Cool, Cool Water
Encyclopedia
"Cool, Cool Water" is a song written through several incarnations by Brian Wilson
, Van Dyke Parks
, and Mike Love
for the American
rock
band
The Beach Boys
.
sessions, and was, for the most part, the last song recorded for the ill-fated album. The nearly complete version, which at that point in time was minus its main lyrics but was called I Love To Say Da-Da, was later released on the SMiLE portion of Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of The Beach Boys
, a boxed set which included much of the unreleased Smile material. Some of the song's sessions would also appear on SMiLE bootlegs.
When the SMiLE project collapsed, the Beach Boys continued working on it up until mid-1967 during the Wild Honey
sessions with the track renamed as "Cool, Cool Water". The 1967 recording did not make it to the final track listing and was shelved. Three years later, the group released a modified version of "Cool, Cool Water" on their 1970 album Sunflower
, featuring new lyrics by Mike Love
and a much different arrangement. This is the most familiar version of the song released by the Beach Boys. It was also released as an edited single, with the B-side of the single being "Forever
". The single never charted in the U.S.
or in the U.K.
The single edit was released in 2007, on the group's The Warmth of the Sun
compilation.
By the time Brian Wilson returned to the SMiLE project for his 2004 completed version of the album
, he enlisted lyricist Parks to complete the song he would now call In Blue Hawaii, bringing it back to its original arrangement but incorporating into the song the "Water Chant" (which itself may or may not have been the part of the "Elements" suite representing water), and performed it as part of the entire album in concert and on his eventual solo release.
Brian Wilson
Brian Douglas Wilson is an American musician, best known as the leader and chief songwriter of the group The Beach Boys. Within the band, Wilson played bass and keyboards, also providing part-time lead vocals and, more often, backing vocals, harmonizing in falsetto with the group...
, Van Dyke Parks
Van Dyke Parks
Van Dyke Parks is an American composer, arranger, producer, musician, singer, author and actor. Parks is perhaps best known for his contributions as a lyricist on the Beach Boys album Smile....
, and Mike Love
Mike Love
Michael Edward "Mike" Love is an American singer/songwriter and musician with The Beach Boys. He was a founding member of the band along with his cousins Brian, Carl, and Dennis Wilson, and their friend Al Jardine, and continues to perform with the band to the present day...
for the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band
Band (music)
In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American rock band, formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California. The group was initially composed of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Managed by the Wilsons' father Murry, The Beach Boys signed to Capitol Records in 1962...
.
Premise
The song originated from the 1966/67 SMiLESmile (The Beach Boys album)
Smile is a previously unreleased album by The Beach Boys recorded throughout 1966 and 1967. The project was intended by its creator Brian Wilson as the follow-up to Pet Sounds, but was never completed in its original form...
sessions, and was, for the most part, the last song recorded for the ill-fated album. The nearly complete version, which at that point in time was minus its main lyrics but was called I Love To Say Da-Da, was later released on the SMiLE portion of Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of The Beach Boys
Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of The Beach Boys
Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of The Beach Boys is a 1993 boxed set released by Capitol Records which collects tracks spanning The Beach Boys' entire career to that point on four CDs. A fifth disc contains mostly studio session tracks, complete vocal and instrumental tracks, and rare live...
, a boxed set which included much of the unreleased Smile material. Some of the song's sessions would also appear on SMiLE bootlegs.
When the SMiLE project collapsed, the Beach Boys continued working on it up until mid-1967 during the Wild Honey
Wild Honey (album)
-Singles:* "Wild Honey" b/w "Wind Chimes" , 23 October 1967 US #31; UK #29* "Darlin'" b/w "Here Today" , 18 December 1967 US #19; UK #11....
sessions with the track renamed as "Cool, Cool Water". The 1967 recording did not make it to the final track listing and was shelved. Three years later, the group released a modified version of "Cool, Cool Water" on their 1970 album Sunflower
Sunflower (album)
Sunflower is the sixteenth studio album by American rock group The Beach Boys, their first on Reprise Records. The album achieved number 151 on the US albums chart during a four week stay, becoming the lowest charting Beach Boys album until 1978's M.I.U. Album equalled it. It reached #29 in the...
, featuring new lyrics by Mike Love
Mike Love
Michael Edward "Mike" Love is an American singer/songwriter and musician with The Beach Boys. He was a founding member of the band along with his cousins Brian, Carl, and Dennis Wilson, and their friend Al Jardine, and continues to perform with the band to the present day...
and a much different arrangement. This is the most familiar version of the song released by the Beach Boys. It was also released as an edited single, with the B-side of the single being "Forever
Forever (Beach Boys song)
"Forever" is a song written by Dennis Wilson and his close friend Gregg Jakobson. It was released in 1970 as the ninth track on The Beach Boys' Sunflower album and features Dennis on lead vocals. The song, along with the rest of the album was produced by The Beach Boys. Brian Wilson declared,...
". The single never charted in the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
or in the U.K.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
The single edit was released in 2007, on the group's The Warmth of the Sun
The Warmth of the Sun (album)
The Warmth of the Sun is a 2007 compilation of music by The Beach Boys released through Capitol Records. A successor to 2003's Sounds of Summer: The Very Best of The Beach Boys, The Warmth of the Sun is composed of fan favorites and hits that were left off its predecessor. Several songs were...
compilation.
By the time Brian Wilson returned to the SMiLE project for his 2004 completed version of the album
Smile (Brian Wilson album)
Smile, sometimes typeset with the idiosyncratic partial capitalization SMiLE, or referred to as Brian Wilson Presents Smile is a solo album by Brian Wilson, with lyrics by Van Dyke Parks released on September 28, 2004 on CD and two-disc vinyl LP...
, he enlisted lyricist Parks to complete the song he would now call In Blue Hawaii, bringing it back to its original arrangement but incorporating into the song the "Water Chant" (which itself may or may not have been the part of the "Elements" suite representing water), and performed it as part of the entire album in concert and on his eventual solo release.