Goddily Knows

Years ago I created a tape for Matilda to drown out the noise of traffic emanating from the road we lived on. For some reason when night fell and the general public went to sleep, ginormous trucks would barrel down the road at breakneck speeds. We often wondered if it was part of some sort of shadow government’s secret shipping policy, but we could never be sure (“When it absolutely has to be there overnight and no one needs to know”).

The tape served Matilda for years and years. She listened to it every night, enjoying such classics as “The House at Pooh Corner”, “Feed the Birds” and “When You Wish Upon a Star”.

Of course, time went on and technology improved. Upon getting my first CD burner, one of the first things I did was burn a new goodnight CD for Matilda. This time I included songs from more diverse bands, such as Chewy Marble and Splitsville, while still retaining some of the classics like Joni Mitchell (and yes Teri, I still feel like I need to spit up when I hear “Circle Game”) and James Taylor.

One of my centerpiece songs was “God Only Knows”. It’s no secret that I love Brian Wilson and I tried to pass that love on to the kids. (My only success, until recently, was Matilda going around massacring the Barenaked Ladies song by singing “combing my hair like Brian Wilson did”). When Gert came along I started her early (actually prior to birth, since she was gestating when my lovely wife and I saw Brian Wilson live). During her colic period there were few things that would calm her. One was my left shoulder. Only my left shoulder. Another was listening to three select Beach Boys songs: “Don’t Worry Baby”, “Please Let Me Wonder” and “God Only Knows”. I’d sing those songs to her and her little eyes would begin to roll up into her head and sleep would overtake her.

Eventually the girls were force to share a room. So, Matilda’s CD became a communal bedtime ritual that was integral to the sleeping process.

As time passed, Gertrude inherited the CD and Matilda moved on to her own music (Oddly, the soundtrack from Return of the King, of all things). One night when Gert was snuggling into bed, “God Only Knows” started to play.

“You know, I sang this song to you when you were a baby.”

“When I was a little tiny baby?”

“Yes ma’am.”

Ever since that day, “God Only Knows” has become her favorite song. (Followed, oddly enough, by Death By Chocolate’s version of Cat Stevens’ “If You Want to Sing Out Sing Out”. It’s a good version, though both are inferior to Ruth Gordon singing it in Harold & Maude. Still, it’s a riot to hear a two year old singing, “If you want to be free, be free.”) Whenever we drive, she insists on hearing the song. Over. And over. And over. For some reason it resonates with her, it’s her Daddy connection. I don’t mind, of course. I mean, I’m thrilled. It’s adorable whenever she sings, “Godilly knows! Godilly knows!”

But even with the best of songs, you need variety. So I made her a new CD with no less than seven versions of the song.

First you have the original version (Gert calls out, “This is the song you sang to me when I was a tiny baby!”). Then, a few songs later, you have a cover version (“Dad! There’s a lady singing!”). A few songs later I really mess with her and use only the stereo vocal track (a cappella) (“DAD! There’s no MUSIC!”). To mess with her sense of the world further, a few songs later it’s the stereo backing track (“DADDY! They aren’t singing!”). After a Wilco song or two you get a live rehearsal from their Hawaii shows in 67 (“Daddy! The song is different!”). Now that I’ve introduced her to a nice variety of versions, I really mess with her. I use a version by a FRENCH singer (“Dad? What the hell?”). And, finally, I go obscure and use the version with an a cappella tag at the end. But, to be honest, she doesn’t notice that. I was going to use the version where Brian sings lead, rather than Carl, but . . . well . . . it just isn’t as moving.

I keep hoping one day she’ll come out and say, “Dad, you know that syncopated part in the bridge? That’s just amazing. The break and tempo of that was unheard of . . . no, it still IS unheard of in popular music. I really get the sense that Brian was trying to erase the boundaries of his genre and create something brand new.”

But, I worry that I’m just really messing with her head. Am I?

Dieu Sait Seulement! El Dios Sabe Solamente! Gott Weiß Nur! Il Dio Sa Soltanto! O Deus Sabe Somente!