Brian Wilson: A Symphony of Joy, Sorrow and Redemption
The news of Brian Wilson’s passing feels like a quiet ache in the chest, a sudden stillness where once there was melody. As I sit with this thought, I find myself turning to his music and realizing how deeply his work has impacted my life. Wilson, the heart and soul behind The Beach Boys, wasn’t just a musician; he was a dreamer who gave the world a soundtrack for joy, longing, and all the tender spaces in between.
Growing up, I discovered The Beach Boys through A.M radio. Songs like “Surfin’ USA” and “Fun, Fun, Fun” were bursts of sunlight, evoking a California I’d never seen but could feel the good vibrations. It was all about fast cars, cute girls and an endless summer.
But it was Brian’s quieter songs — “In My Room,” “Don’t Worry Baby” — that stayed with me. They spoke to a part of me that felt alone, that craved safe harbor in a chaotic world. Even as a kid, I could sense something deeper in those harmonies, something that carried both hope and heartbreak. I didn’t know then about Brian’s struggles — his battles with mental illness, the pressures of genius, the weight of a world that didn’t always understand him — but I felt the truth of his music.
Pet Sounds: The cost of genius
Learning about Brian’s life later on both saddened and lifted me at the same time. Here was a man who created Pet Sounds, an album that feels like a love letter to the human spirit, at age 23. He poured everything into it—his fears, his dreams, his hope—and gave us something eternal. It was a symphony to the surf, his psalm to the sea gods.
“God Only Knows” still stops me in my tracks. It’s like a gentle prayer for love’s endurance. The words … the luscious melody … the ethereal harmonies — it is the perfect song. Some laud it — including Paul McCartney — as the best song ever written. Sir Paul often shared a personal anecdote about listening to it with his wife Linda (Eastman), saying the song “would bring me to tears.” He’s also said that Pet Sounds inspired The Beatles to create Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
“I may not always love you,
But long as there are stars above you.
You never need to doubt it.
I'll make you so sure about it.
God only knows what I'd be without you.
If you should ever leave me,
Well, life would still go on, believe me.
The world could show nothing to me.
So what good would living do me?”
But the cost of that brilliance was steep. Brian’s descent into depression, addiction, and isolation shortly after Pet Sounds was released, compounded by an abusive father and a manipulative psychologist, felt like a betrayal of someone so pure.
It took a long time, eons it seemed, but eventually he emerged, bowed but unbroken.
Wilson’s Legacy
The world feels smaller without his presence and boundless imagination. I mourn not just the music, but the boy who found refuge in a piano, the visionary who dared to dream bigger than anyone thought possible, the survivor who kept going despite it all.
But Brian’s legacy is anything but finite. His songs are alive in every heart they’ve touched, every memory they’ve soundtracked.
When I hear “Surfer Girl,” I’m in the back of Dad’s car, singing off-key and dreaming of the ocean. When I play “Caroline, No,” I’m reminded of love’s fragility and the courage it takes to keep loving anyway. And any time I listen to “Sloop John B,” I’m blown away that blending so many intricate harmonies could be layered in such a simple melody, a sea chanty I could relate to.
Wilson’s vulnerability was his superpower, his willingness to bare his soul a gift to us all, the innocence and the illusion, the sun-drenched dream and the unraveling beneath it. I hope he knew how much he was loved, how his music held us through our own dark nights. I hope he’s at peace, surrounded by the harmonies he spent his life chasing.
For me, Brian Wilson will always be a reminder that one can create something that outlives us, something that sings forever.
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How did Brian Wilson impact your life?
Do you have a favorite Beach Boys song?
Jim Geschke was inducted into the prestigious Marquis “Who’s Who” registry in 2021.
Wonderful tribute for one of the magical sounds of our generation.
It’s going to take some getting used to, living in a world without Brian Wilson. How does that work exactly? I’ve never experienced it before.