"Child Is Father of the Man" is a song by American rock band
the Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by the ...
that was written by
Brian Wilson and
Van Dyke Parks
Van Dyke Parks (born January 3, 1943) is an American musician, songwriter, arranger, and record producer who has composed various film and television soundtracks. He is best known for his 1967 album ''Song Cycle'' and for his collaborations with ...
. It was originally recorded for the band's never-finished album ''
Smile
A smile is a facial expression formed primarily by flexing the muscles at the sides of the mouth. Some smiles include a contraction of the muscles at the corner of the eyes, an action known as a Duchenne smile.
Among humans, a smile expresses ...
''. In 2004, Wilson rerecorded the song for ''
Brian Wilson Presents Smile
''Brian Wilson Presents Smile'' (also referred to as ''Smile'' or the abbreviation ''BWPS'') is the fifth studio album by American musician Brian Wilson, released on September 28, 2004 on Nonesuch. It features all-new recordings of music that ...
''. In 2011, the Beach Boys' original recording was released on ''
The Smile Sessions
''The Smile Sessions'' is a compilation album and box set recorded by American rock band the Beach Boys, released on October 31, 2011 by Capitol Records. The set is the follow-up to '' The Pet Sounds Sessions'' (1997), this time focusing on the ...
''.
The title derives from an
idiom meaning that man is the product of habits and behavior developed in youth. Surviving tapes of the original recordings do not show any lyrics other than "child is father of the man". Parks penned new words for the 2004 version. The instrumentation includes keyboard, trumpet, vocal
rounds, and a droning guitar saturated with reverb.
Elements of the song were later reworked for the band's "
Little Bird" and "
Surf's Up".
Background
"Child is father of the man" is an idiom originating from the poem "
My Heart Leaps Up
"My Heart Leaps Up", also known as "The Rainbow", is a poem by the British Romantic poet William Wordsworth. Noted for its simple structure and language, it describes joy felt at viewing a rainbow.
Writing the poem
Wordsworth wrote "My Heart Le ...
" by
William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth (7 April 177023 April 1850) was an English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication '' Lyrical Ballads'' (1798).
Wordsworth's ' ...
. There are many different interpretations of the phrase, the most popular of which is that man is the product of habits and behavior developed in youth.
In a late 1966 interview,
Brian Wilson remarked, "And another thing that interests me ... who was it,
Karl Menninger , who said, 'The child is father of the man'? That fascinates me!"
According to historian Keith Badman,
Van Dyke Parks
Van Dyke Parks (born January 3, 1943) is an American musician, songwriter, arranger, and record producer who has composed various film and television soundtracks. He is best known for his 1967 album ''Song Cycle'' and for his collaborations with ...
stated that there were lyrics for the song that were never originally recorded.
In 2004, Parks told journalist
Domenic Priore
Domenic Priore (born January 15th 1960) is an American author, historian and television producer whose focus is on popular music and its attendant youth culture.
Biography
He has written extensively about The Beach Boys' ''Smile'' album, includin ...
, "It was an instrumental piece until Brian asked me to put words on it in November of 2003."
He said he had originally suggested the idiom to Wilson.
Wilson's
2016 memoir states that "'Child Is Father of the Man' was about mental health and knowing yourself so you could do the right things in the world."
Recording
The instrumental track for "Child Is Father of the Man" was recorded on October 7 ("Version 1") and October 11, 1966 ("Version 2") at
Western Studio. The latter was logged as a "
Cabin Essence" session.
Biographer
Jon Stebbins described the track as "a brooding and expansive aura, with a plaintive
harmonica line not dissimilar to those heard on
Ennio Morricone Spaghetti Western soundtracks."
Vocals were overdubbed by the group on October 12 and December 2 at
Columbia Studio.
Band archivist
Mark Linett
Mark may refer to:
Currency
* Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina
* East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic
* Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927
* Fin ...
later said that there are vocal parts obscured by
Carl Wilson's singing on the track. Linett said, "When he's not singing, you can hear faint background vocal parts that no longer exist on the multitrack. They must have been in his headphones, and were picked up by the vocal mic. It could be that Brian decided he didn't need them, or that he was going to re-record them, but never did. You hear this sort of stuff throughout the tapes."
A mix of "Child Is Father of the Man" was compiled in late 1966 and later released on the 2018 compilation ''
Wake the World: The Friends Sessions''. In April 1967, the band revisited the song at Sound Recorders. Brian played grand piano while he and his bandmates sang vocals. The tape was logged as "Tune X" on the box and slated as "Nowhere" on the session tape.
Legacy
In 1968, the song's chorus was rewritten and rerecorded as the chorus for "
Little Bird" from ''
Friends''.
In 1971, when the band completed "
Surf's Up" for their
album of the same name, the coda included a reworking of the chorus from "Child Is Father of the Man". Writing in a 1996 online Q&A, band manager
Jack Rieley
John Frank Rieley III (November 24, 1942 – April 17, 2015) was an American record producer, songwriter, and disc jockey who managed the Beach Boys between mid-1970 and late 1973. He is credited with guiding them back to popular acclaim and was ...
wrote that Brian had "stated clearly that it was his intent all along for Child to be the tag for Surfs Up."
Personnel
Per band archivist Craig Slowinski.
Version 1 (October 7, 1966)
*
Hal Blaine
Hal Blaine (born Harold Simon Belsky; February 5, 1929 – March 11, 2019) was an American drummer and session musician, thought to be among the most recorded studio drummers in the music industry, claiming over 35,000 sessions and 6,000 singles. ...
– drums, overdubbed tambourine
*Jimmy Bond –
upright bass
The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar ...
*Frank Capp –
vibraphone
The vibraphone is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a ''vibraphonist,'' ''vibraharpist ...
*
Carol Kaye – Fender bass
*Bill Pitman – electric baritone lead guitar
*
Brian Wilson – grand piano
*
Carl Wilson – castanet
Version 2 (October 11December 2, 1966)
* Jimmy Bond – upright bass
*
Bruce Johnston
Bruce Arthur Johnston (born Benjamin Baldwin; June 27, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who is a member of the Beach Boys. Johnston also collaborated on many records with Terry Melcher (his bandmate in Bru ...
– vocals
*
Al Jardine
Alan Charles Jardine (born September 3, 1942) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys. He is best known as the band's rhythm guitarist and for occasionally singing lead vocals on singles such as " Help Me, Rh ...
– vocals
*
Carol Kaye – Fender bass
*
Mike Love
Michael Edward Love (born March 15, 1941) is an American singer and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys with his cousins Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson and their friend Al Jardine. Characterized by his nasal tenor and occasional bas ...
– vocals
* Ollie Mitchell – trumpet
* Bill Pitman – electric baritone lead guitar (chorus and verse)
*
Brian Wilson – vocals, tack piano (chorus and verse), grand piano (bridge), overdubbed snare drum in chorus (uncertain credit)
*
Carl Wilson – vocals, electric rhythm guitar (verse), overdubbed
sleigh bell
A jingle bell or sleigh bell is a type of bell which produces a distinctive 'jingle' sound, especially in large numbers. They find use in many areas as a percussion instrument, including the classic sleigh bell sound and morris dancing. The ...
s in chorus (uncertain credit)
Version 3 (circa April 10, 1967)
*
Mike Love
Michael Edward Love (born March 15, 1941) is an American singer and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys with his cousins Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson and their friend Al Jardine. Characterized by his nasal tenor and occasional bas ...
– vocals
*
Al Jardine
Alan Charles Jardine (born September 3, 1942) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys. He is best known as the band's rhythm guitarist and for occasionally singing lead vocals on singles such as " Help Me, Rh ...
– vocals
*
Brian Wilson – vocals, grand piano
*
Carl Wilson – vocals
References
Note
References
External links
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{{authority control
1966 songs
The Beach Boys songs
Song recordings produced by Brian Wilson
Songs written by Brian Wilson
Songs written by Van Dyke Parks
Songs based on poems
Songs released posthumously
Brian Wilson songs
Songs about mental health