Al Jardine's opposition to Somewhere Near Japan

[smilethebeachboysloveyou]

Didn't know where to post it, so forgive. Been listening to Love You & on track 6 it dawned on me that the line "Take it one little inch at a time now/'Til we're feelin' fine now" refers clearly to taking drugs. Is it a coincidence that Al's again given a task to sing trippy lyrics (1st was "...safety zone..." in Pet Sounds album)?

I think the line is actually "takin' one little inch at a time now," and it refers to gradually working his way up the young woman's skirt.

[Sheriff John Stone]

Didn't know where to post it, so forgive. Been listening to Love You & on track 6 it dawned on me that the line "Take it one little inch at a time now/'Til we're feelin' fine now" refers clearly to taking drugs. 

I have listened to Love You and "Honkin' Down The Highway" literally hundreds of times since I purchased the album the day it came out in 1977. Not one time did I ever relate the lyric "take it one little inch at a time now, 'til we're feeling fine now..." as a drug reference. Never. Ever. Not one time.

Because Brian never commented on the line (and rarely the song for that matter), I guess it's a matter of opinion, but....First, I never gave Brian that much credit, I mean writing a lyric that clever, with a double meaning, at that time/condition in his life. Second, I'm not sure Dr. Landy would've allowed it, if he even figured it out; Landy was making Brian walk the straight and narrow in mid/late 1976. And, third, I just assumed it was Brian being his innocent and lyrically simple self, using cliches and old-fashioned terms to describe a boy/girl relationship.

And you think it it "refers clearly to drugs"? A Love You song? Wow...

[Amanda Hart]

I always thought of it more as a "just the tip" kind of thing. That Al Jardine is a dirty, dirty man. 

[RangeRoverA1]

No.  The "speed" at which one injects themselves has nothing to do with potentially overdosing.

One slides the needle into a satisfactory vein (as long as you've a new, sharp needle, it's like a hot knife through butter, no "little-by-little" about it), pulls back on the stopper to confirm that you're in (if the part of the syringe filled with the dope is then flooded with blood, you're good), and then one pushes it all in.  As long as one finds a workable vein, the process is a very fast one, indeed.

Incidentally, I'm actually reminded more of this specific phenomena during "Hey Jude" ("let it out and let it in"), but I digress.

Wow, I didn't expect to get such a detailed & informative response. Thank you, Generation42! Glad to know you has quit this thing once & for all.
Mystery officially solved.

[The Shift]

Didn't know where to post it, so forgive. Been listening to Love You & on track 6 it dawned on me that the line "Take it one little inch at a time now/'Til we're feelin' fine now" refers clearly to taking drugs. 

I have listened to Love You and "Honkin' Down The Highway" literally hundreds of times since I purchased the album the day it came out in 1977. Not one time did I ever relate the lyric "take it one little inch at a time now, 'til we're feeling fine now..." as a drug reference. Never. Ever. Not one time.

Because Brian never commented on the line (and rarely the song for that matter), I guess it's a matter of opinion, but....First, I never gave Brian that much credit, I mean writing a lyric that clever, with a double meaning, at that time/condition in his life. Second, I'm not sure Dr. Landy would've allowed it, if he even figured it out; Landy was making Brian walk the straight and narrow in mid/late 1976. And, third, I just assumed it was Brian being his innocent and lyrically simple self, using cliches and old-fashioned terms to describe a boy/girl relationship.

And you think it it "refers clearly to drugs"? A Love You song? Wow...

Agree wholeheartedly. It's a metaphorical inch - Brian means taking it one stage at a time. Whether its the relationship or the seduction is moot… but I never took it to mean his knob or a needle.

[Alan Smith]

For many many years I did not associate the line with any sexual references.  Until someone bought it up on a BB message board in the early naughties.

Can't think of it as anything but a naughty jape now, and reminds me of Al's "I've been taking it for years" joke from Brian's birthday party footage  '76/77 (that which got used in EH doc).

[RangeRoverA1]

It's a metaphorical inch - Brian means taking it one stage at a time. Whether its the relationship or the seduction is moot…

I'll take the former. The idea of Al going vulgar doesn't sound appealing, he's a kind chap.