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She Knows Me Too Well

"She Knows Me Too Well"
Single by The Beach Boys
from the album Today!
A-side "When I Grow Up (To Be a Man)"
Released August 24, 1964
Format 7" vinyl
Recorded August 5–8, 1964, United Western Recorders, Hollywood
Genre Pop rock, baroque pop
Length 2:27
Label Capitol
Producer(s) Brian Wilson
The Beach Boys singles chronology
"I Get Around"
(1964)
"She Knows Me Too Well"
(1964)
"Dance, Dance, Dance"
(1964)
"I Get Around"
(1964)
"When I Grow Up (To Be a Man)"
(1964)
"Dance, Dance, Dance"
(1964)
Audio sample

"She Knows Me Too Well" is a song written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love for the American rock band the Beach Boys. It is about a man who is engrossed and obsessed in his own jealousy and insecurity. It was released on the Beach Boys' 1965 album Today!, initially serving as the B-side of their "When I Grow Up (To Be a Man)" single in 1964. It was one of the first songs that Brian wrote while under the influence of marijuana.

Brian considered the song a tribute to Burt Bacharach. According to Allmusic, "This song can essentially be called 'son of "Don't Worry Baby".' It's built around the same kinds of Spector-inspired chord changes and also has a similar sense of vulnerability." According to PopMatters,

The harmonically complex song perfectly expresses the tension and confusion of the lyrics, but always manages to be accessible and tuneful in a way that only Brian Wilson can pull off. That the track was first recorded so early in the album process (before the process even began, in fact) and manages to be one of the most forward-thinking tracks the Beach Boys had put out up to this point, is quite astonishing.

Interpreting its lyrics,

the narrator explores his own relational shortcomings but continues to delude himself into thinking that everything is alright. The first verse expresses his guilt, admitting “I treat her so mean, I don’t deserve what I have / And I think that she’ll forget just by making her laugh”. The second verse, half of which is repeated after the bridge, discusses his jealousy and insecurity, hinting at his emotional abuse of her. He sings, “I get so jealous of the other guy / And then I’m not happy till I make her break down and cry”. But he also recognizes his hypocrisy: “When I look at other girls, it must kill her inside”. But all these issues, in his mind at least, are taken care of by the fact that “she can tell I really love her”. The choruses express the sentiment that because she knows him so well, none of these things matter. They do, of course, but his delusion makes for a more interesting song.


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Wikipedia

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