Under construction, update 2011/VII/20 by Aumbop.
New edits are marked by % for about a week.
Part 1 Intro
Part 2 Discography 'Facts'
Part 3 Scrapbook, Brainstorm, Theories, Analysis
Part 4 Artwork, Links, Lyrics etc
The original lp "SMiLE" was never released, as it was intended to be in 1966-67. However, a few album covers were printed, see above.
A different, but inferior version was released as 
"Smiley Smile" in 1967. (partly inferior, it had the hits Good Vibrations and Heroes And Villains on it)
However, a new SMiLE is finished 38 years later as 
"Brian Wilson Presents SMiLE" in 2004
It has 3 parts (suites, without pauses), and has more music then could ever be on a single lp back then in 1967. This version is GREAT, but the live dvd version is in my humble opinion the GREATEST.
The original lp would have a lot songs with different segments, just like the song "Good Vibrations", but the songs would all be seperated by a few seconds, just like all the other Beach Boys records from the sixties.
NEWS UPDATE AUGUST 2011:
In 2011 an archival Beach Boys version of SMiLE will be released:
link -> THE BEACH BOYS’ LEGENDARY ‘SMiLE’ ALBUM SESSIONS TO BE RELEASED NOVEMBER 1 BY CAPITOL/EMI -- ART AND TRACKLISTS UNVEILED
Before I start, these are the important people of SMiLE:
Brian Wilson: Music composer, producer
Van Dyke Parks: Lyrics
The Wrecking Crew: Backing tracks
The Beach Boys: Vocals
Frank Holmes: Artwork
Guy Webster: Photos of the Beach Boys in Boston (see below)
SMiLE SONGS*) ALL TOGETHER ON VARIOUS ALBUMS:
* I use a very broad definition of 'SMiLE songs', those may include:
- Any music that has those styles, such as modular songwriting, medleys, simple 2 or 3 chord repetitions, also used in tags, use of chord inversions, special basslines, typical instrumentation like banjo, theremin and bassharmonica etc, but most of all: IT NEEDS TO HAVE THAT TYPICAL BRIAN WILSON SONGWRITING/ARRANGEMENT STAMP.
This is also simply judged 'by ear'. For example: my ear says "Three Blind Mice" is SMiLE music, and "Gettin' Hungry" (from Smiley Smile) not. Rio Grande, When Girls Get Together, Saturday Morning In The City, etc. it's all SMiLE music. I'm not saying these belong to the SMiLE 1967 album.
- The obvious music from the albums with 'smile' in the titles:
SMiLE (unreleased 1967 / archival release 2011)
Smiley Smile 1967
Brian Wilson Presents SMiLE 2004
- Leftovers from the SMiLE era 1966-1967, that were issued on many albums since 1967.
Before 1966, Pre-SMiLE:
Early (scat?) versions of Heroes And Villains
According to Al Jardine this started already in 1963, inspired by the song El Paso from Marty Robbins (1959)
Let's Pray!
The first two following songs are not SMiLE tunes but are two very different tunes with the word 'pray' in the tittle:
*1963 The Honeys - Pray For Surf (written by Diane Rovell & Saundra Glantz))
*1963 The Lords Prayer
(The Lords Prayer was a B-side of "Little Saint Nick", dec 1963.)
Then there's the intro to SMiLE:
*
1966 / 
1968 Our Prayer
*1966 also: during the recordings of 
Pet Sounds there were prayer sessions, (whatever that meant).
15 october 1965: Three Blind Mice (unreleased)
For indication, this was somewhere between the albums Party and Pet Sounds, more precisely: between recordings of The Little Girl I Once Knew and Trombone Dixie.
It is impossible a SMiLE track, because the first SMiLE sessions are from May 1966, but the style and mood is 100% SMiLE, a very simple chord pattern with hypnotic repetitions, and a dark tone (like Do You Like Worms)
1965 Trombone Dixie (unreleased, but later on Pet Sounds as bonus)
[Because of the swing feel rhythm and some of the key chords (sus2 etc), it could be a predecessor of Cool, Cool Water?]
planned for 1967 SMiLE, never officially released
(See label for correct playing order)
Do You Like Worms
Wind Chimes
Heroes And Villians
Surf's Up
Good Vibrations
Cabin Essence
Wonderful
I'm In Great Shape
Child Is The Father Of The Man
The Elements*
Vega-Tables
The Old Master Painter
not mentioned, but probably included:
Our Prayer (just as a small introduction to the whole lp)
*The Elements =
Air = Windchimes? or I'm In Great Shape?
Fire = Fire Intro & Mrs. O'Leary's Cow?
Water = Water Chant & I Love To Say Dada? (aka In Blue Hawai)
Earth = Vega-Tables? or Fall Breaks And Back To Winter? or The Woodchop Song?
1967 Smiley Smile1. Heroes And Villains
2. Vegatables
3. Fall Breaks And Back To Winter
4. She's Goin' Bald #
5. Little Pad
6. Good Vibrations
7. With Me Tonight
8. Wind Chimes
9. Gettin' Hungry #
10. Wonderful
11. Whistle In
[# doesn't fit in the SMiLE canon to my ears, SGB is a too weird variation of He Gives Speeches, GH could belong to the R&B flavoured Wild Honey album]
1967 Smiley Smile / Wild Honey twoferBONUS TRACKS
Heroes and Villains (Cantina Version)
Good Vibrations (Various Sessions)
Good Vibrations (Early Take)
You're Welcome
Can't Wait Too Long
1967 Wild HoneyCountry Air / Let The Wind Blow -> air element?
Mama Says (a capella rendition of Eat A Lot, Sleep A Lot)
1967 Lei'd In Hawaii (unreleased) Old (also non-SMiLE) tunes in the laid back Smiley Smile style.
In fact the 2 Hawaii live shows were bad, and these are recorded afterwards in the Wally Heider studios?
Surfer Girl 'live reh?'
God Only Knows 'live reh?'
Heroes And Villains 'live reh?'
Heroes And Villains 'live studio?'(with rap by Mike Love)
1983 RaretiesYou're Welcome (Single B-side to Heroes And Villains)
Good Vibrations (yeah version)
The Lords Prayer
1985 An American Band videomost important first official release of:
Mrs. O'Leary's Cow (Fire Music)
further, from the top of my head:
Do You Dig Worms
Good Vibrations
Heroes And Villains
Bicycle Rider ...?
and a fake SMiLE piano piece by Garry Griffin?
(as it is a documentary, none of these tunes are presented completely)
1993 The Good Vibrations Box If you want to start collecting the original Beach Boys versions of SMiLE, this box is the best to start with, it has about 2/3 of all these recordings!
The dates are the very first startings of the recording sessions ('in blind faith' copied from AGD's reference site, see link)
Songs are written by Brian Wilson/Van Dyke Parks, except where noted.
1966/05/04 "Good Vibrations (Sessions...etc)" – (Brian Wilson/Mike Love/Tony Asher)
1966/05/11 - 1967/? Heroes And Villains....
(mixed 1967?) "Heroes and Villains (SMiLEY single)
(mixed 1967?) "Heroes and Villains (Cantina Version)"
(mixed 1967?) "Heroes and Villains (Sections)"
(mixed 1967?) "Heroes and Villains (Intro)
1966/08/03 "Wind Chimes"
1966/08/25 "Wonderful"
1966/10/03 "Cabinessence"
1966/10/04 "Our Prayer" (Brian Wilson)
(original, no high overdubs)
1966/10/18 "Do You Like Worms"
Released with extra lyrics as "Roll Plymouth Rock" on Brian Wilson's 2004 Smile album
1966/11/04 "Surf's Up"
1966/11/11 "Vegetables"
1967/05/16 "I Love To Say Da Da" (Brian Wilson)
Released with extra lyrics as "In Blue Hawaii" on Brian Wilson's 2004 Smile album
1967/10/29 "Cool, Cool Water (Previously unreleased) " (Brian Wilson)Related to I Love To Say Dada
1967/11/01 "Can't Wait Too Long aka Been Way Too Long(Previously unreleased) " (Brian Wilson)
Not a true SMiLE era piece, but the bassline is similar to Windchimes
A different edit/mix can be found on the Smiley Smile / Wild Honey twofer
Another version of only the intro harmonies, is also used on 2008´s
That Lucky Old Sun.Bonus instrumental masters:
Heroes And Villains
Cabinessence
Surf's Up
Good Vibrations (sessions)
Live:
Good Vibrations (live 1966)
1997 Pet Sounds box"Trombone Dixie" (Highlights from tracking date)
"Trombone Dixie" (Stereo backing track)
"Good Vibrations" (Highlights from tracking date)
"Good Vibrations" (Stereo backing track)
1. Good Vibrations (original 45 RPM single version)
2. Good Vibrations (various sessions)
3. Good Vibrations (alternate take, unreleased in the U.S.)
4. Good Vibrations (instrumental)
5. Good Vibrations (live concert rehearsal, 8/25/67)
[not SMiLE but from Pet Sounds:] 6. Let's Go Away For Awhile (original B-Side)
1968 Friends
Little Bird (with parts of Child Is The Father Of The Man)
Diamond Head (probably not SMiLE related, but just a jam, mixed with ambient water sounds)
1969 20/20
Do It Again (parts of The Woodchop Song at the end)
Time To Get Alone (the bridge is related to Song For Children? Note it has also that trombone fluttertone that was used in Heroes And Villains)
Our Prayer (with aditional high voices above the original)
Cabinessence
1970 Sunflower
Cool Cool Water
A three part medley:
Part 1 is built upon the original 1967 Cool, Cool Water (from the Wild Honey era, but true post-SMiLE style). In 1970 it has many more melodies and overdubs on top.
Part 2 is Water Chant mixed with waterfall sounds. The basic recording was a leftover from SMiLE, probably rec in 1966.
Part 3 is a brand new recording, but compostion wise it is a remake of I Love To Say Dada (aka In Blue Hawaii) from SMiLE.
1971 Surf's Up
Surf's Up
1976 15 Big Ones
TM Song. The music is probably zero SMiLE related, but the spoken words, 'arguments/humor', is an experiment that Brian once wanted to try for SMiLE.
Had To Phone Ya (it's a very interesting instrumental basic track, and chords similar to Cool Water in places, but also similar to Trombone Dixie from 1965)
1973 (p1988) American Spring plus
Had To Phone Ya (a bit of cool jazz style)
(in fact I see a line
Trombone Dixie -> I Love To Say Dada (aka In Blue Hawaii) -> Cool, Cool Water -> Had To Phone Ya .
& it's probably also influenced by Baby It's Cold Outside!)
1980 Keepin' The Summer Alive
When Girls Get Together (SMiLE moodpiece, almost a slow motion rework of Heroes & Villains)
1998 Endless Harmony Soundtrack
Good Vibrations live
Heroes And Villains live
Heroes And Villains (Demo Brian: voice/piano))
Sail Plane Song / Loop De Loop -> sequences as in Good Vibrations
medley: Wonderful/Don't Worry Bill
on the dvd also Cool, Cool Water
1988 Brian Wilson
Rio Grande (SMiLE moods, especially Night Bloomin' Jasmin)
1991 Imagination
Sunshine (The tag is in SMiLE style)
Happy Days (recycled from 1971's My Solution) has similar discordant organ overtones as Mrs. O Leary's Cow)
2001 Hawthorne CA
Can't Wait Too Long (a cappella mix)
Good Vibrations (stereo track sections)
Good Vibrations live (from Lei'd In Hawaii)
Heroes and Villains (stereo single version)
Vegetables(promo - instrumental section)
Vegetables (stereo extended mix)
You're With Me Tonight
(The Lord's Prayer)
2004 Gettin' In Over My Head
Saturday Morning In The City
2004 Brian Wilson Presents Smile
1. Our Prayer/Gee
2. Heroes And Villains
3. Roll Plymouth Rock
4. Barnyard
5. Old Master Painter / You Are My Sunshine
6. Cabin Essence
7. Wonderful
8. Song For Children
9. Child Is The Father Of The Man
10. Surf's Up
11. I’m In Great Shape / I Wanna Be Around / Workshop
12. Vega-Tables
13. On A Holiday
14. Wind Chimes
15. Mrs. O'Leary's Cow
16. In Blue Hawaii
17. Good Vibrations
'bonus' instrumental backing tracks
Heroes And Villains (LP side 4)
Cabinessence (LP side 4)
On A Holiday (LP side 4)
Wind Chimes (LP side 4)
Roll Plymouth Rock (ESQ giveaway)
Mrs. O'Leary's Cow (ESQ giveaway) [same as album, but clean intro/outro]
In Blue Hawaii (Good Vibes CD single b-side)
Surf's Up (Beautiful Dreamer Bonus CD)
(message from SM:)
You MIGHT be able to piece "Wonderful" together from the soundtrack-only track on the SMiLE DVD -- there are quite a few instrumental snippets available there. "Barnyard" in particular was one I identified as a song that could be pieced together from the instrumental bit on the DVD and the instrumental parts of the CD. "Child Is Father" is another one, I think, that could be assembled as a "complete" instrumental version.
2005 All I Really Want For Christmas
Medley: The Man With All The Toys / Joy To The World
The last part is in SMiLE style
2010 Wilson Phillips: Christmas In Harmony
Our Prayer (cover)
Suites, medleys:
1966 Good Vibrations as ´prototype´
1973 Mount Vernon And Fairway / Fairy Tale Music
1988 Rio Grande.
1972 Wonderful/Don't Worry Bill
Suite albums:
2004 BWP SMiLE
2008 That Lucky Old Sun
2010 BWP Gershwin
Synonyms or 'wrong' spellings
Heroes And Villians = Heroes And Villains
Vega-Tables = Vegetables
Mrs. O´ Leary´s Cow = Mrs. O´ Leary´s Fire = The Elements (Fire)?
Do You Like Worms = Do You Dig Worms = Roll Plymouth Rock
Cabin Essence = Cabinessence
Wind Chimes = Windchimes
Good Vibes = Good Vibrations
Holidays = On A Holiday
Child Is The Father Of The Man = Child Is The Father To The Man
Can't Wait Too Long = Been Way Too Long
I Love To Say Dada? = In Blue Hawai = related to Cool, Cool Water
You're With Me Tonight = part or var. of With Me Tonight
The Woodchop Song = Workshop
Look = I Ran = Song For Children
Tones = Pixies (Carl Wilson tune? / or in fact On A Holiday?)
Water = Water Chant
My Only Sunshine = You Are My Sunshine (done as You Were My Sunshine)
Fan names
Heroes And Villains (instrumental) aka Prelude To Fade
H&V acapella end: Bridge To The Indians
False Barnyard
Barnshine
Dumb Whistle
Subdivisions
Heroes And Villains (intro) = probably Fire Intro
Home On The Range = verse of Cabinessence
Who Ran The Iron Horse = chorus of Cabinessence
The Grand Coulee Dam = tag of Cabinessence
Inspiration = bridge1 of Good Vibrations?
Hawaiian Song = part of Little Pad?
Related tunes
George Fell Into His French Horn was recorded after a Surf´s Up session, maybe related?
Various unreleased SMiLE era tunes:
All Day. Recorded January 3, 1967 at the tail end of a Heroes And Villains session.
George Fell Into His French Horn
Earth Chant
Tune X (Tones X?)
Good News
Good Time Mama
Bags And Tricks
Air Dada
Brian's Smile Session Party / Smile era party
Smile Promo Ad
Smog
Heroes And Villains Sessions (many / 1 And 2)
Good Vibrations sessions (many!)
Wonderful 'Rock Me Henry version'
Vega-Tables 'argument'
'Jazz'(/I Wanna Be Around/Friday Night)
Psychedelic Sounds
Ball And Mitt
Solo recordings
I Don´t Know = Dennis Wilson composition
Tones = Carl Wilson composition
My Little Red Book = A Burt Bacharach composition recorded by Brian especially for Marilyn
Jasper Dailey Sessions 1967 (all BW songs, but not SMiLE)
Teeter Totter Love
Crack The Whip
When I Get Mad I Just Play My Drums
On Top Of Old Smokey (trad.) Belongs to?
(The lyrics would fit with the mood of You Were My Sunshine, another trad.)
Questions, Answers, Speculation, 'wishlist'
Link: Smiley SMiLE forum thread
Use of scales (ascending and/or descending)
^ Our Prayer vs Heroes And Villains
The descending melody of the first line of Our Prayer returns somehow in Heroes And Villains.
Our Prayer's melody goes 4 steps down, but Heroes And Villains even 10!
^ Our Prayer vs Good Vibrations
You could also say it is related to the descending chord steps of Good Vibrations, the 'spanish' progression Im VIIb VIb V. (but GV uses not the dorian scale)
The one long Aaaah of GV is also like an echo of Our Prayer.
^ Our Prayer vs Surf's Up (tag)
You could also say Our Prayer's start notes are related to the descending notes, the tag of Surf's Up (3 steps down, "song- - - & ah- - - etc")
^ scales in Surf's Up, I'm Waiting For The Day
The pizzicato violin (guitar?) notes, and the glockenspiel notes in Surf's Up, right below "The pit and the pendulum drawn" they are all descending scales.
It looks like the Brian became obsessed with descending scales, he used it also on the tag of the last recorded song from Pet Sounds: in I'm Waiting For The Day you can hear the bassline repeatedly run down an octave.
% ^ scales in Cabin Essence
In the chorus "Who ran the iron horse" the backing vocals go up and down in scales, and also in the "Grand Coulee Dam" part. (mixolydian mode)
% ^ scales in Fire/H&V Intro & Mrs. O'Leary's Cow
The 'fire hell' of scales, all gliding glisando and chromatic up and down.
% ^ More examples of scales upwards
They all raise tension in the music, and are often used in sequences. See music notes above.
Recurring themes:
(modular songwriting)
^ Song For Children vs Good Vibrations
Song For Children (aka Look aka I Ran) has part of the 'nanananana' climax of Good Vibrations.
In the BWPS version they even added an extra sequence that did not exist in the old version, so they used part of the style of Good Vibrations again in Song For Children.
^ I'm In Great Shape vs Heroes And Villains (Cantina)
I'm In Great Shape uses similar melodies and chords as the 'Cantina' part of Heroes And Villains
^ On A Holiday (tag) vs Windchimes (Smiley,tag)
The tag of On A Holiday (aka Holidays, with the words "Whisperin' winds send my wind chimes a tinklin'") has the same melody of the a capella tag used in the Smiley Smile version of Windchimes.
^ Windchimes early SMiLE versions
Windchimes does also exist as two earlier SMiLE versions with complete different arrangements. How strange, these have not the "Whisperin' winds send my wind chimes a tinklin'" lyrics.
^ On A Holiday vs Roll Plymouth Rock
On A Holiday (aka Holidays) has the backing vocals of Roll Plymouth Rock (aka Do You Like Worms). (Was that ever meant to be, or is that a 2004 invention?)
^ Bicycle Rider theme: Heroes & Villains, Roll Plymouth Rock, Wonderful 'insert'
On Heroes & Villains it is in minor key, on the other songs in major key.
^ Bicycle Rider theme: not
Heroes And Villains exists in many versions, the early 'Cantina' version is without that Bicycle Rider theme
^ Sessions, variations: Heroes And Villains
There are also Heroes And Villains - 'chant sessions' These have variations of rhythm, instruments, maybe a small variations of melody, but the chords stay the same.
^ Sessions, variations: Vegetables/Sleep a lot, eat a lot
In a similar way there is a 'chant session' variation of "Sleep a lot, eat a lot" (Title?), that became "Mama Says" with the reversed lyrics "Eat a lot, sleep a lot".
^ Mrs. O´ Leary´s Cow vs Fall Breaks And Back To Winter
Mrs. O´ Leary´s Cow (BW version) and Fall Breaks And Back To Winter have quite similar backing vocals.
NOTE: a 1966 recording of Mrs. O´ Leary´s Cow with backing vocals does not exist?, or it is unknown if it was meant to be from the start, to have backing vocals?
^ Woody Woodpecker 'laughing' theme: Fall Breaks And Back To Winter, Surf's Up
The Woody Woodpecker 'laughing' theme is in Fall Breaks And Back To Winter and also in the trumpets in Surf's Up
^ Windchimes vs Can't Wait Too Long
The bass in Windchimes looks similar to the one in Can't Wait Too Long (although the 2nd isn´t SMiLE)
^ Child Is The Father Of The Man vs Surf´s Up vs Little Bird
The tag of Child Is The Father Of The Man returns in the tag of Surf´s Up (and with other parts also in Little Bird)
^ Whistle In vs Do You Like Worms
Whistle In could have been developed from the slide guitar riff from Do You Like Worms. (But the chords of the "all day long" part are different)
^ He Gives Speeches vs Good Vibrations (chorus part)
He Gives Speeches could have been developed from the bassline vocals of Good Vibrations. Both have melodies that go in unisono with the bass.
I'm picking up good vibrations,
She's giving me the excitations ->
He gives speeches
^ He Gives Speeches vs She's Goin' Bald
And He Gives Speeches changed on Smiley Smile, with different Mike Love lyrics into the freaking She's Goin' Bald.
^ He Gives Speeches vs Barnyard
The chords, rhythm (& possible backing vocals) for He Gives Speeches / Barnyard / False Barnyard (once after the 'tape explosion'?) are the same
%More examples, before and after SMiLE:
^ All Dressed Up For School(1964) vs Bridge To The Indians(Heroes, 1966) vs Goin' On(1980) They all have the same chromatic-harmonic progression from I to V and back to I, only the rhythm is different.
%^ All Dressed Up For School(1964) vs I Just Got My Pay(1970) vs Marcella(1972) They all share similar melody lines
NOTE 1: so the musical themes recur in different places and moods, just like the wordplay of Van Dyke's lyrics, with all it's possible multiple meanings.
NOTE 2: the original SMiLE tunes had many recurring themes, but the new BWPS 2004 version had these even more, in places that were not on the old recordings, nor did exist at all, maybe these were just introduced in 2004! (and one might argue that, from a composer's point of view, the 2004 version is the full-finished version.)
Random playback, interactive experiments
SMiLE is just a few hundred snippets of small fragments, that you could play in random order. NOT TRUE, IT DOESN'T WORK THAT WAY! It's a collection of songs, each song has it's own value, mood and style, and most of them are 2-4 minutes of lenght.
Random theories, themes, too much ideas?
spiritual/religious:
an early title was Dumb Angel (A Teenage Symphony To God)
astrology signs
(all 12, only on the back cover, just as there are 12 songs mentioned)
Subud (Susila, Budhi & Dharma), spiritual exercises
healthy eating, vegetables, agriculture vs air pollution
numerology, meditation, dadaism, zen philosophy?
Americana, Indians, Wild West
Elemental suite
Barnyard suite
black key vs white key theory
Humor tunes, spoken words, arguments, comical scetches
speaking through instruments
musique concrète: daily sounds as music, fe chewing on vegetables, animal sounds
sound effects, vary-speed experiments, prepared pianos, theremin, etc
psychedelica, hypnosis, trips (being stoned)
synesthesia: "look, listen, vibrate, smile"
%Drug references
Cabin Essence/Cabinessence: sounds a bit like cannabis
Vega-Tables/Vegetables/Veggies: might be other cannabis products and/or people who smoke them
I Love To Say Dada: like the Beatles tune Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds, it might refer to LSD
Numerology, number symbolism?
The difference between "vege" and "vega" might be because of numerology (a=1, e=5 etc), but I didn't find any clues.
This is the only thing I found:
I took all 12 songs from the handwritten list + "Our Prayer"
The number of them all together, with a 26 letter/number system = 1968
And, with a 24 letter/number system (i=j=9, u=v=20) = 1869
About SMiLE
books:
Byron Preiss - The Beach Boys (1979, revisited 1983)
(that book had for the first time a lot background info about SMiLE)
Dominic Priore - Look, Listen, Vibrate, SMiLE
(a scrapbook style compilation about SMiLE, 1995, 1997?)
Dominic Priore - SMiLE: The Story of Brian Wilson's Lost Masterpiece 2007
John Luerssen - The Beach Boys: The Essential Interviews 2010
Lewis Shiner - Glimpses 1993
Paul Williams - Brian Wilson And The Beach Boys: How Deep Is The Ocean? 1997
articles:
Paul Williams (Crawdaddy Magazine interview)- A Celebration Of Wild Honey: a discussion with David Anderle (1967)(& about SMiLE 1968?)
Jules Siegel - Goodbye Surfing, Hello God (1967)
Michael Vosse - 'Fusion-article' (1969) (link)
Books Brian Wilson might have read
%Maxwell Maltz - Psycho-Cybernetics (1960)
Alan Watts - The Joyous Cosmology (1962)
Jeffrey Swann - Toehold On Zen (1962)
Arthur Koestler - The Act Of Creation (1964) (most often mentioned)
% Edgar Allan Poe - any/maybe The Pit And The Pendulum story? (1842)
[The Pit And The Pendulum was also a movie from 1961. That title is also cited in the song Surf's Up : "Back through the opera glass you see, the pit and the pendulum drawn. (Bygone, bygone) Columnated ruins domino"
Edgar Allan Poe's books and style fit also with the image/idea of 'an American gothic trip'. (Van Dyke Parks quote: "It was an American gothic trip that Brian and I were working on", in which case he probably referred to a famous painting by Grant Wood called "American Gothic".
The SMiLE front cover can also be seen as a parody on that painting, see above)
A new short animated version of TPATP can be found at bravofact.com]
Some more *speculation:
*Jane Roberts - How To Develop Your ESP Power (1966)?
*Timothy Leary - The Psychedelic Experience:
A Manual Based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead (1964 book, 1966 lp)?
*Timothy Leary - Psychedelic Prayers after the Tao Te Ching 1966?
*books by Sartre, Camus, Kant?
*religious books: Bible, the Bhagavad Gita, the I Ching?
*general books like from Robert Frost, Ralph Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, Mark Twain, Sherwood Anderson etc?
(Peter Reum's guesses? in a msg from 2005)
Secrets of the I Ching
The Bhaghavad Gita
Tibetan Book of the Dead
Darkness at Noon
The Sleepwalkers
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
several Alan Watts books
The Last Temptation of Christ
also... Del Close and John Brent - How To Speak Hip (lp) 1959
Listen online
Lyrical influences on Van Dyke Parks, BEAT literature & poetry?:
(Hippie counterculture from cities as New York and San Francisco)
Allen Ginsberg - Howl (1956)
William S. Burroughs - Naked Lunch (1959)
Jack Kerouac - On the Road (1957)
& probably many more, like Edgar Allen Poe, ..., I found these books on wikipedia but in fact I know not much about these books and if they influenced Van Dyke parks.
Some of the musical influences might be:
- "Gee" by The Crows/Jan & Dean
- "El Paso" by Marty Robbins
- "Peace In The Valley" by The Patuxent Partners, (Johnny Cash? Boxcar Willie?)
- "Roll Columbia Roll (Gran Coulee Dam)" by Woody Guthrie
- "Old Mc Donald" various versions
- "Barnyard Blues" by Original Dixieland Jazz Band (this song is also known as "Livery Stable Blues")
- "The Old Master Painter" by Dick Haymes, Mel Torme? Frank Sinatra?
- "You Are My Sunshine" by Jimmie Davis (= original)
- "Waiting for a train" by Jimmie Rodgers (just for the opening vocal train-whistle effect)
- "I've been working on the railroad" by The Tinseltown Players
- "Home on the range" by Gene Autry/Roy Rodgers or...
- "Frere Jacques/Brother John" by Fred Koch / any version
- "Long Ago Tomorrow" by Burt Bacharach
- "I Wanna Be Around" by Julie London, Tony Bennett
- "In Old Chicago" (the story of Mrs O Leary's Cow) 1937 MOVIE by Henry King *
- "Cool Water" by The Sons Of The Pioneers
- "Blue Hawaii" by Bing Crosby or Henri Mancini or Elvis Presley
- "Ukulele Lady" by Duke Kamoku / any other
- "The Pirates Of Penzance: I'm A Pirate King" by D'Oyly Carte Opera Company And Orchestra
- "Long Long Ago" by Jerry Gray And His Orchestra/Ellen & John Wright or...
some additions
"C C Rider" - I would probably go for the Big Bill Broonzy version, although the Elvis version is an option as well
"Anything Goes" - Again, you can take your pick...but make sure the selected recording includes the intro (that's where the "Plymouth Rock" reference is)
"America the Beautiful" - Any version you like
"Working on the Railroad" - Any version you like
"The Grand Coulee Dam" - Woody Guthrie
"Ring Around the Rosey" - Any version you like
"Auld Lang Syne" - Any version you like
"Pour, O pour the pirate sherry" (Opening Chorus) from Pirates of Penzance
"The Pirate King" from Pirates of Penzance
"Lazy Moon" - Harry Nilsson (unless you can track down the Oliver Hardy version)
"Pauahi 'O Kalani" - Any version you like
"Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep" - Any version you like
"Cool Water" - The Sons of the Pioneers
"Aloha Nui Kuu Ipo" - Alvin Kaleolani Isaacs
see also Tom Tobben's SMiLE References
Artwork by Frank Holmes
Taken from: mountvernonandfairway.de/smile.htm
Capitol printed front and back covers based on Brian´s list and prepared an inside sleeve booklet that featured photos of the BB in Boston.
Artwork relating to the tracks were done by Frank Holmes.
(2) The booklet that was printed to accompany the album included Frank Holmes drawings for seven tracks or lyrical fragments:
"My Vegetables" The Elements
"Two-step to lamps light" SurFs Up
"Diamond necklace play the pawn" (from Surf s Up)
"The rain of bullets eventually brought her down" Heroes & Villains
Do You Like Worms
"Lost and found you still remain there" (from Cabinessence)
"Uncover the cornfield" Home on the Range
All notations except those in parentheses are printed in the booklet.
A July 25,1967 memo from Capitol A&R director Karl Engemann, with a subject of "BEACH BOYS' BOOKLET" says in full:
"The booklet which was originally prepared for the SMiLE album contains cartoon illustration of 10 selection that will not be included in the SMILEY SMILE album. "After discussing a number of alternatives with Schwartz, Polley and Brian Wilson, I agreed with Brain that the best course of action would to NOT include this booklet with the SMILEY SMILE package, but rather to hold it for the next album which will include the aforementioned 10 selections. The second album which would be packaged with the booklet would not include the selections'Heroes and Villains' and'Vegetables.' However, inasmuch as these two selections would have already been released, I believe the consumer would be quick to pick up the connection between the cartoons and these tracks. In fact, some word of explanation could be included in the liner notes of the second album. "Unless anyone on this distribution has strong objections, we will then omit the Beach Boys' booklet from the SMILEY SMILE album and will include it in the next album."
There weren't 10 illustrations in the SMILE booklet as Karl Engemann´s memo from July 25, 1967 is saying.. Seven was all Frank Holmes drew in 1966 (and he's pretty definite about that).
While the booklet contains seven cartoons, it references only 5 songs: "Surf´s Up" and "Cabinessence" spawned 2 illustrations each. Two of these five were already included on Smiley Smile, so only 3 additional songs (the aforementioned plus "Worms") would have been needed to "justify" the booklet!
You make a good point about only three songs needing to be included on the next Beach Boys album to make inclusion of the SMiLE booklet worthwhile. If the number " 10" in the memo is a typo and was supposed to be "3," then it makes a lot more sense. In which case, you may be right that a fiull-fiedged revised SMILE release was never planned, that those three songs could have been the only SMILE tracks set for the next album. But those three songs (along with the previously "Heroes & Villains") can't be seen as anything but the CORE of the SMiLE album. If Brian had gone on and finished the three songs in question, then included them on the next album, how could that album be seen as anything but SMiLE?!
+ Another link from 2005 about Frank Holmes:
He caught a wave, but it crashed; years later, 'Smile' artist recognized
SMiLE info links, at random...
epinions.com: Post Pet Sounds genius exposed
Gigs and sessions 1966 (AGD site)
Gigs and sessions 1967 (AGD site)
mountvernonandfairway.de: SMiLE
pelicanmusic.com: SMiLE
examiner.com: SMiLE remembered — Part 1; "Heroes and Villains"
beachboysnews.blogspot: SMiLE
bradcoweb.com: SMiLE
bradcoweb.com: SMiLE Booklet
bradcoweb.com: Musical Notes
Back Through The Opera Glass: SMiLE
Ear Candy Magazine: "SMiLE...As It could have been"
Ear Candy Magazine: "Smiley Smile is SMiLE"
Ear Candy Magazine: Beautiful Dreamer: Brian Wilson and the Story of 'Smile'
Psychedelicatessen: A Celebration of the Beach Boys SMiLE
SMiLE Album Preservation Society
World News: Beach Boys SMiLE
The SMiLE File
SMiLE EXTRA (Philip Cohen)
Tom Tobben's SMiLE references
Peter Reum sheds a light on SMiLE
Last but not least:
Smiley Smile Messageboard
The SMiLE Shop (also with many more links)
Tubes
TubeToppers: SMiLE 1966-2011 (including covers etc)
YouTube: SMiLE Talk - Van Dyke Parks, David Anderle, Carl Wilson
Brian Wilson on Q (about drugs and music)
Phil Solomon's videos (including 'BWPS Live' and backstage footage from September 26, 2004)
Lyrics by Van Dyke Parks
“The music came first,” he recalls, “so I followed suit in this terrifically bold adventure. You can feel a sense of rebellion in it. Brian did what he wanted. That was not an attempt to be fashionable or define approval. He followed his own conscience in his work. So I followed with the loyalty of a dog and had a great time.”
Surf's Up
A diamond necklace played the pawn
Hand in hand some drummed along, oh
To a handsome man and baton
(Bygone, bygone)
A blind class aristocracy
Back through the opera glass you see
The pit and the pendulum drawn
(Bygone, bygone)
Columnated ruins domino
Canvass the town and brush the backdrop
Are you sleeping?
Hung velvet overtaken me
Dim chandelier awaken me
To a song dissolved in the dawn
The music hall a costly bow
The music all is lost for now
To a muted trumpeter swan
Columnated ruins domino
Canvass the town and brush the backdrop
Are you sleeping, Brother John?
Dove nested towers the hour was
Strike the street quicksilver moon
Carriage across the fog
Two-Step to lamp lights cellar tune
The laughs come hard in Auld Lang Syne
The glass was raised, the fired rose
The fullness of the wine, the dim last toasting
While at port adieu or die
A choke of grief heart hardened I
Beyond belief a broken man too tough to cry
Surf's Up
Aboard a tidal wave
Come about hard and join
The young and often spring you gave
I heard the word
Wonderful thing
A children's song
Child, child, child, child, child
A child is the father of the man
Child, child, child, child, child
A child is the father of the man
A children's song
Have you listened as they played
Their song is love
And the children know the way
That's why the child is the father to the man
Child, child, child, child, child
Child, child, child, child, child
Na na na na na na na na
Child, child, child, child, child
That's why the child is the father to the man
Child, child, child, child, child
rapgenius.com/lyrics/The-beach-boys/Surf-s-up
songmeanings.net/songs/view/80399/
From Jules Siegel's article, "Goodbye Surfing, Hello God!":
At home, as the black acetate dub turned on his bedroom hi-fi set, Wilson tried to explain the words.
"It's a man at a concert," he said. "All around him there's the audience, playing their roles, dressed up in fancy clothes, looking through opera glasses, but so far away from the drama, from life. Back through the opera glass you see the pit and the pendulum drawn.
The music begins to take over. 'Columnated ruins domino.'
Empires, ideas, lives, institutions;everything has to fall, tumbling like dominoes.
He begins to awaken to the music; sees the pretentiousness of everything. 'The music hall a costly bow.' Then even the music is gone, turned into a trumpeter swan, into what the music really is.
'Canvas the town and brush the backdrop.' He's off in his vision, on a trip. Reality is gone; he's creating it like a dream. Dove-nested towers.' Europe, a long time ago.
'The laughs come hard in Auld Lang Syne.' The poor people in the cellar taverns, trying to make themselves happy by singing.
Then there's the parties, the 'drinking, trying to forget the wars, the battles at sea. 'While at port a do or die.' Ships in the harbor, battling it out. A kind of Roman empire thing.
'A choke of grief.' At his own sorrow and the emptiness of his life. Because he can't even cry for the suffering in the world, for his own suffering.
And then, hope. 'Surf's up! . . . Come about hard and join the once and often spring you gave.' Go back to the kids, to the beach, to childhood.
'I heard the word' of God; 'Wonderful thing'; the joy of enlightenment, of seeing God. And what is it? 'A children's song!'
And then there's the song itself; the song of children; the song of the universe rising and falling in wave after wave, the song of God, hiding the love from us, but always letting us find it again, like a mother singing to her children."
Brian Wilson & Van Dyke Parks in the studio
The handwritten list, I believe the writing is by Carl Wilson
(or maybe from Diane Rovell, who was at one time Brian's assistant and musical contractor)
This CD in DISCOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . Next TUBES and CDs
