The Smiley Smile Message Board

Fun Fun Fun is the greatest song ever written. The ending is the most wonderful thing I've ever heard. I wish it went on forever.

The song that made me a fan for life when I was 5, in 1964.

I'm not really a fan of pre-1965 BB, but "Fun, Fun, Fun" is a good tune.

When I was at my second (and final) show of the tour, and Al was singing Help Me Rhonda, I kept having the thought that it was the greatest song ever written. It was only in that moment....

Its not a "good tune". It is the perfect example of Brian writing a sophisticated song and making it into a rock and roll hit. I would argue that either Fun Fun Fun or I Get Around are the peak of Brian taking a sophisticated composition and making it look easy.
Fun Fun Fun is not a good tune. It is the greatest song ever written.

I used to say the same thing.  Luckily I've seen the error of my ways.

It was so interesting watching Mike Love on the Front Row Center show describing how the lyric writing style of Chuck Berry influenced his own writing on the song. I learned that, whether or not I like the end result, he puts more thought into his craft than I normally give him credit for.

It fades way too early, that's for sure.

The fade of the stereo version really sucks. The mono version fade is great. (Longer, too.)

It is so unbelievable fantastic on the '73 live album, I could almost agree with you. The 'fade' on that is some seriously powerful rock and roll.

Obviously an incredible song but better than GOK or Good Vibrations? Personally I don't see it

The lyrics are so visual so props to Mike as well as Brian. The end falsetto part is legendary
..and a bitch to do live.

'Fun, Fun, Fun' on Live at Knebworth blows my mind apart. I almost have to agree with Bort that it's the greatest song ever written.

'Little Deuce Coupe' is another pre-65 song that I really see genius in - that chorus vocal melody is incredible.

"Fun, Fun, Fun" had two lives. First, it was one of the greatest AM radio cruisin' songs, which, maybe more than any other Beach Boys' song, merged the Chuck Berry/Four Freshmen influences.

"Fun, Fun, Fun" has now become a concert institution. The live encore version is to The Beach Boys what "Like A Rolling Stone" and "All Along The Watchtower" is to Bob Dylan, "Brown Sugar" and "Satisfaction" is to The Rolling Stones", and "Get Back", "I Saw Her Standing There",  and the Sgt. Pepper/Abbey Road closing medley is to Paul McCartney.

Great song indeed ! I like the single-version the best (available on the Surfer Girl/Shut Down Vol.2 twofer). Although it was "just" no. 5 it blows away musically what for example the Beatles had out at that point imo. Probably the best example of the description "Chuck Berry beat/lyrics with Four Freshmen harmonies".
I think "I get around" is better though.

Of course 'I Get Around' is better.

These are the big ones, if 'favorites' has to be played.

SURFIN' U.S.A.
FUN, FUN, FUN
I GET AROUND

All three are electrifying in their own way because they have guitar in them - unlike so many later un-electrifying Beach Boy singles.

I have to mention though, that the lyrics to IGA can't hold a candle to Fun Fun Fun's.

Completely disagree. The lyrics to I Get Around scan so perfectly, and there's so much braggadocio there. Those lyrics have GUTS!
Fun, Fun, Fun's lyrics don't have the same wallop to me. They're cheesy. Of course, being a Beach Boys fan, I like cheesy! But, in comparison with I Get Around....

I feel like saying you're not a fan of pre-1965 BBs is a bit like saying "I love bread, but I'm not a fan of wheat."

Without wheat, there is no bread, and without pre-65 Beach Boys there is no Beach Boys.  You subtract the pre-65 from, say, Smile and you're left with nothing.

Whoops.

They sure have guts and I have no problem with that. I just think they are sh!tty.

Between the two, I prefer the music and lyrics to I Get Around over Fun Fun Fun.

Vice versa for me, though I love them both. Fun Fun Fun is a story. I Get Around is a statment.

I admit that I like I Get Arounds lyrics more. For such a goofy dude, Mike sounds awesome-"My buddies and me are getting real well known, the bad guys know us and they leave us alone".

As far as being in a (however many ways) tie with other classics,
 I'd rate Fun Fun Fun as the best song ever written. It has flawless
Chuck Berry style lyrics, for sure!

It's weird. Years ago, after reading the chorus lyrics,  I never
again enjoyed I Get Around as much I used to. Real cool head?
Real good bread? I much preferred not knowing. My innocence
was lost. I could no longer sing Real coo-heee, I'm makin real-guh brehhh..  

Well, what exactly do you think those lines mean? Because, it is probably not what you think it means. ;) How is being a top dog making good money making you lose you innocence?

Just as well. Those aren't the correct words anyway. Fact is, they aren't even words at all.

It's kind of like how Da Doo Ron Ron works.
For me, incorrect nonsense is more appealing.
More appealing than good bread and a cool head.
Obviously, they're a bunch of cool wealthy guys.
I get it.
 

Fun Fun Fun:

Is that Hal + Dennis double drumming?

The single version is a lot better than the album mix for a few reasons:

The fade

Mike's vocal is in one channel, makes the double tracking a lot more awesome

The drums rock harder

 :smokin---  to me, it always sounded like 'da doo run run'.....

 :smokin

Fun Fun Fun is better than God Only Knows.

one of the things I like about Fun Fun Fun is "the guys can't stand her cause she walks looks and drives like an ace now"
and then the backing vocals are
"you walk like an ace", then
"you look like an ace", then
"you drive like an ace".

It's a very good song, I've always marvelled at the name. 

"Bad, Bad, Bad"
"Love, Love, Love"
"Money, Money, Money"
"God, God, God"
"Life, Life, Life"
"Kiss, Kiss, Kiss"
"Live, Live, Live"
"New, New, New"
"Good, Good, Good"

my point is: such a simply genius idea, how come nobody before Brian Wilson came up with it?  The Beatles used to do the same thing, "Yesterday" for instance, nobody else thought of that?  Or "She Loves You" ?  Nobody else thought of that first? lol

The most impressive geniuses are the ones that make it look so easy.  Simple ideas; simple, brilliant concepts. 

It doesn't necessarily prove with that one song that Brian was the greatest, but it shows that he was one of the greatest.  Smokey Robinson wrote "My Girl" and "My Guy".  I guess more than anything it's clever, but Brian seemed to do it over and over again.  Writing "Don't Worry Baby" as a sequel to "Be My Baby"... getting turned down... and slightly changing the lyrics so he can sing the chorus, as a chick, to himself?  Brilliant.

Tupac was heralded as a poetic genius for writing "I Get Around" 30 years after Brian wrote "I Get Around"... "Surfer Girl" is timeless, head to a beach, find a 16 year old girl and play that song, the reaction will be the same as if you played it 50 years ago. 

Sure he did great, really complex things musically, but the brilliance in his music was there from the very beginning. 

You can uncheeze the lyrics by deleting the word "Now".

"Well, she got her daddy's car, and she drove to the hamburger stand....
Seems she forgot all about the library like she'd told her old man...
and with the radio blastin' goes crusin' just as fast as she can...
And she'll have Fun, Fun, Fun till her daddy takes her T-Bird Away...."

"Well, the girls can't stand her 'cuz she walks... looks... drives like an Ace....
(You walk like an ace yeah, you walk like an ace)
She makes the Indy 500 look like a Roman Chariot Race....
(You look like an ace yeah, you look like an ace)
All the guys try to catch her but she leads 'em on a wild Goose Chase....
(You drive like an ace yeah, you drive like an ace)
And she'll have Fun, Fun, Fun till her daddy takes the T-Bird Away"

"Well, you knew all along that your dad was gettin' wise to you...
(You shouldn't of lied, yeah, you shouldn't of lied)
And since he took your set of keys, you've been thinkin' that your fun was all through....
(You shouldn't of lied, yeah, you shouldn't of lied)
But you can come along with me 'cuz we got a lot of things to do....
(You shouldn't of lied, yeah, you shouldn't of lied)
and we'll have Fun, Fun, Fun, now that daddy took your t-bird away."

We talked about it before on here years ago, I think he or Mike added "NOw" at the end of everything to make it more conversational.  Of course it makes the lyrics fit the melody a little better, but that's easily fixed.

Yeah, the bragadoccio is on another level.  Another bad-ass Mike Love swag lyric is "Well... I saved my pennies, and I saved my dimes.........."

Legendary

The way I qualify "best ever" is I just think whether or not a song's a 10.  If it is, it's in about a 200 way tie for best song ever written.  And don't pull any 11 sh*t on me, you know what I mean.

"I Get Around" is a ten, "Wouldn't it be Nice" is a ten, "God Only Knows" is a ten,.... similarly, "In My Life" is a ten, etc.

O.K. maybe we're in a 4 way tie

That's great, why so hostile? 

Well, I, for one, think you express yourself very well. I enjoy reading what you post, because it's worded intelligently and contains something of substance.

This thread is the biggest surprise for me yet. Fun Fun Fun the greatest song? Perhaps my problem with the song is that I have seen Brian live 24 times and The Beach Boys live six times, and they always end with Fun, Fun, Fun. I agree that the lyrics are brilliant, the guitar work exciting, but don't they have other songs to end with? I agree it has a permanent place in the set list, but I am just a little too familiar with it live by now, ie no more dancing to it or jumping up and down with excitement.

In short, the greatest song ever written: "Stardust" - Hoagy Carmichael
the greatest single ever produced: "Be My Baby" - Ronettes
the greatest Beach Boys song ever written - "Don't Worry Baby"

Yes. Musicians credits on the track are Carl - guitars, Brian - keyboards, Dennis and Hal Blaine - drums, Al Jardine and Ray Pohlman - basses. The tambourine is probably Ron Swallow. It's been written elsewhere that Glen Campbell is on this track but according to c-man he is definitely not.

what does Dennis do on drums vs. Hal?

They pretty much play the exact same thing, a la Hal and Earl Palmer on Jan Berry's records.

Do you mean "In concert" ? "Beach Boys concert" uses the studio track on this (and on I Get Around) iirc