The Smiley Smile Message Board

The inclusion of this line in the latest Love & Mercy trailer has reminded me of a question I have been meaning to ask at Brian Wilson-orientated message boards for, oh, about 20 years now — but never remembered to actually ask.

To whit: what does Brian say in full? I can recall the following:

"Hey Chuck! Is it possible we can bring a horse in here without — if we don't screw anything up?"

To which Chuck Britz replies, with thoroughly audible astonishment in his voice, "I BEG your pardon?????"

And then Brian mumbles something that starts with "Honest to God..."

I've seen a few on-line explanations of what he says, but none of them sound quite right. He *really* mumbles whatever it is, and he's also well off-mic when he says it, so it's very unclear.

Anyone know? Or have better ears than me?

Brian: "Honest to God, (unknown word), the horse is tame and everything. If we brought it in here would it be alright?"

He wanted to get photos of a horse in the studio.

Now where are the photos they took of Louie and Banana?  ;)

Brian and Dennis wanted to bring a horse into the studio to make the dogs bark more. Listen to the Banana and Louie sessions from Pet Sounds.

Banana And Louie   (15:51)
Recorded: 3/22/66
Masterpieces don't come easy; certainly, the recording of the "tail end" of the Pet Sounds album was no simple task.  Brian brought his two beagles, Banana and Louie, into the studios to provide a few actual pet sounds to wind up the LP.  With the assistance of Brian's wife Marilyn and brother Dennis and his son Scott, the dogs were let  loose at Western Studios to do their best, which is what we hear for several minutes.  However, Brian was a stern taskmaster to the hapless hounds as he was to his musicians.  At one point, Brian seems to have learned how to treat his dogs from his father Murray, screaming "Get up there!!" when one of the dogs doesn't want to put its paws up on the keyboards as Brian is demanding.  Scott Wilson is treated similarly by his dad, with Dennis threatening not to give him his Batman ring of Scott doesn't provoke the dogs to bark as directed.  Marilyn's plea to Brian, "Honey, but they're so tired already" means nothing to the artiste at work.  Eventually, Brian got what he wanted, but as this tape shows, it wasn't a lot of fun getting there.

He sounded absolutely serious, but could it be a case of Brian doing a put on with Chuck?

Brian wanted to take pictures of a horse in the studio. It wasn't to have a horse there to get the dogs to bark and it wasn't a put on. Trust me on this, at least.  :)

Based on?

I was wrong. It's the PS boxset from 1996. Disc three, track 24 (that is what happens when I don't go and listen first). Brian talks about bringing a horse in, Dennis says that he could bring his but would have to rent a trailer. THen they say you know what you do? Pictures of horses in the studio, oh just pictures of them (rather than the horse itself).

My understanding is that, yes they wanted pictures of a horse in the studio at a mic (like it's singing) - it was an early idea for the album cover (Pet Sounds, get it?  :lol)

I can't recall where I heard, read, saw this, but I swear I did.   Ask one of the Big Kahuna's here, they oughta know.

All I can think of is the bit in Animal House with the horse.

A horse is a horse, of course, of course, unless the horse is the famous Mister michael (ED)ward love?

Caroline Neigh.

I Nosebag There's An Answer...

Oat Sounds...

And, inevitably...

I'm Waiting For The Hay.

(Mr) Ed Only Knows... Hoof John B... Don't Tack (Put Your Head On My Saddle)...

...but seriously, thanks for the replies. I have always thought that the unclear, unknown word mentioned by Guitarfool above was a super-mumbled 'ladeez'ngennelmen...', like Brian was making a mock announcement: "Honest to God, ladies and gentlemen, the horse is tame and everything..."

That sort of fits. But I'm still not sure...

Also the "two beagles" part is wrong....Louie was a Weimaraner.

Ironically,  Zeppo wanted to name the album Horse Feathers.

It's on the session tape.

Was this before or after Mike Love stuck his head in and sang, "Whatever it is, I'm against it?"*


* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7cry-4pyy8

It was after Groucho told Mike he would see him in the barber shop. Then at the recording sessions for CABINESSENCE, Zeppo told Mike, "I love good music!" To which Mike replied, "So do I. Let's get out of here!"
And Chico wagered $10 million against Bruce Johnston that HEROES AND VILLAINS would reach #1. Losing all his money again, he became an extra in the Monkees movie HEAD.

Wild. I picture a kind of 'Hard Day's Night' grid cover, but in Pet Sounds green, obviously, with the grid full of little pictures of animals looking as though they're making the record instead of the Beach Boys: Banana and Louie hard at work in the studio at the desk and on keyboards, a horse doing a vocal overdub at a mic, goats nibbling vegetables for percussion and so on (or was that for the next album??)...

Actually, that kind of sounds better than what we ended up with on the real album...!  ;)

Anyone here wanna take a Photoshop shot at pulling that together...? Maybe with the Beach Boys featuring in five of the grid photos, but sprinkled in amongst all the busy animals 'making' the record...?