"Girl Don't Tell Me" is a song written by

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (June 20, 1942 – June 11, 2025) was an American musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often Brian Wilson is a genius, called a genius for his novel approaches to pop compositio ...

for the American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band

the Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their f ...

, released on July 5, 1965 on the album '' Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!)''. It was later included as the B-side of the group's single "

Barbara Ann "Barbara Ann" is a song written by Fred Fassert that was first recorded by the Regents as "Barbara-Ann". Their version was released in 1961 and reached No.13 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. A more well-known version of the song was recor ...

," which was released on December 20, 1965.

Origins

Brian Wilson wrote the song in early 1965 while on a honeymoon with Marilyn. He recalled that "a whole song came to me. It was 'Girl Don't Tell Me.' I didn't have any way to get it down. But I just heard the whole thing up there, from start to finish, and I remembered it well enough to go later and write down the lyrics on a piece of paper."

Recording

The Beach Boys recorded "Girl Don't Tell Me" on April 30, 1965 at

United Western Recorders United Western Recorders was a two-building recording studio complex in Hollywood that was one of the most successful independent recording studios of the 1960s. The complex merged neighboring studios United Recording Corp. on 6050 Sunset Boule ...

. Chuck Britz was the engineer. It was one of the first songs to feature

Carl Wilson Carl Dean Wilson (December 21, 1946 – February 6, 1998) was an American musician, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys. He was their lead guitarist, the youngest sibling of bandmates Brian Wilson, Brian and Dennis Wilson, ...

as lead vocalist and is one of the few Beach Boys tracks from the era to feature no backing vocals. Beach Boys biographer

David Leaf David Leaf (born April 20, 1952) is an American writer, director, and producer who is best known for his associations with Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys since the late 1970s. Leaf's 1978 biography, '' The Beach Boys and the California Myth'', ...

has likened "Girl Don't Tell Me" to

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

' 1965 single " Ticket to Ride," in terms of its guitar breaks, drum fills and vocal delivery. Brian Wilson cited this as an example of how each new Beatles release over this period inspired him as a songwriter, and how, with "Girl Don't Tell Me," "I even tried writing a Beatles song." He said that Carl's drawn-out phrasing over the words "you'll write" was taken from "Ticket to Ride". It has been claimed that Brian intended to submit "Girl Don't Tell Me" to the Beatles.

Reception

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' described it as a "pretty, medium-paced tale of remorse."

Personnel

Sourced from Musician's Union AFM contract sheets and surviving session audio, documented by Craig Slowinski. ;The Beach Boys *

Bruce Johnston Bruce Johnston (born Benjamin Baldwin; June 27, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter and musician who is a member of the Beach Boys. He also collaborated on many records with Terry Melcher (his bandmate in Bruce & Terry, the Rip Chords, and ...

–

celesta The celesta () or celeste (), also called a bell-piano, is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard. It looks similar to an upright piano (four- or five-octave), albeit with smaller keys and a much smaller cabinet, or a large wooden music ...

– bass guitar *

– lead vocals, 12-string guitar, acoustic guitar *

Dennis Wilson Dennis Carl Wilson (December 4, 1944 – December 28, 1983) was an American musician, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys. He was their drummer and the middle brother of bandmates Brian Wilson, Brian and Carl Wilson as well as ...

– drums ;Additional musicians *Ron Swallow – tambourine

Covers

References

{{authority control 1965 songs The Beach Boys songs Songs written by Brian Wilson Song recordings produced by Brian Wilson