Love and Mercy
| "Love and Mercy" | ||||||||
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| Single by Brian Wilson | ||||||||
| from the album Brian Wilson | ||||||||
| B-side | "He Couldn't Get His Poor Old Body to Move" | |||||||
| Released | July 1, 1988 | |||||||
| Recorded | April 1987–February 1988 | |||||||
| Genre | Progressive pop | |||||||
| Length | 2:56 | |||||||
| Label | Sire | |||||||
| Writer(s) | Brian Wilson | |||||||
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| Brian Wilson singles chronology | ||||||||
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"Love and Mercy" is a song written by Brian Wilson and the opening track to his 1988 debut solo album Brian Wilson. The song was released as a double-sided single on July 1, 1988 backed with "He Couldn't Get His Poor Old Body to Move". It failed to chart in either the United States or the United Kingdom despite earning critical praise.
The song was originally credited to Brian Wilson, his therapist Eugene Landy, and Alexandra Morgan. On later issues of Brian's debut album and subsequent remakes and live performances of the song, the credit was amended to only include Wilson as the song's sole writer. Wilson has said of the song:
I was in my piano room, playing "What the World Needs Now," and I just went into my own song…worked very hard to get out what was in my heart on that one…it’s a personal message from me to people.…We wanted people to be covered with love, because there’s no guarantee of somebody waking up in the morning with any love. It goes away, like a bad dream. It disappears. Mercy would be a deeper word than love. I would think love is a gentle thing and mercy would be more desperate, ultimately more desperately needed, thing in life. Mercy–a little break here and there for somebody who’s having trouble.…"Love and Mercy" is probably the most spiritual song I’ve ever written.
The song features Wilson on lead vocals, as well as a lot of the backing vocals, and is characterized by its pattern of descending chords. The lyrics included an extra verse unused in the final edit: "I was praying to a god who just doesn't seem to hear / Oh, the blessings we need the most are what we all fear".
The "Love and Mercy" single backed with the rare B-side "He Couldn't Get His Poor Old Body to Move" was released through Sire Records in the United States in July 1988, and in the United Kingdom in August 1988. It failed to make any impact on the charts. "He Couldn't Get His Poor Old Body to Move" was a collaboration recorded during 1986 summer sessions between Wilson and Gary Usher. "Love and Mercy" was first released on an album in 1988 on Wilson's self-titled debut album with production by Wilson and Russ Titelman. On later CD re-issues of Brian's debut album, the song has been released as a bonus track without the lead vocal.
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