and she was right in the rain of the bullets that eventually brought her down..." (a) "Marilyn had returned to the room. Knowing she was the one who had told my dad about Loren, I gave her a nasty look."
Frank Holmes' SMiLE booklet art for "Heroes and Villians" depicts the "rain of bullets" and the drawing also includes plenty of eyes. To me, the two go together. It's sort of an 'if looks could kill' type of thing with Brian's 'nasty look' eyes shooting the bullets to bring Marilyn down. But, of course, looks don't actually kill and that's why "she's still dancing in the night unafraid."
"...and it's all an affair of my life with the Heroes and Villains." (a) "...my dad rounded up Mike and Al and drove to my apartment. Marilyn let them in..."
"But she's still dancing in the night unafraid of what a dude'll do..." (B) "One night toward the end of our separation, a friend asked if I wanted to trip. He had some acid....I was game to experiment again."
"In the cantina, margaritas keep the spirit high...Dance Margarita! Don't you know that I love you?"
One way Brian thought the Beatles and Beach Boys were similar was that both groups' names began with the letters B-E-A. The cantina section of "Heroes And Villains"s contains 'margaritas' to keep the spirit high while 'Margarita' fanned the flame of the dance (or was it a fight?). Both begin with the letters M-A-R. In the fight over drugs there are two key components that begin with M-A-R. One, 'marijuana,' keeps the spirit high, while the other, 'Marilyn,' fanned the flame of the fight (or was it a dance?). (a) "Marilyn let them in, and they searched for drugs, which I kept hidden from Marilyn.""In the box, I saw...a baggie containing about half an ounce of pot."
"...she spun around and wound in the warmth, her body fanned the flame of the dance." (B) "Finally, I was bathed in flames, dying, dying, and then the screen inside my brain went blank."
"You're Under arrest!!" (a) "Supportd by Mike and Al, my dad threatened to call the cops..." "'Go near him," my dad warned, "and I'll call the cops.'"
"I'm fit with the stuff, to ride in the rough..." (a) "No one was going to tell me what to do." (B) "'You better not drive," my friend called as I ran out the front door, keys jangling in my hand....I can't imagine how I managed to navigate a car, but I drove straight to Marilyn's parents' house."
"At three score and five..." (a) (A) (B) (b) All of these events took place in 1965.
"I'm very much alive and I still got the jive to survive..." (A) "Seeing a strange-looking man turn a corner, I convinced myself he was God, leading me on a journey of my entire life...taking me to the place where I'd finish my life." "Some eight hours later I woke up on Loren's couch..." (a) "Bullshit. I saw him anyway.... Loren possessed knowledge, hipness, a line to some mysterious trove of ideas I wanted to know more about. He had unlocked the doors of perception for me, and I wanted to continue the trip." (B) "I imagined flames consuming me....Finally, I was bathed in flames, dying, dying...I visualized myself drifting back in time...And then, finally, I was gone. I didn't exist...I can't imagine how I managed to navigate a car, but I drove..."
"Heroes And Villians," few would argue, is nothing short of a wild ride of a song. Add to this all of the SMiLE material that comes under the umbrella heading of "Heroes And Villains" and the ride becomes even longer and wilder. Seeing "Heroes And Villains" as representative of Brian's bookstore acid flashback seems appropriate given the quality and scope of that event. It seemingly permeates all of SMiLE.
Here are a few samples from Brian's bookstore hallucination. You can see how it moves from scene to scene---presenting Brian with quite the mystery/riddle. "Moving slowly into the aisles, I concentrated on reading the book titles and their authors. In the philosophy section, I paged through books by Sartre, Camus, Kant. I tried the religion section and picked up the Bible, the Bhagavad Gita, and the I Ching. I stared at the pages, tried to read, but the letters all vibrated on the pages and I couldn't make sense of anything....I freaked out that there was too much knowledge confronting me. I was being overwhelmed by all the information contained in the books on the shelves. There was no way I could ever know everything....Oh my God! The room began to spin. I was in the center of a giant spinning top. Turning, turning, turning. The moment was completely surreal....It had been months since I'd taken acid. But I was having a flashback. (b)"
"Heroes And Villains" can also be viewed as the battle between good and evil. One can find the good/bad dynamic throughout Brian Wilson's experimentation with LSD. (C) "The previous day I'd taken acid for the third and final time. After two bad experiences, this trip was the ultimate in LSD joyrides...four hours of enlightenment and spirituality." The 'bad trip/good trip' dynamic therefore applies to each and every song on SMiLE as every song can be related to one or more of Brian's LSD trips in some way. The battle that is "Heroes And Villians," then, can be detected throughout SMiLE. "Heroes And Villains" can titularly be found in "Gee" ("Heroes And Villains: Part 2 (Gee) (Master Take)") and in other tracks along the way through to "Love to Say Dada" (originally "Heroes And Villains: All Day"). And the "Our Prayer" bookends can be related to the positive spirituality of Brian's good third LSD trip. (C) "After two bad experiences, this trip was the ultimate in LSD joyrides...four hours of enlightenment and spirituality."
Eventually, as you'll see later in "Love To Say Dada" and/or "In Blue Hawaii," the good triumphs over the bad.
Do You Like Worms -
Musically: The rhythms of this song mirror the wave-like rhythms of Brian's first trip. (A) "...I stood up and didn't move for what Loren later told me was about an hour, doing nothing more than stare at the undulating liquid in the Lava Lite until I had absorbed its slow rhythm."
Musically: The "Bicycle Rider" music is piano based. (A) "...and just as suddenly as I'd checked into the sounds I had to play Loren's piano."
This song is a trip. The trip is a voyage. (A) "...music had never sounded so full and tangible, denser and heavier than any music I'd ever heard. I imagined wading through it like a river." (E) "He (Brian) ran up to Big Sur for a week*...down to the beach, out to the pool...to water fountains, to a lot of water..."
"Rock, rock, roll Plymouth Rock roll over..." The lava in Lava Lites does rock, roll, and roll over at times, especially after you first turn it on.
"Do You Like Worms" The flowing lava in Lava Lites, at times, looks like worms, usually not long after the lava has rocked and rolled over.
"Bicycle rider, just see what you've done---done to the church of the American Indian!" Chemist Albert Hofmann rode a bicycle the second time he ingested LSD. In September of 1966 Leary and Alpert formed the League for Spiritual Discovery, or LSD. The group sought to legally use LSD as a holy sacrement and looked to the Native American Church's approved use of peyote for similar validation. In other words, the LSD bicycle riders, in order to gain legal favor, just needed to see what was done to the church of the American Indian.
"Mahalo lu le, Mahalo lu la, Keeni waka pula..." The final destination is the Hawaiian Islands. These islands were formed by lava. (A) "...I stood up and didn't move for what Loren later told me was about an hour, doing nothing more than stare at the undulating liquid in the Lava Lite until I had absorbed its slow rhythm. My brain was a morass of rubber thoughts."
I'm In Great Shape -
SMiLE fans first heard the "I'm In Great Shape" section of "Heroes And Villains (Demo)" in 1998 from the Endless Harmony soundtrack. They tried to decipher the lyrics and opinions differed. You can see what this website thought the words were here.
2004's Brian Wilson Presents SMiLE and 2011's The SMiLE Sessions presented fans with a more innocuous set of lyrics.
"Fresh clean air around my head....I'm in the great shape of the agriculture." The 'fresh clean air' and 'agriculture' suggest a rural location, like that of Brian's third LSD trip. (E) "He (Brian) ran up to Big Sur for a week*, just 'cause he wanted to get into that, up to the mountains...down to the beach...out at night...the sky, the whole thing was this fantastic amount of awareness of his surroundings."
"Mornings tumble out of bed. Eggs and grits and lickety split - look at me jump! I'm in the great shape..."
(E) "He (Brian) ran up...up to the mountains, into the snow, down to the beach, out to the pool, out at night, running around..." Brian apparently got plenty of exercise during his 3rd trip. This trip resulted in Brian's spiritual enlightenment. (C) "...I'd taken acid for the third and final time...four hours of enlightenment and spirituality."
Barnyard -
"Out in the barnyard, the chickens do their number. Out in the barnyard, the cook is choppin' lumber." (B) The cook is chopping lumber to start a fire and cook. Firemen got cooked in the mind movie that occured during Brian's second LSD trip.
"Jump in the pigpen, next time I'll take my shoes off. Hit the dirt, do a two-&-a-half, next time I'll leave my hat on." 'Two and a half' is the total number of LSD trips (A) (B) (C) Brian went on because his third trip was a smaller dose. These trips expanded Brian's consciousness and blew his mind. (A) "My brain did somersaults and cartwheels." This is why he may have done a two-&-a-half and thought, "next time I'll leave my hat on."
The Old Master Painter/You Are My Sunshine -
The Old Master Painter is "from the faraway hills" which implies that the Old Master Painter (God) is hidden from view much like Brian's spiritual LSD experiences are hidden in SMiLE.
"What a beautiful job on that wonderful day, That old master painter from the hills far away." The lyrics note a "wonderful day." This, along with the song titled "All Day," may refer to Brian's 3rd trip which also yielded a wonderful day. (C) "The previous day I'd taken acid for the third and final time. After two bad experiences, this trip was the ultimate in LSD joyrides...four hours of enlightenment and spirituality."
"You Are My Sunshine" becomes "You were my sunshine" and the music turns sad including the lyric "How could you take my sunshine away?" There are plenty of possible interpretations that could be applied to this track.
During Brian's first trip (A) he saw a strange looking man who he took to be God. God led Brian on a journey from birth to death. When the man vanished, Brian was lost.
"You Are My Sunshine" could also have something to do with the timing of Brian's trips. (A) "The night arrived..." (B) "One night..." (E) "...out at night..." (C) "The previous day..."
"You Are My Sunshine" may have something to do with Brian and Marilyn's separation due to Brian's drug use and friendships. (B) "Frustrated, exhausted, and downright mad, Marilyn packed her belongings and moved into an apartment of her own."
"You Are My Sunshine" also could possibly refer to Barbara Rovell's rejection of his advances; taking his sunshine away. (B) "...I reached out to hug her. That was the last thing she wanted."
Perhaps the best way to view "You Are My Sunshine" may be to recognize the possibility of a sense of loss, a sadness, when one's beautiful experience comes to a close. This possibility certainly works well following "The Old Master Painter." Brian had had a "wonderful day," (C) " ...this trip was the ultimate in LSD joyrides..." and it may have been difficult to see it end.
Musically: "My Only Sunshine: Parts 1 & 2" may be a musical representation of seeing things melt. (b) "The moment was completely surreal. Then I saw the books melting down the shelves, dripping down like wax down the side of a candle."
Cabin Essence -
Cabinessesnce is a pun on "cannabis." (a) "Marilyn let them in, and they searched for drugs...they finally discovered my stash." "In the box...some rolling papers, and a baggie containing about a half ounce of pot."
"Light the lamp and fire mellow" (a) "In the box, I saw a red light bulb I liked to put in a lamp and turn on when I got home..."
"...cabin essence, timely hello, welcomes a time for a change." (A) "Loren set the scene at his apartment....There was a sacredness to it all---from the way we said hello to the way Loren handed me a small paper stamp and told me to swallow it."
"Lost and found, you still remain there." (A) "Then he vanished. I was lost." "Some eight hours later I woke up on Loren's couch..."
Brian's second LSD trip (B) involved fire trucks and fire. This song's "fire mellow" lyric may relate to this.
The "home on the range" lyric is an oven/stove top reference--turning up the heat, and the iron horse is an alternate equivalent representation of the fire trucks from Brian's second trip. (B) "As the LSD kicked in, I rember hearing fire trucks from the station across the street...."
The iron horse music is similar to the fire music from "The Elements."
The term "nestle" doesn't seem like one commonly used in lyrics. The phrase "Nestle in a kiss below there" suggests something romantic. This is a long shot, but in the Pet Sounds part of Brian's bio he relays his fantasies to lyricist Tony Asher (pg. 135). "I was watching Diane, and God, she's so beautiful." "...wouldn't it be nice if I could lie down beside her and nestle myself in her long hair?" Along these lines you start to wonder whether, "I want to watch you windblown facing, Waves of wheat for your embracing" may have to do with her face and the waves in her hair.
"The constellations ebb and flow there." brings to mind Brian's trippy "Surf's Up" explanation (from Goodbye Surfing, Hello God) with "Folks sing a song of the grange" becoming a children's song, "And then there's the song itself; the song of children; the song of the universe rising and falling in wave after wave..."
During Brian's second trip (B) he visualizes going back in time until he doesn't exist and before the trip is over Brian drives his car. This is possibly the "vast past" and "last gasp" of the "Truck driving man." Brian ended up driving to Marilyn's parent's house where he found Barbara, the youngest of the Rovell sisters. Barbara rejected Brian's advances. "In and out of luck" "Catch as catch can..."
Wonderful -
"One golden locket, quite young..." Barbara, the youngest sister, may be wearing a golden locket in the group photo from LAX.
"...and loving her mother and father." (B) "I walked in the front door, expecting to find Mae and Irving. But they weren't there. Only Barbara lying on the sofa, watching TV."
"A boy bumped into her....All fall down..." (B) "I jumped on top of her..."
"Lost it all to a non-believer..." (c) "...I wasn't religious, but I'd definitely developed a spiritual awareness."
"She belongs there left with her liberty." (B) "...I reached out to hug her. That was the last thing she wanted." (B) "...she tore a big wart off my right finger....and the pain caused me to beat a hasty retreat out of there."
As with Brian's flashback and his religious LSD experience, there's a mystery involved in the plot of this song and it appears to be tied to belief in God.
Look - Session documentation associated with "Look" had the song title "I Ran." Brian ran around during, what was likely, his 3rd LSD trip. (E) "...he (Brian) was really into the elements. He ran up to Big Sur for a week*, just 'cause he wanted to get into that, up to the mountains, into the snow, down to the beach, out to the pool, out at night, running around...."
The SMiLE version is an instrumental. The version on Brian Wilson Presents SMiLE has lyrics that seem to move from relationship related thinking to something more along the lines of religious/spiritual inquiry; asking questions. In the Sixties, LSD was often used for spiritual/religious exploration purposes.
Child Is Father Of The Man -
The title of the song is the only lyric in the SMiLE version. It's taken from a Wordsworth poem about natural deity. The phrase occurs at the moment of spiritual enlightenment.
Natural diety suggests a nature setting much like that of Brian's third trip (E), and the spiritaul enlightenment that resulted; (C) "...this trip was the ultimate in LSD joyrides---everything it was supposed to be, four hours of enlightenment and spirituality."
The version on Brian Wilson Presents SMiLE has the lyrics, "Easy, my child---it's just enough to believe. Out of the wild---into what you can conceive. You'll achieve." Once again, this points to nature and the moment of LSD enabled spiritual transformation.
Surf's Up -
Dennis Wilson was around for part of the writing of this song. The drummer was complaining about the group's image. The lyrics, "some drummed along to a handsome mannered baton" reference Dennis. "Columnated ruins domino" references the Beach Boys' striped shirts & straight legged pants falling by the wayside, part of their soon-to-be "bygone" image. (D) "...Dennis came to the house, complaining that the Beach Boys' stage outfits, the candy-striped shirts and straightlegged slacks that my dad had picked out in the band's infancy, had elicited ridicule in some of London's hipper circles."
"London's hipper circles" is "A blind class aristocracy."
"Are you sleeping?" is a reference to the dreamlike state. Brian's "Surf's Up" comments to Jules Siegel also mention a dream, "He's off in his vision, on a trip. Reality is gone; he's creating it like a dream."
Jules Siegel also documented Brian's reaction to the movie Seconds. There's a reference to ego-death in Brian's comment, "...the whole thing was there. I mean my whole life. Birth and death and rebirth. The whole thing. Even the beach was in it, a whole thing about the beach." "While at Port..." (E) "...down to the beach..."
"Surf's Up" contains lyrics that represent the ego-death part of the LSD experience. There's "the pit and the pendulum," "drawn,""Hung," "velvet overtaken me," "the music hall-a costly bow," "all is lost," "a muted trumpeter swan," "quicksilver," "adieu of die," and "a broken man."
After the LSD ego-death there is a rebirth. Brian Wilson Presents SMiLE ends "Surf's Up" with the result of this rebirth process, "a child."
"...two-step to lamplight" could refer to Brian's second (B) and third trip (C) together forming his enlightenment (or 'lamplight'). As Brian told Tom Nolan, "About a year ago I had what I consider to be a very religious experience. I took LSD, a full dose of LSD, and later, another time, I took a smaller dose. And I learned a lot of things, like patience, understanding. I can't teach you, or tell you what I learned from taking it. But I consider it a very religious experience."
"The fullness of the wine..." could reference the 'whine' of the fire trucks during trip two. (B) "As the LSD kicked in, I rember hearing fire trucks from the station across the street...their sirens wailing louder and louder."
"...the dim last toasting." (B) "I imagined flames consuming me....Finally, I was bathed in flames, dying, dying..."
But then, "Surf's Up," we get much needed water. (E) "...a title wave."
The "spring" may be another water (E) reference. The "...often spring you gave" suggests the water being given by God. "I heard the word - wonderful thing!"
The April 1967 airing of the TV special Inside Pop: The Rock Revolution includes footage of Brian playing "Surf's Up." You'll notice that Brian's eyes are closed during this sequence. This suggests that he's sleeping/dreaming.
Brian's relates tripping to dreaming in his explanation of some "Surf's Up" lyrics: "He's off in his vision, on a trip. Reality is gone; he's creating it like a dream."
I Want To Be Around/Workshop -
After an LSD enabled spiritual ego-death experience and rebirth, a song titled "I Want To Be Around" may be appropriate.
It is an instrumental of a song about broken hearts which includes the lyric, "When he breaks your heart to bits. Let's see if the puzzle fits so fine." The bits get reconnected in the workshop. Mysteries, riddles, and puzzles led to Wilson's acid aided spiritual enlightenment.
Wilson's "I Want To Be Around" doesn't sound like other arrangements of this early Sixties jazz classic. This version has a feel and sound more like a slowed down "Tedesco And Pitman," the b-side of "Be My Baby" obviously, in part, because Wilson used the same studio and many of the same studio musicians as Phil Spector.
According to Hal Blaine, Phil Spector typically held his recording sessions on a Friday night. Brian envisioned a grand Spector-like production for "Good Vibrations" during his 3rd LSD trip. "I Want To Be Around/Workshop (Friday Night)" may be Brian envisioning using Spector's usual gang of jazz/session musicians to put together and build a new type of music for the Beach Boys. (C) "I'd written it ("Good Vibrations") five months earlier and imagined the grand, Spectorlike production while on the LSD trip I'd described so enthusiastically for Al."
Vega-Tables -
"I threw away my candy bar and I ate the wrapper." (A) "...Loren handed me a small paper stamp and told me to swallow it."
"Run a lot, do a lot..." (E) "...he (Brian) was really into the elements. He ran up to Big Sur for a week*, just 'cause he wanted to get into that, up to the mountains, into the snow, down to the beach, out to the pool, out at night, running around, to water fountains, to a lot of water..."
"...you send us in your letter..." (A) "...Loren handed me a small paper stamp..."
Brian considered health important for spiritual enlightenment. In a TeenSet article Brian said, "I want people to turn on to vegetables, good natural food, organic food. Health is an important ingredient in spiritual enlightenment."
Brian did not need to practice what he preached because he was already enlightened. He wanted others to position themselves for a similar experience. With the SMiLE album being similar to Brian's bookstore flashback (b) & that event being such a big part of Brian's enlightenment (C) SMiLE had the potential to yield similar results.
Holidays -
Brian's holiday was a holy day. (C) "The previous day I'd taken acid for the third and final time. After two bad experiences, this trip was the ultimate in LSD joyrides...four hours of enlightenment and spirituality."
The SMiLE Sessions version of this song is an instrumental.
What I imagine happened was Brian found some time to get alone and drop acid for the third time. In his mind, he revisited his bookstore mystery/riddle and prior trip experiences searching for the answer. Reliving the 'fire' trip where he imagined himself bathed in flames and dying likely coincided with an ego death of some sort. Being surrounded by water, in a variety of forms, turned Brian's negative into a positive, death into rebirth: a spiritual experience.
While still under the influence, Brian imagined presenting his positive experience to the public in the form of an album. Visualizing the album brought Brian back to the start of his trip journey (Rock, rock roll, Plymouth Rock roll over), through the mystery/riddle, ending with his spiritual enlightenment: essentially, or elementally, the third trip envisioned within the larger third trip.
One hint that Brian may have conceived SMiLE during trip number three was that he was making recording plans during the trip. (C) "I'd written it ("Good Vibrations") five months earlier and imagined the grand, Spectorlike production while on the LSD trip I'd described so enthusiastically for Al."
So to me, the Brian Wilson Presents SMiLE song "On A Holiday" is Brian ("a pirate with a tune") dropping acid ("sherry of course") for the third time and revisiting his mystery/riddle. It's Brian revisiting the entire process and imagining SMiLE within SMiLE.
The Brian Wilson Presents SMiLE version contains lyrics and has to do with a holiday near water. This corresponds with Brian's third LSD trip (C) when he was away from home, on holiday. We assume the third trip involved lots of water as David Anderle's explanation of The Elements in Crawdaddy (E) documents.
Using Brian Wilson Presents SMiLE lyrics as a guide, we'll begin with Brian (the "you're under arrest" law breaking "pirate with a tune") revisiting his first LSD trip. "For a holiday---with a roundalay" "Rock, rock roll, Plymouth Rock roll over."
"And juxtapose a man with a mystery" is reminiscent of "Wonderful" and "Farther down the path was a mystery." (b)
"The men will share some sport..." may suggest Brian's promotion of health and its importance for spiritual enlightenment. (E) "...he (Brian) was really into the elements. He ran up to Big Sur for a week*, just 'cause he wanted to get into that, up to the mountains, into the snow, down to the beach, out to the pool, out at night, running around...."
Through some potential "Surf's Up" references: "Abaft and forth---a starboard course" = "Aboard a tidal wave. Come about hard", "sherry of course" = "the fullness of the wine", "ah-now me hearty" = "all is lost for now, heart-hardened I" , "It's port tonight" = "While at Port", and "drink up and come" = "the dim last toasting".
Wind Chimes -
David Anderle told Paul Williams about The Elements. (E) "We were aware, he made us aware, of what fire was going to be, and what water was going to be; we had some idea of air. That was where it stopped."
Brian's three LSD trips are represented by three out of the four Elements. Trip one (A) is Air, trip two (B) is Fire, and trip three (C) is water. They follow one another and go in order.
"Hanging down from my window, those are my wind chimes."
For "almost an hour" during trip one, Brian did, "...nothing more than stare at the undulating liquid in the Lava Lite...." (A)
In both cases (the liquid in the Lava Lite and wind chimes) glass separates Brian from the thing he's focused on. "In the late afternoon you're hung up on wind chimes." The wind chimes hang down and move about on a warm breeze. Similarly, the lava in a Lava Lite falls and rises in the warm liquid.
Notice that we're just getting started heat-wise as "Fire" looms just around the corner.
(A) "Suddenly, I clicked into the music blasting out of Loren's stereo speakers. As I had been promised, music had never sounded so full and tangible, denser and heavier than any music I'd ever heard. I imagined myself wading through it like a river, until I felt consumed by it, and just as suddenly as I'd checked into the sounds I had to play Loren's piano." The extra loud vocals in the middle of "Wind Chimes" may be related to Brian clicking into the music and the music sounding full. Those vocals are immediately followed by a piano part. The sequencing matches that of Brian's first trip. (A)
"Close your eyes and lean back now, listen to wind chimes." The "close your eyes and lean back" lyric seems like an instruction a guide might suggest to someone taking LSD. "'Just relax," he (Loren) said, "Try to relax.'" (A)
The Elements (Fire) - The beginning of this track is "Heroes And Villains (Intro)." Earlier "Heroes And Villains" was related to Brian's acid flashback and this section of music sounds like a musical depiction of that spinning top surreal scene. (b)
Brian's second trip involved fire trucks, a fire, and firemen. It was a scary scene and this music conveys some of that terrifying trip.
(B) "As the LSD kicked in, I remember hearing fire trucks from the station across the street...their sirens wailing louder and louder."
(B) "I imagined flames consuming me....Finally, I was bathed in flames, dying, dying..."
(B) "I visualized myself drifting back in time...I continued getting smaller and younger....I relived arguments I'd had with my dad....And then, finally, I was gone....I didn't exist."
Love To Say Dada - The title contains the main letters L, S, and D in sequence---similar to the Beatles' "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds." Its focus on water releates to Brian's 3rd LSD trip. (C)
Using Brian Wilson Presents SMiLE lyrics as a guide:
"Is it hot as hell in here, or is it me?" Trip one's warmth and trip two's fire have taken their toll.
"It really is a mystery." References the bookstore acid flashback mystery/riddle.
"If I die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take my misery..." This is a fire related LSD ego-death type of thing.
"I could really use a drop to drink. Somewhere in a placid pool and sink. Feel like I was really in the...PINK!" As Brian explained to Jules Siegel, "And then hope. Surf's Up!" (C)(E) "...he (Brian) was really into the elements. He ran up to Big Sur for a week*, just 'cause he wanted to get into that, up to the mountains, into the snow, down to the beach, out to the pool, out at night, running around, to water fountains, to a lot of water...."
"I lose a dream when I don't sleep. I'm slumberin'." Brian's "Surf's Up" comments cite an LSD trip and a dream, "He's off in his vision, on a trip. Reality is gone; he's creating it like a dream."
"Oh I could use a drop to drink right now. In a waterfall, back there in Hawaii..." (C)(E) "...he (Brian) was really into the elements...down to the beach, out to the pool...to water fountains, to a lot of water...."
"Take me to a luau now and lay before me. Wholly Holy Cow!" IMHO this is Brian envisioning his third trip's conquering the negativity of his first two trips (the cow being "Mrs. O'Leary's Cow" AKA "The Elements (Fire)") and coming to terms with his mystery/riddle. It's the 3rd trip (a luau in blue Hawaii/Love to Say Dada), within the 3rd trip (a party on a holiday/The Elements), within the 3rd trip (SMiLE).
"Down in blue Hawaii. So far away from blue Hawaii." The third trip (C) took place far away (E) from Hawaii.
(C) "...this trip was the ultimate in LSD joyrides...four hours of enlightenment and spirituality." This 'heaven on Earth' conclusion of SMiLE ends with the coda from "Our Prayer." During the recording session for "Our Prayer" Brian asked, "Do you guys feel any acid yet?"
Good Vibrations -
Vibrations have often been associated with LSD.
The following quote connects vibrations with an occurance Brian Wilson associated with his LSD use. (b) "Moving slowly into the aisles, I concentrated on reading the book titles and their authors....I stared at the pages, tried to read, but the letters all vibrated on the pages and I couldn't make sense of anything."
(C) "I'd written it ("Good Vibrations") five months earlier and imagined the grand, Spectorlike production while on the LSD trip I'd described so enthusiastically for Al."
One of the earliest psychedelic singles. The world-wide #1 smash was a hip masterpiece.
*I was told by the late Bob Hanes that Brian did not go to Big Sur, and that David Anderle was actually referring to the time period around when the Beach Boys made the Pet Sounds promo film (according to Derek Taylor, this was filmed in the mountains above Lake Arrowhead).
The location and duration of Anderle's account may be inaccurate, but the same may not apply to the other details Anderle presents. For if this is indeed Brian's third LSD trip, he had previouly told Al Jardine about the adventure. (C) "...while on the LSD trip I'd described so enthusiastically for Al."
Some fans may have noticed that there's rarely any mention of LSD involved in most accounts of the SMiLE era (this is because the influence of LSD is hidden due to the creative methods used by Wilson, Parks, and Holmes). At most, one might find a passing mention of Brian's first LSD trip with Loren Schwartz. Gone from all naratives (except Brian's bogus bio) are any mention of trips number two and three (except Al, in 1998's Endless Harmony, saying Brian was telling him about a great trip he'd just had....which happens to match with the William Morris Agency account in the bogus bio!).
IMHO this is because trips 2 & 3 might expose SMiLE's secret. This would betray the spirit of the art, the myth, and perhaps damage Brian's and the group's current reputation. Fans might also feel betrayed, or let-down, in some way after buying into popularly held and promoted conceptions. Fans with unique personal takes on SMiLE might also be disappointed.
With this webpage The Good Humor SMiLE Site has circuled back to its original source of inspiration. This is a good way to end our search for meaning in SMiLE.
I want to thank everyone who has visited the webpage and will keep things up and running for future visitors.
All The Best,
Bill Tobelman
william.tobelman@snet.net
"I would call SMiLE an experiment with modern music" - Brian Wilson
Q: How did spirituality tie to music for you?
BW: You can't separate the two.