Caroline No

[flgal88]

Brian pours his heart and soul into this song....he is a rock and roll Beethoven

[GuineaPigs4me]

Brian was a genius, no doubt. This song, Caroline, No is hauntingly beautiful. Only Brian could have sung it with such passion.

[mistressofaminer]

This beautiful melancholy piece reflects the brooding gemini genius within Brian Wilson. By the age of 24 he withdrew from performing live and confined himself to being housebound.This was not a total breakdown but the definition of the personality trait withthe need to isolate himself from the public."In My Room" is another defining song.

[pickenspolitics]

Wilson's best music in the 64-66 era is so rich. This is one example. Great vocals and musical arrangement. He was light years ahead. Pet Sounds didn't sell great #10. It was like a fine wine. Today I think most recognize it for the production paramount it reached. Wouldn't It Be Nice is my favorite of all songs, all bands.

[DLuxPNW]

Best Album EVER!!!

[Larrymh07]

Such a beautiful yet sad song! What a great song. It's 45 years old but I'm just hearing it today.

[flowerchildcaroline]

alright, my name's Caroline and i've been living with Sweet Caroline being my "name song"...I think I've found a replacement

[jmua04]

Brian, ALONE did what it took 4 Beatles and George Martin to do.

[drjones087]

@jmua04

You realize brian worked lyricists right?

[demomoke]

Three people must have no soul.

[seaney53]

remember wilsons wife Caoline talking about this song in a documentary,and saying she felt so sad when first hearing it,knowing their relationship was coming to an end.

[Okiemom50]

@seaney53

His wife's name was Marilyn.

[Eeohippus]

@seaney53 Sorry doll, his wife at the time was Marilyn. Carol was a girl he liked in high school that never really liked him back...

[skypilot722]

Dorothy, it's been decades but that hasn't erased that special night we shared after our class at Mayfair. Caroline No has always been special to me since then, and it always will. You and I just "clicked" instantly. I have never forgotten you and I will always remember one of the sweetest nights of my life. Thank you for that. We met once more much later, by chance, at the zoo. Remember? I do. Joe

[hooptyhee1]

A brilliant, haunting song. My first wife was a Caroline and after she left me, I must have played this cut a hundred times, crying the whole time. Brian said it all.

[11xzxzxz]

And jesus was purported to say it and I read it in 3 places.. how about you? I'll take my chances with Charles Manson cause it's a quicker death. You know nothing about me but you judge me. I have a happy glow, oh carol yes; I do volunteer work, I help not scare people. I only was in one fight in my life and no it was not with god. But it matters not what I do .. if you can't read the bible with skepticism you are lost and god if he exists will reward the intelligent skeptical people..

[11xzxzxz]

The first pic is so warm & contemplative but the next does look too melancholic. Not kidding, this was once called the Devil's music: The old and New Testaments are full of bad dogma and horrors, you got that right .. if Jesus really said in 3 places that those who don't believe in the Son will have an eternity in hell then he surely is a cruel person, the worst ever....

[11xzxzxz]

Great song. Neil Young mentions this is one of his not-too-great melodies: long may you run. """Maybe the Beach Boys have got you now / with those waves singing Caroline, oh Caroline, no"""" is the best line in the song ..

[ldonhawk]

A friend of mine dispelled my erroneous misconceptions about The Beach Boys music. I used to think they were just a surf band. Not true. Thanks Eric -- for showing me the light.

[smitheree]

The cover art is a painting based on the sculpture End of The Trail by James Earle Fraser (1876 1953).

It is a depressing cover and a depressing but haunting song (brian had just broken up with his first wife) - the song was originally on Pet Sounds of course.

[Viznel137]

This song is such a classic example of Brian's inner genius!!Plus,you get a haunting Train sound effect at the end! just Dig it!

[usagisama100]

無頼庵先生、才能発揮！

歴史的、曲。

人工衛星埋蔵也。

[jimmywjr]

Actually the name of this song was, "Carol I Know", but was misunderstood during the recording and they stuck with "Caoline No".

[jammmon]

@jimmywjr

really?

[pmchugh0317]

Could not help but think about all the good times in the 60's. Married my first true love and lost her in the 80's.

[MrOLDBIKER]

So Beautiful!

[MrOLDBIKER]

Oh Caroline !

[ivycompton]

"Oh Caroline you break my heart, I want to go and cry. It's so sad to watch a sweet thing die. Oh Caroline no...." This one breaks my heart, too.

[fantacist]

wow, that picture is really depressing and sad. is that a beach boys album cover?

[suparni]

That picture is the cover for  SURFS UP.

[BigBishop1]

l.s.d. is a hell of a drug

[jba2323]

great song thanks brian

[Joaopandao]

what a Nature s gift to us, Brian is.

I love so much his songs...

wordless...

[Birdland61]

Quand le talent percute l'inspiration .....reste une mélodie divinement mélancolique , non ?

[destituteillusion]

Great song. It'll upset the purists, but there's a really notable cover on the album 'Living With..' by Owusu & Hannibal, a talented duo out of Denmark.

[stubdteauzgautugaux]

@destituteillusion

I own that album. You should give it a listen and buy it

[destituteillusion]

@stubdteauzgautugaux yeah, I have it. one of my top 10 albums of all time. amazing production and vocal work.

[runeguldberg]

Mike Love tried to stop Brian when he made this music. Reason was it could interfer on their Beach Boys image.

Think if Brian could have a person like John Lennon to sparr with.

[suparni]

TOTALLY~

[jimpayne]

or paul mccartney...i think brian and paul are more similar in songwriting styles

[boxfett]

I know your pain.

[NotSoDumbAngel]

beautiful song...but i prefer the original speed version.  Murray's idea to speed it up.

[jaokguy]

this is the sped up version i think ....

[OccupyingSpirit]

the story i heard about this song, which is so beautiful, is Brian saw an ex-girlfirend in the street, went home and wrote Caroline No in about 10 minutes, and then went round and played it to her in her kitchen, i sort of hope that's true. you can imagine the impact on the girl... and typical of Brian that he would do that.

[JohnyJoe]

Apparently her husband threatened him with a gun for it.

[liamako]

what a story, what a genius

[hayes1953]

This song has meaning for anyone who had a girlfriend along time ago. I have read previous comments and I do not know why people try to find a relationship between the writer and someone they knew. Sometimes they just are able to put the words to every day life. I envy their talent.

[ckuhn555]

The haunting background sound

The high vocals, the beauty of the Beach boys. ONE song I could never tire of. It was at a time when I was going to Vietnam. Left my love behind at 21, never saw here again. I found her at 55, in Redding Ca. Her husband was sick. We only talked on email. She loved me, but couldn't wait for me. Took me years to trust a woman..mental thing. Love Life and Peace

[boxfett]

I know your pain.

[BigBishop1]

trust nobody

[SeafarFlats]

heavy

[mattjackleroy]

Tony Asher.... did a fantastic jobs with the lyrics. I sat in back of Van Dyke Parks at Brian's Carnegie Hall concert debuting SMILE...and yet somehow felt that Asher was the best lyricist Brian ever worked with..aside from Mike Love

[MyHTSignIn]

Beautiful, beautiful song. Very haunting! A great memory from that era. Love lost, can't be regained, it's gone forever--Brian Wilson got right to the heart of that sad feeling w/ this song! Wise!

[Joeysmits1981]

i am caroline

[zalman595]

i'm fifty-five and grew up with this music. but i was a poor kid and never had albums. i had always thought i had heard pet sounds when i was a kid. then about ten years ago i bought the c.d. and realized that except for the hits i hadn't ever heard the album! i could not stop listening for days. so when someone tells me it's just nostalgia that makes me love brians music: how can you be nostalgic about music you never heard?? rock's greatest genius. long live brian.

[rocknrollags]

whatever it is about, I guess lyrics are not made for understanding what the songwritter feels, but what we feel, maybe it's about Carol Asher, maybe about the girl Wilson talks about on the pet sounds 40th anniversary dvd, or maybe about all those girls we fall in love with and suddenly change, leaving us behind, ...its our choice.

[DeeEagles17]

wow.. well said.

[garywc1949]

one of the most beautiful of their songs.  I was such a fan of Brian's music--still am.

[whirlawaysteven]

..oh yeah, mike love is a douche bag..

[whirlawaysteven]

this should have been the start of his solo career.. i like '04 SMILE but i would have loved to of heard SMiLE from '67 completed with those musicians, those techniques and that state of mind BW.. "god only know's" is my fav from this record..

[hetjaar]

the beatles Sargent Peppers ripped off the beach boys pet sounds. evident in the last 20 seconds of this brillant piece.

[lcozzarelli]

Perhaps.  But if it weren't for Rubber Soul, Brian Wilson would have never been inspired to create such a masterpiece. Their "rivalry" benefitted us all :)

[ALK95]

How can people do this type of music? How could Brian Wilson be THAT much of a genius? Its absolutley perfect! I love the Beach Boys, but this song and Pet Sounds is general is TOO good. If not the best, one of the best albums of all time. As for the song, well, its heavenly. Listening to this makes me feel smart, and thats a great feeling. One of my favorite Beach Boy songs. Genius!

[IainB1511]

Song title was supposed to be "the Carol I knew" however Tony Asher misheard Brian and wrote it as Caroline No.. Brians first wife always thought it was about her as she had just gotten her hair cut before Brian wrote it, however it was about a highschool sweetheart not Marilyn. Interestingly while Brian has written songs about other loves he has never written or at least admitted to writing a song about Marilyn.

[Rhubarb156]

Brian actually misheard Tony Asher - the lyrics are written about Carol Asher. But yeah it was originally meant to be Oh Carol I Know, instead of Oh Caroline No.

[embran]

anyway for me that lyrics are just metaphoric - Caroline is a childhood/young innocence time, and now it's gone and you have to face the adult life. That's why it's ending that album - it's a whole concept, from silly wouldn't it be nice to sad goodbye but still with hope.

[sleepypie]

The music of Heaven, written by the hand of God.

[suparni]

AMEN.

[xSpectatoronex]

Amen

[iliveformusic67]

My favorite song on Pet Sounds. You can feel the sadness in Brian's voice. What an incredible songwriter and vocalist.

[janimarieb]

thanks SIGNALSTAT it is a pretty tune. thanks for sharing it with me.:)

[SherryAnn68]

Fabulous song by the Beach Boys...namely, Brian Wilson. It was not a popular song and when I heard it on their album, I was knocked out by this song. It has such a sweet innocence about it. I heard his ex-wife say she thinks he wrote the song about her after they had broken up.

[lizardman129]

this song was wrote in 10 minutes

[mozmeister15]

great tune

[fromthesidelines]

Before this was released on the album, Murray Wilson insisted that Capitol release this as a single under Brian's name (without the sound effects at the end)- it made the Top 40 in March of '66, but it was never a "hit" on its own.

[SIGNALSTAT]

COOL SONG.

[drut1]

Probably the best tune on this fantastic album...Everyone should listen to this album at least once in their lives...EVERYONE!!

[angeloamericano]

This is a masterpiece by Brian. He sung so well!

[LennonLoves69]

haha my name is Caroline. love the beach boys. great song... now one of my favourites. thanks Rahul!

[BobcatDave692005]

It is my understanding that the Beatles (John and Paul)were very amazed at Brian's writing talents and that it became kind of three-way dual to out do one another. To bad for all the drugs and mental issues for Brian. He was and still is a brilliant mind.

[suparni]

brilliant being - not just mind I would say... at least in my view.

[JimHewittWhite]

Indeed. He has a pure soul.

[crocetti1984]

OMG I love this song!!!!!

[txlinda129]

Brian wrote this song about his first wife. It still brings tears to my eyes.

[Alpesinger]

it's actually about a girl he liked in school, & he seen her years later & she changed.

[Sindrusen]

This got me tears in the morning;)

[shlavaman]

carol I know

sneaky eh?

[dvs1572]

ahh, a new twist to ponder

[Alpesinger]

i think this is the best song of all time!!

[dvs1572]

oh caroline know/no

[trentacid008]

cool.

thanks dude.