The Smiley Smile Message Board

I am fascinated by the history of these three songs.  In the LDC/All Summer Long liner notes, David Leaf writes about All Dressed up for School: "In late '69/early '70, Brian used the same changes and rewrote it as 'I Just Got My Pay' . . . . Finally, this tune made it to record as 'Marcella.'"

Leaf's implication is that basically ADUFS, IJGMP, and Marcella are the same song, slightly reworked and with different lyrics.  With all due respect to Leaf, I don't hear it that way.

All Dressed Up for School has three parts -- (1) the "dit dit dit" intro and tag, (2) the verses ("well, she first caught my eye running round in shorts . . . ") and (3) the choruses ("dressed up for school/ooh what a turn on . . . ")

I Just Got My Pay is very similar to All Dressed up for School -- the verses ("now I could take and sock away my dough, etc.") have the same melody over the same I-IV-V chord progression as the ADUFS verses, and the choruses ("let's get dressed up, and see a movie"), while reworked a little, are very similar to the ADUFS choruses.

The one real change in IJGMP, aside from the lyrics, is the intro.  The "dit-dit-dit" intro is gone, later to be reworked (as Leaf points out) as the "ooooooooooooh Goin' on" intro in Goin' On.  In its place is a new melodic intro -- "five long days and I'm tired of working, I'm going to see my boss today."

Now, let's look at "Marcella."  As I hear it, "Marcella" has three basic parts: (1) the "hey-yay, Marcella, she's so fine fine fine fine fine fine fine, hey-hey-yeah" part (2) the verses ("mystic maiden more than soft and sexy, she can mess my mind with the stuff that she knows") and (3) the "one arm over my shoulder, sandals dance at my feet" part.

As I hear it, parts (1) and (3) of "Marcella" are entirely new and have nothing to do with either All Dressed up for School or I Just Got My Pay.  According to the Badman book, Brian had a separate song (or fragment) known as "One Arm over My Shoulder" that became part of "Marcella."

But not only do parts (1) and (3) of "Marcella" not come from ADUFS or IJGMP, but part (2) of "Marcella" comes from the NEW part of I Just Got My Pay -- the part that was not taken from All Dressed up for School.  In other words, while "Marcella" could be partially considered a reworking of I Just Got My Pay, it contains NOTHING from the original All Dressed up for School.

Am I crazy?  Or does anyone agree?

You're absolutely right.  Mr. Leaf was incorrect about linking Marcella and All Dressed Up directly.  They are connected in sort of the 6-degrees-of-Kevin Bacon kind of way, but Marcella and ADUFS don't share anything musically.

The verses in ADUFS (well, she first caught my eye running round in shorts...) is quite similar chord-wise to the "five long days and I'm tired of working, I'm going to see my boss today" in IJGMP. This is similar to the verses in Marcella (mystic maiden more than soft and sexy, she can mess my mind with the stuff that she knows...). So on that level, all the songs are linked together in some ways.

Saying 'All Dressed Up For School' and 'Marcella' are the same song is like saying 'Wind Chimes' and 'Can't Wait Too Long' are the same song.

You forgot to mention that between ADUFS and Goin' On, that particular vocal harmony chord progression was recycled during SMiLE as "Bridge To Indians". 

Which part is that "Bridge to Indians"? I have never heard that description...

The acapella a-a-a's before the western part on H&V '04.

It's not a stretch, AT ALL, to closely relate these three songs. There's a pretty long melodic phrase repeated in all three songs with different chords, different lyrics, and different structures. A close example would be Sunflower era Big Sur vs. Holland Big Sur. The only difference between the two comparisons is that both Big Surs use the same lyrics.

 
Sorry to dig up an old topic, but I'm just going through and reading al the old threads.  I found this same Goin' On/Bridge To Indians progression on the Light Album (i think) outtake Why Didn't I Tell You.  Anyone have any info on this song?