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I posted this elsewhere a couple of years back. This is a slightly revised version. All comments welcome.


I've been checking out the words to "I'm So Young" and there's a puzzle in the line following after "Pretty soon now, I'll go to sea". (The internet is singularly unhelpful on this score.)

In the version by The Students it sounds to me like "Then mother's baby, Will have seen the last of me". What's that supposed to mean? Will the singer have grown up after being in the marines? It's an odd way of putting it. It is doo-wop of course...   

In both BB versions (the one on Today! and the flute'n'drum alternative version) Brian seems to be singing "Then mother's baby, Has seen the last of me". Just as odd. Am I hearing it right? Any other opinions on this?

As for the instrumentation, the flute's a bit weird in the alternative version, like someone just wandered in from another studio to practise. But the big drum fills are a stroke of genius, as was the decision to leave them off the final version, haha. Actually, they come from The Ronettes' version (see below).

The final verse seems to have been the subject of serious dispute on at least one doo-wop site [now for members only]. The girls (Rosie and Ronnie) sing "sleep" instead of "sea". Check if you don't believe me. No navy for them. Ronnie even sings "cry myself to sleep". In the Tren-Dells' glorious doo-wop rendition, the lead voice sings (if I'm not mistaken) "Then Mom and Daddy, Will have seen the last of me". The plot thickens... 

According to that doo-wop site, someone asked the composer, William "Prez" Tyus, about it. "I think he said it's been argued about for so long, he wants to keep it an open issue."

As for the intro: Rosie & The Originals do a more extended instrumental version of The Students' intro. The Tren-Dells add vocals from the beginning but their "I have a girlfriend" section has the chords we know from the BB version (I-IV-V). The Ronettes, like the BBs, leave out the preamble and begins with those three chords. Brian's octave drop in the voices (which seems to have taken the Boys an age to get right) was clearly influenced by (and in fact begins with) the upward "smear" in The Ronettes' version.

Here are links to the versions discussed above:

The Students: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZX5YPpfOINQ
The Tren-Dells: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fH3d5UwCB24
Rosie & The Originals: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngSXX7QzMtQ
The Ronettes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUYJFj2IamM
The BBs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uieE43uxur0
The BBs (alt): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSxx7ESSngY

I've always took it as being specifically about the girlfriend's parents (though the last verse implies just the mother) keeping the two of them apart and the girl caving into their decision.  "Mother's baby" is referring to the girlfriend, not the narrator.  When he "goes to sea" she will have seen the last of him.

While the lyrics may not be entirely clear, perhaps it was written out of personal experience?

Thank you! It's the most logical explanation so far. And it seems it was out of personal experience:

"William 'Prez' Tyus, a student at [Cincinnati] Central High, was desperately in love with a girl named Patricia Pearson, and he'd written a song for her called 'I'm So Young'." [Source (http://www.uncamarvy.com/Students/students.html)]

I think it means Brian wants the C: "I'll go to C".

That's what my family believes anyway, because it seems like a likely scenario.

Cool website. I didnt know Im So Young was a cover song.

I liked the BB version of I'm So Young, but then I heard the angelic version by the Ronettes and fell in love with Ronnie's deliverance (+ the wall of sound backing track by Phil Spector is very well done). IMO the song works better from a girls perspective too.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlYF3pwvPQ0

"Then marvelous baby, will have seen the last of me…"

I always heard gibberish at that point - "Then marshlidlbaby, willnothalfseethelast of me...."

Now I hear " then mah little baybeh, will have seen the last of me."

This is quite intriguing, I like riddles. Actually, I never heard "baby" in that line. I hear it as 2 words - bake me, break me, beg me, what have you. The transition from "ba-" to "-by" goes uninterrupted, but in this case, I always catch some barrier between that sounds like [k] or [g]. 1st I used to explain it by interference of the back track with the vocal - no. Then figured maybe it's another example of noises & oddities that appear in many BBs songs - I paid careful attention, no. So it's Brian himself singing unclear. As for "I'll go to sea" vs. "I got to see" - well, now, that's dilemma.

Listened to every link & wow, The Boys version is so fresh & nifty the rest just fails in compare. Thank you, john! I still prefer alternate over studio, but now the diff is low.

the original lyric is:

Pretty soon now, I'll go to sea
then mother's baby will have seen the last of me


but Brian sings:

Pretty soon now, I'll go to see
that mother's baby who hasn't seen the last of me

If that's so, Brian has very weird phrasing here. Any reliable source besides surfermoon/other lyrics site? Or I'm still sticking to my ears.

I always thought Brian was singing, "Then mama's baby has seen the last of me..."

and your ears tell you that Brian sings "break me" or "beg me" instead of "baby"? ok.

how i've heard it and understand it makes sense:

"then, mama's baby--they'll have seen the last of me"

No, I was just giving examples meaning I hear some guttural sound there that I have doubts for sth. seamless as "ba-by".

Another example of a great Beach Boys track often credited as played by the Wrecking Crew when in fact all of the core instruments are played by the Beach Boys...Brian (organ, bass), Dennis (drums), Carl (guitar, bass)...plus an additional bass by Al.

I always like reading stuff like that. Thank you, Mr. Stebbins. Don't you think their version is the best (I hope you won't join others saying how great The Ronettes version is)?

Thank you, sir. So there were three bassists involved----wow.


 

The combination "go to sea" (as in "called up", one assumes) and "seen the last of me" has always struck me as a bit ominous...

C-man will correct this if wrong, but i believe the main bass (six string) is Carl, while Brian does a bass insert somewhere in the track, and Al plays the basic root.

.

Don't trust what you find on Lyricsfreak.com.

indeed. Brian's alteration removes all ominousness   ;)

Pretty soon now, I'll go to sea
then mother's baby will have seen the last of me

vs.

Pretty soon now, I'll go to see
that mother's baby who hasn't seen the last of me


it's the difference between a young soldier going off to war and a young teenager going off to bed.

Such an amazing vocal by brian, how wonderful does he sounds on the today! Album

Absolutely! Great arrangement and bass work on I'm So Young, as well.