The Beach Boys are an iconic American rock band, frequently cited as one of… Read Full Bio ↴The Beach Boys are an iconic American rock band, frequently cited as one of the most influential and commercially successful groups in the history of popular music due to their intricate vocal harmonies, studio experiments, and novel approaches to pop songwriting. Rooted in doo-wop and rock and roll, their early string of vocal surf hits defined the '60s California Sound. For a period afterward, they notably delved into progressive pop styles. often combining elements from classical and jazz in innovative ways.

Formed in Hawthorne, California in 1961, the original group comprised singer-musician-composer and bandleader Brian Wilson, his brothers Carl Wilson and Dennis Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Wilson neighbor David Marks appeared on their first four albums and was a member from 1962 to 1963 as a temporary replacement for Jardine, who had left the group to pursue a career in dentistry.

On their first few studio albums, the group primarily played surf music, but this changed after 1964 as their songs became more sophisticated and autobiographical. The 1965 album Today! particularly represented this shift in sound. Bruce Johnston joined the group that same year. Session drummer Hal Blaine is quoted: "We all studied in conservatories; we were trained musicians. We thought it was a fluke at first, but then we realized Brian was writing these incredible songs. This was not just a young kid writing about high school and surfing."

Following their most esteemed work, Pet Sounds (1966), the band became symbols of psychedelic counterculture. The highly anticipated follow-up, Smile, was left unfinished, and Brian soon relinquished his creative hold on the group. A trilogy of lo-fi releases followed: Smiley Smile (1967), Wild Honey (1967), and Friends (1968). Brian would not be credited as a primary composer for any Beach Boys album until 1977's Love You, an album on the fringe of synth-pop, new wave, and punk.

In Brian's absence, the Beach Boys still managed to release music that was regarded favorably by fans and critics despite poor sales: Sunflower (1970) and Surf's Up (1971). South African musicians Blondie Chaplin and Ricky Fataar played and sang with the band on the next two albums: Carl & the Passions - So Tough (1972), and Holland (1973).

Many changes in both musical style and personnel have occurred in their sometimes-stormy career: Brian Wilson's mental illness and drug addiction; the deaths of Dennis Wilson in 1983 and Carl Wilson in 1998; and continuing legal battles among surviving members of the group. With the release of 1974's Endless Summer they became a more popular touring act, playing their greatest hits. They have recorded 36 Billboard Top 40 hits (including four number-one singles), have had over 100 million sales, and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988.

Official site: http://www.thebeachboys.com

Isn't It Time
The Beach Boys Lyrics

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After it's all been said
The music spinning in our head
Can't forget the feeling of
The magic of that summer love
Ooh I wanna take you there
Do you wanna turn back the pages
Memories in photographs
The world is changed

And yet the game is still the same

Isn't it time we danced the night away
How about doing it just like yesterday?
Every time I think of you
All of those things we used to do

Remember those nights we spent
Little did we know how the time would fly
Isn't it time, oh, oh
Isn't it time, oh, oh

The good times never have to end
Now's the time to let them happen again
We can have ourselves a blast
Good times that aren't only in the past

Isn't it time we danced the night away
How about doing it just like yesterday?
Every time I think of you
All of those things we used to do

Remember those nights we spent
Little did we know how the time would fly
Isn't it time, oh, oh
Isn't it time, oh, oh

And as the sun goes down we raise a glass to kindness
To all the good times we share
Isn't it time we get ready again
Isn't it time we go steady again?

Isn't it time we danced the night away
How about doing it just like yesterday?
Every time I think of you
And all of those things we used to do

Remember those nights we spent
Little did we know how the time would fly
Isn't it time, oh, oh
Isn't it time, oh, oh

Isn't it time we danced the night away
How about doing it just like yesterday?
Every time I think of you
And all of those things we used to do

Remember those nights we spent
Little did we know how the time would fly

Isn't it time, oh, oh
Isn't it time, oh, oh

Overall Meaning

The Beach Boys' song "Isn't It Time" is a nostalgic ballad that reminisces on the memories of youth and summer love. The lyrics express a desire to turn back the clock and relive the good times, suggesting that the joy and magic of those moments can still be recaptured. The song recognizes that time has passed and the world has changed, but the emotions and feelings from that period remain unchanged. The music acts as a time capsule for those memories, and the singer wants to revisit and relive those moments.

The lyrics reference the photographs that capture the memories of that summer love, indicating that they serve as a reminder of the emotions and feelings that once existed. The song invites the listener to dance the night away like they did in the past and to raise a glass to the kindness of those times. The song emphasizes the idea that the good times never have to end and that it's never too late to recapture them.

Overall, "Isn't It Time" is a song that captures the essence of nostalgia, the desire to return to a simpler time when happiness was more straightforward to find. It reminds us that even though time has passed, we can still hold onto those memories and bring them back with music and dancing.

Line by Line Meaning

After it's all been said
Once everything has been expressed and there's nothing left to say

The music spinning in our head
The reminiscence of the music from that time playing in our head

Can't forget the feeling of
The emotion attached to those memories is too strong to be forgotten

The magic of that summer love
The enchanting and spellbinding nature of that love during the summer season

Ooh I wanna take you there
An eagerness to relive that moment again

Do you wanna turn back the pages
Asking if the other person wants to go back to that time

Memories in photographs
The memories are captured in the photographs that have been taken during that time

The world is changed
The world has transformed since then

And yet the game is still the same
Despite the changes, the essence of life remains the same

Isn't it time we danced the night away
Shall we dance tonight? It's been too long

How about doing it just like yesterday?
Shall we dance in the same way as before?

Every time I think of you
Whenever I remember you

All of those things we used to do
All the activities we used to do together

Remember those nights we spent
Recall the nights we spent together

Little did we know how the time would fly
We didn't realize how quickly time would pass

The good times never have to end
We can always relive those happy moments

Now's the time to let them happen again
It's the right time to let those moments occur again

We can have ourselves a blast
We can have a lot of fun

Good times that aren't only in the past
We can create good times again in the present

And as the sun goes down we raise a glass to kindness
As the day comes to an end, we celebrate and appreciate the good moments together

To all the good times we share
Cheers to all the happy moments that we have experienced

Isn't it time we get ready again
Don't you think it's time to prepare for those good moments again?

Isn't it time we go steady again?
Shall we get ready for long-lasting happiness again?

Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group, Peermusic Publishing, THE BICYCLE MUSIC COMPANY
Written by: MICHAEL EDWARD LOVE, LAURENCE JOHN MILLAS, JIM PETERIK, JOSEPH THOMAS, BRIAN WILSON

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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