You Still Believe in Me

"You Still Believe in Me" is a song written by Brian Wilson and Tony Asher for American rock band the Beach Boys, released as the second track on their 1966 album Pet Sounds. The recording was produced by Wilson, who also sings lead vocal, with instrumentation that includes harpsichord, clarinet, timpani, and bicycle horn. Wilson and Asher created the song's ethereal intro by plucking a piano's strings with a bobby pin.

"You Still Believe in Me"
Song by The Beach Boys
from the album Pet Sounds
ReleasedMay 16, 1966
RecordedNovember 1, 1965 / January – February 1966
StudioUnited Western Recorders, Hollywood
Genre
Length2:36
LabelCapitol
Songwriter(s)Brian Wilson, Tony Asher
Producer(s)Brian Wilson
Audio sample
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Composition

The song is in the key of B major, and features frequent use of the ii-V-I turnaround (six uninterrupted repeats of B-C♯m-F♯7). The chorus is composed of slash chords, such as G♯m/C♯, C♯m/B, and G♯m/F♯, resolving unusually to the vi, G major, before beginning again on B.[2]

Brian in 1996 explained that this song is "A little 'Boys Choir'-type song with me doing the soprano. Very, very spiritual." This was the first song on Pet Sounds to which Asher wrote lyrics. It was originally titled "In My Childhood".[3] A bicycle horn and bell acting as a remnant from the song's original childhood theme can be heard at the end of the song because they could not be edited out of the final track.[3] Wilson has said of the song,

"You Still Believe In Me" was more of what I would call a man who would not be afraid to take all of his clothes off and sing like a girl because he had feelings for people from that perspective. I was able to close my eyes and go into a world and sing a little more effeminately and more sweet—which allows a lot more love to come down through me, you know what I mean?... It's like Kenny Rogers. There's an example of a guy who has a fairly masculine sounding voice. "You Still Believe In Me" was quite the opposite.[4]

Jim Esch of AllMusic said the song had a "classical sensibility", elaborating of its lyrics: "[they develop] a theme inaugurated and suggested by 'Wouldn't It Be Nice': fragile lovers buckling under the pressure of external forces they can't control, self-imposed romantic expectations and personal limitations, while simultaneously trying to maintain faith in one other. It is a theme that keeps reverberating sweetly, and hauntingly, throughout Pet Sounds."[5]

Recording

To achieve the unique sound in the introduction, Tony Asher explains: "We were trying to do something that would sound sort of, I guess, like a harpsichord but a little more ethereal than that. I am plucking the strings by leaning inside the piano and Brian is holding down the notes on the keyboard so they will ring when I pluck them. I plucked the strings with paper clips, hairpins, bobby pins and several other things until Brian got the sound he wanted."[3]

Using United Western Recorders, the instrumental track was recorded on November 1, 1965 and January 24, 1966. Vocal overdub sessions ran between January and February 1966.[3]

Personnel

Per Alan Boyd and Craig Slowinski,[6][7]except where noted.

The Beach Boys
Additional musicians and production staff

Legacy and reception

In a David Leaf interview intended for the liner notes that would accompany Pet Sounds' first CD release in 1990, Paul McCartney discussed the impact the album had on him both personally and artistically. Of "You Still Believe in Me", McCartney stated:

""I love that melody. That kills me, that melody. [ hums the first verse, bursts into song at 'I wanna cry.' ] That's my favorite, I think. The way that's arranged, where it goes away very quietly. I was in the car the other night, and I was telling the kids, saying, 'wait, wait, here it comes.' And then it comes back, and it's so beautiful right at the end, comes surging back in these multi-colored harmonies. Sends shivers up my spine. That's one of my favorite tracks."[8]

Due to production issues, the McCartney interview was not included in the liner notes of Pet Sounds' 1990 CD release and did not see official publication until 1997's The Pet Sounds Sessions box set.[9]

Live performances

It appears on the Beach Boys' In Concert (1972). As a solo artist, Brian recorded this song for his 2002 live album Pet Sounds Live.

Covers
See also: List of cover versions of Beach Boys songs

References
  1. Miers, Jeff (September 29, 2016). "Sound plan". The Buffalo News.
  2. The Beach Boys, Pet Sounds, Warner Bros. Publications, 15800 N.W. 48th Ave. Miami, Florida 33014, ISBN 978-0-7692-6449-3
  3. Elliott, Brad (August 31, 1999). "Pet Sounds Track Notes". beachboysfanclub.com. Retrieved March 3, 2009.
  4. The Pet Sounds Sessions: "The Making Of Pet Sounds" booklet (1996)
  5. Esch, Jim. "You Still Believe in Me". AllMusic. Archived from the original on May 9, 2012.
  6. Boyd, Alan; Slowinski, Craig (2016). "Pet Sounds Sessionography". Pet Sounds (CD Liner). The Beach Boys. Capitol Records.
  7. "beachboysarchives.com". www.beachboysarchives.com. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
  8. "Paul McCartney Comments". albumlinernotes. Retrieved 2018-05-04.
  9. "David Leaf's PS Intro". albumlinernotes. Retrieved 2018-05-04.
  10. "For the Stars review". Allmusic. Retrieved 2011-06-09.
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