Don't Go Near the Water (Beach Boys song)

"Don't Go Near the Water" is a song written by Mike Love and Al Jardine for the American rock band the Beach Boys.[1] It was the first track on their 1971 album Surf's Up.

"Don't Go Near the Water"
UK single cover
Song by the Beach Boys
from the album Surf's Up
ReleasedAugust 30, 1971
RecordedApril 3, 1971
Genre
Length2:39
LabelBrother/Reprise
Songwriter(s)Mike Love/Al Jardine
Producer(s)The Beach Boys

Composition

The Beach Boys hired Jack Rieley as their manager in 1970.[2] In order to make the band more relevant, Rieley suggested that the band write songs that were more political. "Don't Go Near the Water" is the first example of this. The song puts an ironic, ecological spin on the traditional Beach Boys beach- and surf- based songs: instead of enjoying surfing and other fun activities, this time the listener is advised to avoid the water for environmental reasons.

Recording

The song was recorded at the same session as "Long Promised Road" and "4th of July", both also recorded for the Surf's Up album. The lead vocals are by the song's composers, Love and Jardine. Brian Wilson contributed the dissonant piano part, according to Peter Ames Carlin's book Catch a Wave (Rodale, 2006), page 159.

Releases

The song was chosen to be the B-side of the "Surf's Up" single, released on November 8, 1971. It did not chart. Featured as an A-side in New Zealand, it peaked at #21 there. It was later released on November 2, 1981 as the B-side of the "Come Go with Me" single. The single charted at #18 in the US but never charted in the UK.

References
  1. "Original versions of Don't Go Near the Water written by Mike Love, Al Jardine | SecondHandSongs". secondhandsongs.com. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
  2. "The Life of RIELEY - Record Collector Magazine". Retrieved 2020-11-02.
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