The Night Was So Young

"The Night Was So Young" was written by Brian Wilson and sung by his brother Carl. It was written about the band's former fanmail sorter, Debbie Keil, who would often visit Brian at his home and at his behest, much to his wife's chagrin.{{cite book|last=Gaines|first=Steven|author-link=Steven Gaines|title=Heroes and Villains: The True Story of The Beach Boys|url=https://archive.org/details/heroesvillainsth00gain|year=1986|publisher=Da Capo Press|location=New York|isbn=0306806479|url-access=registration|pages=249, 280}}{{cite book |last1=Leaf |first1=David |author1-link=David Leaf |title=God Only Knows: The Story of Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys and the California Myth |date=2022 |publisher=Omnibus Press |isbn=9781913172756 |edition=3rd}} Wilson would refer to her as a "golden-haired angel coming in at night".

The lyrics discuss the singer's romantic fixation on a woman who "has to hide" and "won't even try" to steer their relationship where he desires. The narrator expresses befuddlement with their dynamic ("is somebody going to tell me why she has to lie"), and, at the end, implores her to "let me come over to you".{{cite book |last1=Hopkins |first1=Adrian |title=The Little Black Songbook: The Beach Boys |date=2012 |publisher=Wise Publications |isbn=9780857129543 |pages=191–192}}

Biographers Andrew Doe and John Tobler refer to it as a "yearning ballad" that "documents one of Brian's more tangled relationships of the late Seventies."{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/brianwilsonbeach0000doea/ | isbn=9781844494262 | title=Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys: The Complete Guide to Their Music | year=2004 | last1=Doe | first1=Andrew | last2=Tobler | first2=John |authorlink2= John Tobler|url-access=registration|page=96| publisher=Omnibus }} Jon Stebbins describes the song as "a direct descendent of Pet Sounds in both sound and attitude",{{cite book|last=Stebbins|first=Jon|author-link=Jon Stebbins|title=Dennis Wilson: The Real Beach Boy|url=https://archive.org/details/denniswilsonreal0000steb/|year=2000|publisher=ECW Press|isbn=978-1-55022-404-7|url-access=registration|page=155}} while Peter Ames Carlin says that the lyrical content revels in "traditional shades of self-pity, jealousy, and loneliness".{{cite book|first=Peter Ames|last=Carlin|author-link=Peter Ames Carlin|title=Catch a Wave: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson|url=https://archive.org/details/catchwaverisefal0000carl/|year=2006|publisher=Rodale|isbn=978-1-59486-320-2|url-access=registration}}

Rob Hughes of Uncut rated "The Night Was So Young" among Wilson's finest songs.{{cite magazine|last=Hughes|first=Rob|title=Brian Wilson – Album By Album|url=https://www.uncut.co.uk/features/brian-wilson-album-by-album-28238/|magazine=Uncut|date=November 22, 2012}} Musician Dennis Diken, writing in the album's 2000 reissue liner notes, called it perhaps his favorite song on Love You, as well as the album's "most fully realized" track in terms of instrumental arrangement.{{cite AV media notes |title=15 Big Ones/Love You|others=The Beach Boys |year=2000 |first=Dennis |last=Diken |author-link1= Dennis Diken |last2=Buck |first2=Peter |author-link2=Peter Buck |page=2 |type=booklet |url=http://www.albumlinernotes.com/15_Big_Ones_Love_You.html|publisher=Capitol Records |location=California}} In his review of the album, Pitchfork contributor D. Erik Kempke highlighted the track for its "beautiful harmonies", adding that the song "sounds like it could have been a Pet Sounds outtake, were it not for the bleating synths."{{cite web|last=Kempke|first=D. Erik |url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/11669-15-big-oneslove-you/|title=The Beach Boys: 15 Big Ones/Love You : Album Reviews|website=Pitchfork Media|date=August 15, 2000 |access-date=October 27, 2012}}

Asked for his favorite songs he ever wrote, as well as the songs he felt were most underrated, Wilson included "The Night Was So Young" in both answers.{{cite web |last1=Sharp |first1=Ken |title=Brian Wilson: God's Messenger |url=https://americansongwriter.com/brian-wilson-gods-messenger/4/ |website=American Songwriter |date=January 2, 2009}} In the 2016 memoir I Am Brian Wilson, the song is praised as "a beautiful ballad [...] with great harmonies".{{cite book|last1=Wilson|first1=Brian|author-link1=Brian Wilson|last2=Greenman|first2=Ben|author-link2=Ben Greenman|title=I Am Brian Wilson: A Memoir|url=https://archive.org/details/iambrianwilsonme0000wils/|year=2016|publisher=Da Capo Press|isbn=978-0-306-82307-7|url-access=registration}} He rerecorded the song for the soundtrack to the 2021 documentary Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road.{{cite web |last1=Marchese |first1=Joe |title=Right Where He Belongs: Brian Wilson's "Long Promised Road" Soundtrack Comes to CD in June |url=https://theseconddisc.com/2022/04/26/right-where-he-belongs-brian-wilsons-long-promised-road-soundtrack-comes-to-cd-in-june/ |website=Second Disc |access-date=June 19, 2023 |date=April 26, 2022}}

Al Jardine called it one of his favorite songs, commenting, "Oh God, isn't that a remarkable bridge? With that little tempo change, it's beautiful. It is Brian and Carl at their best."{{cite magazine |last1=Sharp |first1=Ken |date=July 28, 2000 |title=Alan Jardine: A Beach Boy still riding the waves |url=http://www.brianwilsonfans.com/page11.php |url-status=dead |magazine=Goldmine |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130109022135/http://brianwilsonfans.com/page11.php |archive-date=January 9, 2013}}

{{reflist}}

• {{YouTube|id=Rlb3bbnXTR8|The Night Was So Young (Long Promised Road version)}}
• {{YouTube|id=7KCGVinbXuY|Brian Wilson plays "The Night Was So Young"}}

{{The Beach Boys Love You}}

Category:The Beach Boys songs

Category:1977 songs

Category:Songs written by Brian Wilson

Category:Song recordings produced by Brian Wilson

Category:Songs about infidelity

Category:Songs about nights

Category:Songs based on actual events

{{DEFAULTSORT:Night Was So Young}}