Do You Like Worms?

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"Do You Like Worms?"
Song

"Do You Like Worms?" (sometimes erroneously referred to as "Do You Dig Worms?")[1] is a song written by Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks in 1966 for the aborted album Smile. The original, unfinished recording of "Do You Like Worms?" was first published in 1993 for Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of The Beach Boys, a box set which included some unreleased Smile material, and then again in 2011 for The Smile Sessions. In 2004, Wilson performed a live version of Smile with this song under the new title "Roll Plymouth Rock". It deviates from the original Beach Boys arrangement significantly by containing never-before-recorded lyrics.

Biographer Jon Stebbins stated that the track "epitomizes the unfinished and schizophrenic nature of Smile. Just the fact that a Beach Boys album almost appeared in 1967 with a song called 'Do You Like Worms?' is a mindblower."[1] The song has since been covered by a variety of artists, including The Olivia Tremor Control, Ant-Bee, and Secret Chiefs 3.

Title meaning

When asked in 2004, co-writer Van Dyke Parks could not remember where the title had originated from, speculating, "I have a feeling it was maybe an engineer, or maybe Brian, maybe Mike Love. There aren't any other words in the song that relate to that title."[2] That same year, Wilson rerecorded the song under the new title "Roll Plymouth Rock" with almost all of its original lyrics. When asked about the name change from "Do You Like Worms?", Wilson explained, "Because we wanted something a little more appropriate, you know? Something that sounded more appropriate."[3] In 2013, Al Jardine stated: "I kept yelling at people over at Capitol that there’s not one goddamn lyric about worms on this track. It’s called 'Roll Plymouth Rock'. I defy you to find anything about worms on there. But they wanted to name it 'Do You Like Worms'. Brian added parentheses on his album to make it clear. [sic] I’m sure that there was song that Brian and Van Dyke did do called 'Do You Like Worms' that they didn't even play for us. Anyhow, I think what’s there on the original version of Smile is totally cool, and I do like the unfinished nature of it. (laughs) It brings back a lot of really good memories."[4]

Composition

"Do You Like Worms?" was imagined as a lyrical journey across the United States from coast to coast; relating mostly to Manifest Destiny and westward expansion. According to Parks, "It's about bringing this Euro-sensibility into the taming of the American continent, from Plymouth Rock to Waikiki."[5] It is seen through the eyes of a protagonist named the "Bicycle Rider".[6] Several couplets were written by Parks in 1966, but only few were ever recorded.[7] Some of these were later resurrected for future re-recordings by Wilson:

Once upon the Sandwich Islands
The social structure steamed upon Hawaii

Ribbon of concrete / Bicycle Rider — just see what you've done, done
To the church of the American Indians

"Ribbon of concrete" is a negative image variant to the lyric "that ribbon of highway" from the American folk song "This Land Is Your Land".[6] The "Bicycle Rider" lyric has been established as a reference to the traditional standard "See See Rider,"[8] and to the "Bicycle Rider Back" playing cards printed by the United States Playing Card Company during the 19th century.[6] The tag's lyric "mahala lu lei" refers to a Hawaiian Thanksgiving prayer.[6] One unrecorded couplet follows:

And as we returned to the East or West Indies
We always got them confused[8][nb 1]

The song is an extension of the composition "Heroes and Villains", recorded during the Smile sessions. "Do You Like Worms?" is in strophic form, following the pattern ABABCB' in mixes prepared by Brian Wilson during Smile assemblies. The A sections featured a short instrumental section where the melody is carried by the timpani followed by the lyrics "rock, rock, roll, Plymouth Rock roll over" in two-part harmony over the bass guitars. The B section is referred to on tape labels as "Bicycle Rider", and it consists of the repetitive "Heroes and Villains" motif played on harpsichord. At the end of the B' section, the harpsichord breaks down, only to start up again. The C section has Brian singing fake Hawaiian lyrics over backing vocals by the rest of the band and a sparse backing track.[9][10]

Recording

The instrumental tracks for the A and C sections of the song were recorded on October 18, 1966 (1966-10-18), at United Western Recorders. Brian also recorded some of his vocals at that session. The Beach Boys vocals were recorded at Columbia Studios, on December 21, 1966. The B sections of the song were recorded during sessions for "Heroes and Villains".[10][11] After a fuzz bass was overdubbed on January 5, 1967 (1967-01-05), "Do You Like Worms?" was abandoned and never worked on again by the Beach Boys.

Personnel

According to Keith Badman.[12]

The Beach Boys
Additional musicians

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2

Brian Wilson version

"Do You Like Worms?"
Song

During early rehearsals for Brian Wilson Presents Smile, Wilson was able to recall the track's original melody, but not the lyrics. Confronted with this dilemma, he telephoned Parks for help. Parks soon showed up at Wilson's doorstep, and the two extended their collaborations on several other tracks' arrangements and lyrics.[13]

Personnel

Additional musicians

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2

Notes

  1. ↑ Frank Holmes: "And then there's a piece called "Ribbon of concrete, see what you done done", which became "Bicycle rider, see what you done done". It came from the old standard "CC Rider, see what you done done". I remember it went on, "See what you done done, to the church of the American Indian..." And there was a last part on there that went something like: 'Having returned to the East or West Indies - we always got them confused...' It had to do with the white man's advancement."

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Priore 2004, pp. 67-68.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Priore 2004, p. 66.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Priore 2004, p. 68.
  7. ↑ Lambert, 2007. p. 273
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lambert, Philip: Inside the Music of Brian Wilson, page 273. Continuum Publishing, 2007.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Doe, Andrew G.: "GIGS66." Bellagio 10452. Retrieved on 2008-12-12.
  12. ↑ Badman 2004, pp. 152–153.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Bibliography
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  • Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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