I'm in Great Shape.

[Paul Childs]

In the lyrics 'Eggs and grits' , What exactly are 'Grits' ? I do not know this American term here in the UK.

[SG7]

from Webster's Dictionary:

Function: noun plural but singular or plural in construction
Pronunciation: 'grits
Etymology: perhaps partly from 1grit, partly from dialect grit coarse meal, from Old English grytt; akin to Old English greot
: coarsely ground hulled grain ; especially : ground hominy with the germ removed

[Rocker]

Isn't it something like red fruit jelly? At least that's what my english-dictionary says

[Old Rake]

Nope, the other definition is right -- fried ground-up corn, served with butter. Really quite good. A breakfast staple in the US south.

[Joshilyn Hoisington]

[DJF]

Kind of like "Cream of Wheat" in texture with a slightly different flavor.  Always served with a pat of butter on the top and some keep a jar of Tabasco around for extra flavor.

Yeehaw!

[Joshilyn Hoisington]

Aren't grits really just a vehicle for butter, anyway?  I like them pretty plain, but most people seem to drown the hominy in gallons of butter.

[Fun Is In]

I've eaten eggs and grits and I've gone lickety split but I STILL don't get the line

"I'm in the great shape of the agriculture...."    after all these years.

Just what kind of shape variation does agriculture have?

On the demo it's hard to hear that final word "agriculture" and I wonder if there wasn't some uncertainty about it at the time.

BTW, I think that "Over and over the crow cries uncover the corn field" is one of the most inspired and wonderful lines in any Beach Boys song.

Can anyone explain this use of "agriculture" to me?  TIA.

[Ebb and Flow]

In the demo, Brian sings "Upper Country".  The addition of "agriculture" is a product of BWPS.  It sounds like he says "agriculture" in the demo though, doesn't it?

[Fun Is In]

It sure does sound like agriculture in the demo.
I need to listen to it again with new expectation.

"Upper country" is less mysterious to me than ag.
But what the heck about agriculture?

[Ebb and Flow]

Since "Great Shape" is placed next to Vegetables and the Elements section in BWPS, instead of being a section of H&V, "agriculture" is probably just an apt lyric replacement to tie it in.  You're right though, doesn't make too much sense lyrically.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

You're right though, doesn't make too much sense lyrically.

That's Van Dyke Parks for you.

[Daniel S.]

You're right though, doesn't make too much sense lyrically.

That's Van Dyke Parks for you.

Very unrelatable, not a lot of boy-girl attraction there, definitely not commercial. Van Dyke should have changed 'grits' to 'egg mcmuffin.' That's a breakfast modern teenagers can "get".

[Bicyclerider]

I had always heard "open country" instead of "upper country."  Agriculture is farmland, barnyards, fresh air, milking cows, healthy "country" living, so with those associations the line makes sense to me.

[Cam Mott]

Aren't grits really just a vehicle for butter, anyway?  I like them pretty plain, but most people seem to drown the hominy in gallons of butter.

Yes. Mmmmmmmmmmmm. Syrup and jelly are pretty good too.  Isn't hominy, which is ground into grits, corn treated with lye or something. Mmmmmmmmmm.

[Ebb and Flow]

I had always heard "open country" instead of "upper country."  Agriculture is farmland, barnyards, fresh air, milking cows, healthy "country" living, so with those associations the line makes sense to me.

That works too.  But it's definitely " ... Country".  If only he had recorded a lead vocal.   

[Old Rake]

The real question is: it wasn't much of a song in 1966 with just that ONE fragment -- I still wonder what would have gone into it to justify a place on that tracklist, no matter WHO wrote it out?

Barynard? "Eat a lot, sleep a lot?" God knows!

[Rerun]

Haven't you seen "My Cousin Vinny?"

[Roger Ryan]

I never thought the demo vocal was very clear on the last word/s, but when I heard the line on BWPS I knew it had to be "agriculture" originally as well. To my mind it's classic Parks wordplay: the culture is in great shape; the culture has to do with the land, fresh vegetables, etc.; the singer is part of the culture; therefore "I'm in the great shape of the agri-culture". No more mysterious than most of the lines in "Surf's Up".

By the way, I know someone pointed this out a while back (Jon?), but the final couplet in "Cabin Essence" is a fairly standard lyric with the second half of each line transposed to make it more trippy. As originally written, it was probably:

"Over and over, the thresher uncovers the cornfield.
Over and over, the crow cries and hovers the wheatfield."