When I Grow Up To Be A Man - a bad word

[mikeyj]

Today (or tonight in Australia) I decided to put the bonus tracks (the vocal ones) from the GV Box Set on my computer as well as the Surfer Girl binaural mix from EH Soundtrack. Both backing tracks and particularly vocals are all stunning. However, I have something else to discuss, and it has probably already been discussed before (though not since Ive been a fan). In the When I Grow Up To Be A Man track when you isolate the vocals (although even on the actual song) you can hear someone swearing in the background. Listen to the line "Will I joke around and still dig those sounds" and just as the boys repeat "still dig those sounds" listen to somebody saying something (at about 0:36). When I heard it in the actual track I thought it was Dennis and I wasnt sure what he was saying but after isolating the vocals from the GV Box Set binaural mix it to my ears sounds like Mike. Anyway, just in case your wondering he says "F**ing themselves" or something in that manner. Don't believe me go and listen for yourself (particularly on the GV binaural mix). Somebody asked me once "Do The Beach Boys ever swear in their songs" and my reply was "of course not" but now I have to change that thinking. Does anyone else agree that Mike is swearing and that it IS Mike?

[shelter]

Somebody asked me once "Do The Beach Boys ever swear in their songs" and my reply was "of course not"

Maybe not, but I'm not sure if the PMRC would be too happy with the 'guest vocals' on the outro of "All I Want To Do"... 

[mikeyj]

Somebody asked me once "Do The Beach Boys ever swear in their songs" and my reply was "of course not"

Maybe not, but I'm not sure if the PMRC would be too happy with the 'guest vocals' on the outro of "All I Want To Do"... 

Yes very strange. That aswell as the screaming at the end of Be With Me really freak me out. I still am really sure that Mike swears in the song. Please can someone else check this as I want to see if anyone agrees.

[Roger Ryan]

There's a few instances of profanity slipping through on recordings (as opposed to being part of the actual lyric) from various artists. On The Kingsmen's classic version of "Louie, Louie" you can hear the drummer yell out "F**k" as he misses a snare hit. Ironically, the FBI spent a considerable amount of time and money trying to determine if the recording's lyrics were obscene, but evidently never heard the expletive between verses! There is a similar outburst in the Beatles' "Hey Jude" during the transition into the coda when Paul feels that he screwed up on the basic track. Apparently it was decided that it wasn't that big of a deal and Paul masked it somewhat with one of his hair-raising yells. I think Dave Davies can be heard uttering "Sh*t" as well on the Kinks' "You Really Got Me" or "All Day & All Of The Night" when he comes in late for the guitar solo.

Now in The Beach Boys case, it sounds like Mike or Dennis were having a bit of fun layering in the profanity deliberately in "When I Grow Up". This reminds me of Dennis improvising the line "she's giving me a big erection" on the unreleased "Wild Situation" or his great double entendre lyric from "All I Want To Do": "...but there's one thing I want you to hold"! Or even the Beatles singing "tit-tit-tit-tit" all too knowingly during the bridge of "Girl"!

[Funky_Pretty]

During the Surfer Girl rehearsals in Hawaii 1967, you can hear Bruce say, when he hits a wrong key on the organ: "Oh f*ck, son of a b*tch!"

It always makes me laugh.

[shelter]

Didn't Mike Love donate a few thousand dollars to the PMRC (the people behind those 'parental advisory: explicit lyrics' stickers and stuff like that) a few years ago?

[Mahalo]

you mean ALgores wife, Tipper.......

[shelter]

Yeah, the PMRC is her thing.

[Big Bri]

As an aside here:
  Hasn't anyone found it amazing that "Pigs(Three Different Ones)" by Pink Floyd off of the "Animals" LP still escapes the Censors and FCC when it comes to the radio.
  I mean "You F**ked up old hag,Ha Ha charade you are." STILL makes it on to the radio everytime......amazing.

Big Bri

[Mahalo]

Ain't no radio stations round me cool enough to play that tune...what kills me is the smut played on the teeny-bopper stations that is passed of as music.....makes me long for days before my time when girls and guys actually danced and the music had some swing and a backbeat.....I can go on and on. I started already on the I'm no music snob thread.

"I need to dance right on the spot, the beats really hot..." IJWMFTT

[tpesky]

Long Beach 1981- Sounds like Al (and maybe Dennis) singing Come on pretty baby and f*ck with me

[Ebb and Flow]

This isn't an official mix by any stretch of the imagination, but here's a vocal only version of the song in stereo.

http://download.yousendit.com/C29C62894107C3E6

You can clearly hear that Mike is saying "Rocking those sounds".  They do say "69" after the fadeout though.   

[the captain]

Sometimes it is funny to hear what "bad" words make it through onto radio, and what ones don't. The first thing I think of is Lou Reed's "Walk on the Wild Side," with the now-famous "even when she was giving head," line.

[Eric Aniversario]

This may be a borderline-swear word for some people, but in the unreleased "Life Is For The Living", Brian sings something to the effect of, "Don't sit around on your a## smoking grass; that stuff went out a long time ago."

[the captain]

This may be a borderline-swear word for some people, but in the unreleased "Life Is For The Living", Brian sings something to the effect of, "Don't sit around on your a## smoking grass; that stuff went out a long time ago."

That is actually Carl singing that part. Brian comes in to sing the "Sit-ups and push-ups do take energy" part.

[Eric Aniversario]

This may be a borderline-swear word for some people, but in the unreleased "Life Is For The Living", Brian sings something to the effect of, "Don't sit around on your a## smoking grass; that stuff went out a long time ago."

That is actually Carl singing that part. Brian comes in to sing the "Sit-ups and push-ups do take energy" part.

You're absolutely right...for whatever reason, when I first heard it over a decade ago, I thought it was Brian, and even when I found out different soon afterward, I kept reverting to assuming that it was Brian...

[MBE]

I think Who Are You has the most played F word in radio history.

[Rocker]

On "Honkin' down the highway" (studio version), you can hear Al say "sh*t" when he messes up a part in the outro

[harveyw]

He sings "rock & roll sounds." No profanities whatsoever.

[mikeyj]

He sings "rock & roll sounds." No profanities whatsoever.

After turning up the volume and giving it a few good listens that is what it says. On my dodgy computer speakers and late at night (i had to play it reasonably low) it did sound A LOT like what I said, but yeh it does say what you said (or something close to that anyway)

[Roger Ryan]

He sings "rock & roll sounds." No profanities whatsoever.

After turning up the volume and giving it a few good listens that is what it says. On my dodgy computer speakers and late at night (i had to play it reasonably low) it did sound A LOT like what I said, but yeh it does say what you said (or something close to that anyway)

Oh well - it made for a fun thread anyway!

[SloopJohnB]

This reminds me of the sessions for the Today! album, in which you can hear Brian (and I think Al and Mike) singing a parody of "Dance Dance Dance"... With "revised" lyrics. It only lasts for about 5 seconds and the thing goes like "I gotta f*ck, right on the spot, my c*ck's really hot" or something. And Ebb And Flow already mentioned the "69" at the end of When I Grow Up.

Undoubtedly locker room humor, but it's fun to listen to!