"Here Today" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1966 album Pet Sounds. Written by Brian Wilson and Tony Asher, the lyric warns the listener of inevitable heartbreak before the narrator reveals himself to be the ex-boyfriend of the listener's newfound love. Musically, the song features an uncommon formal structure, the use of electric bass guitar as a lead instrument, and a 20-bar length instrumental break.
One of the last songs recorded for Pet Sounds, Wilson produced the track in March 1966 with the aid of his bandmates, who provided additional backing vocals, and 12 studio musicians, who played guitars, organ, upright bass, trombones, saxophones, tack piano, drums, and other percussion. Mike Love sang the lead vocal.
"Here Today" proved influential to musicians such as Al Kooper, Paul McCartney, and Lemmy. Acts who have covered the song include Bobby Vee, R. Stevie Moore, Mathilde Santing, and Thurston Moore.
Background and lyrics
"Here Today" was written by Brian Wilson and Tony Asher for the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds album in early 1966. Although Wilson claimed that Asher only provided the words to his music, Asher credited himself with contributing musical ideas to several songs on the album, including this one, as Asher stated, "'Here Today' contains a little more of me both lyrically and melodically than Brian." Moreover, Asher said,
The lyrics warn the listener to beware of his newfound love and prepare for the potential heartbreak that may result ("A brand new love affair is such a beautiful thing / but if you're not careful think about the pain it can bring"). In his view, relationships are short-lasting ("Love is here today and it's gone tomorrow / it's here and gone so fast"). The narrator also warns that the aforementioned lover will make the listener "feel so bad", his "heart feel sad", his "days go wrong, and his "nights so long". To prove his case, the narrator reveals himself to be her ex-boyfriend ("Well you know I hate to be a downer / but I'm the guy she left before you found her").
Wilson stated in 1996 that the song had "really good lyrics", but in another interview from the same year, he said, "'Here Today' was probably one of the mystery songs on the album. I don't really know what it's about. I liked it, but yet I didn't. I don't really identify with that song like I do with 'You Still Believe In Me', or 'Caroline, No.' It was just one of those songs in there, one little song."
Composition
"Here Today" is primarily in the key of A major, with other portions suggesting F minor. Wilson said: Here Today' was a work of art in my opinion. It was an assertive track with utilization of basses played up higher. The trombones gave it that masculine touch." He stated that his intention for the piece was "to conceive the idea of a bass guitar playing an octave higher than regular and showcase it as the principal instrument in the track." Dillon suggests that Wilson may have been influenced by Bill Wyman's bass-playing on "19th Nervous Breakdown", a then-current hit for the Rolling Stones.
The formal structure in this song is uncommon for "most pop music", Granata argues, "or any music for that matter." The first two verses, which are almost identical, have unusual bar structures, each being divided into three sections of eight, seven and three bars (20 in total). These uncommon numberings continue in the choruses, as Granata explains, "While it is rare for a chorus to contain an odd number of measures, all three choruses on 'Here Today' are seven bars. Most choruses are eight bars long. Occasionally a chorus will be lengthened to imply suspense or extension of time. The purposeful shortening of the choruses here emphasizes the 'here today, gone tomorrow' idea reflected in the lyric."
The arrangement includes a horn ensemble consisting of two saxophones and two trombones. Granata surmised that the saxophone voicings were influenced by Four Seasons songs such as "Opus 17 (Don't You Worry 'bout Me)". He continues in his analysis, "Throughout, the bass line accentuates the melody. The bass and horns also move in contrary motion to the vocals: in the chorus, the rhythm section and the horns play a descending line of quarter notes while the vocals ascend with 'Ah-ah.'" Dillon concurred that the contrasting motions, which often conflict with Love's vocals, "creates a slightly uneasy feeling, not unlike how one would feel in a volatile romance." Bruce Johnston praised Wilson's discretion in arranging the backing vocals: "He correctly used the vocals as another pad. If he had made the mistake of overwriting the background parts, you would never pay attention to the leads, and we would have gotten in the way."