"Surf's Up mmmmmmm board a tidal wave" query.

[OneEar/OneEye]

A bit of a side bar, but I just love that on the back cover of the Surfin' USA album it says "Surf's Up!"

[Chris Brown]

(the colonnaded ruins will fall)

That's "columnated" ruins...

Yeah, well the official lyrics to "Cabin Essence" are "Find a meadow filled with rain there...", but that's not the way the lyric is sung, is it? I completely agree that "columnated"* looks a lot cooler on the printed page (or the computer screen) than "colonnaded", but I'm convinced the latter is what Brian sings on BWPS...and I suspect Carl sang it this way on the '71 version as well.

Now don't get me started on "I'm in the great shape of the agri-culture"!

*I also understand that this is a real word with roughly the same meaning as "colonnaded".

Despite the conflicting evidence, I tend to believe the proper lyric is "columnated," for two reasons.  First, it's clearly what Brian sang on both '66 versions, both of which I give more credence to than the '71 version or the BWPS version (sung by a Brian who doesn't enunciate too well anymore).  Second, in the Beautiful Dreamer doc, Van Dyke clearly says "columnated" when talking about the song, and he's the guy who wrote the actual words.

[summerinparadise.flac]

Title wave? Actually that misspelling creates another meaning. Now the wave can be imagined as a wave of titles, the names of authority we once held dear washing ashore.

As for the 'mmmhhhhmmmm' part, the only thing I could imagine replacing it is a quick vocal round that echoes the phrase "surf's up". There's no way you could cram new lyrics in there and have it flow.

Surf's up, Mike Love is scared to surf, aboard a tidal wave

Wow. Just logged this. Hope you never wanted to meet the Boys.

[Peter Reum]

Regarding the discussion as to the word in Surfs Up before "ruins," I have a handwritten calligraphed set of the Surfs Up lyrics in Van Dyke`s own hand. The correct word is "columnated."

[Myk Luhv]

Regarding the discussion as to the word in Surfs Up before "ruins," I have a handwritten calligraphed set of the Surfs Up lyrics in Van Dyke`s own hand. The correct word is "columnated."

Replace every single thread (and each individual post) on this topic with this reply because it owns so much.

[Don_Zabu]

Regarding the discussion as to the word in Surfs Up before "ruins," I have a handwritten calligraphed set of the Surfs Up lyrics in Van Dyke`s own hand. The correct word is "columnated."

AWESOME! 

How fancy is his handwriting?

[Peter Reum]

It is a beautiful form of writing that is similar or identical to calligraphy. A second piece was auctioned in Germany for charity that was the other one he did.

[Chris Brown]

Thanks Peter, I'd say that puts the issue to bed once and for all.

As for the original topic, I used to wonder about this as well.  When I played this song for a songwriter friend of mine, he immediately said something to the effect of "he didn't know what to put there."  And if we were talking about a lesser lyricist, I might be inclined to agree, but if find it quite implausible that Van Dyke Parks, in 1966, wrote all of these amazing lyrics, yet couldn't find a few words for that particular section.  It just doesn't add up. 

My thought has always been that he wanted to give some separation to the words "surf's up" (it is the title, after all).  The "mmmmmmm" serves to allow the words "surf's up" to linger for another second, just to let them sink in.  Knowing what we know about Van Dyke, I have to believe that the phrasing there was an accident.

[Mikie]

I didn't know the word "columnated" in "Surf's Up" was ever in question. I've only heard (and seen) that word in the song for about the last 38 years.

[Jay]

I didn't know the word "columnated" in "Surf's Up" was ever in question. I've only heard (and seen) that word in the song for about the last 38 years.

Having listened to the 1971 recording far more times than any sane person would do, I have concluded that Carl is saying colonnated.

[Runaways]

i always thought columnated.  then again the 71 wasn't the first version i heard.

[pancakerecords]

I've listened repeatedly to Brian's version, the '71 version, the '71 version sans backing track, and that interview with Van Dyke parks outside of tower records where he's wearing a tank top and a straw hat - and I have never heard anything but "columnated".

I have also stood for hours on end in front of rather large amplifiers on full blast, so you can take the above with as many grains of salt as you see fit.

[sockittome]

The one that made me laugh above: "Tidal" and "title".  Don't know if that was intentional or a misspelling.  

Uh, that would be me!  Don't know what I was thinking, but when I saw it, I was too lazy to go back and edit it! 

[Roger Ryan]

I didn't know the word "columnated" in "Surf's Up" was ever in question. I've only heard (and seen) that word in the song for about the last 38 years.

That's what I used to think as well...until I read that "colonnaded" was the somewhat more grammatically-correct term for what Parks was getting at. Listening to the recordings again with headphones convinced me that "colonnaded" was, indeed, what was being sung on the '66 track by Brian, the '71 track by Carl and on BWPS. I just don't hear an "m" sound on any of these recordings (although I can almost make out an "m" sound the first time Brian sings the word during the '66 track; this is not the case with the second time he sings the word).

Now, having said that, I'm not disputing that Parks initially wrote the word as "columnated" and believes that to be the correct lyric (obviously it is printed as such in the lyric sheets for both the SURF'S UP album and BWPS). But is it possible that during vocal tryouts, someone mentioned that "colonnaded" was the more conventional term and Brian and/or Carl thought about it and responded with "hmm, well that is easier to sing..."? I know it sounds far-fetched, but that's what I'm hearing.