(Credits: Far Out / Jørund F Pedersen / Raph_PH / Alamy)
Sun 4 January 2026 21:30, UK
Being pressed by a music journalist to name your favourite song of all time is a scenario I’ve willingly put others in on multiple occasions. Forcing the recipient to answer the unanswerable question, with a steely gaze that demands a definitive answer and removes all sense of nuance from artistic conversation.
Now, for the benefit of this article and you, dear reader, I’m going to avert my gaze inwards, ask myself what the greatest song of all time is, and boldly answer it with ‘God Only Knows’ by The Beach Boys.
It’s more than just a pop masterpiece; it’s a piece of comforting familiarity and groundbreaking innovation all in one. The lyrical sentiment and harmonic delivery of it all are achingly emotive, yet when you give yourself a chance to step back from that, its arrangements provide endless pockets of intrigue and analysis. Even now, nearly half a century on from its release, the song showcases flecks of brilliance that I am only just hearing for the very first time.
However, no matter how passionate I sound in my labelling of ‘God Only Knows’ as music’s greatest ever song, it’s far from groundbreaking. In fact, I step forth into this not-so-bold territory under the shadow of giants, who have all made similarly definitive calls. Even the great Paul McCartney said, “‘God Only Knows’ is one of the few songs that reduces me to tears every time I hear it”, while The Who’s Pete Townshend literally called it a perfect piece of music.
But two separate musicians have stepped outside of those shadows to make what they consider a more alternative and thoughtful call. Refusing to follow the crowd into ‘God Only Knows’ immortality, David Crosby and John Fogerty have picked an earlier Beach Boys song as their primary reference point when labelling the band’s genius.
Stepping back into their 1963 album Surfer Girl, the pair labelled ‘In My Room’ as Brian Wilson’s pièce de résistance. Crosby explained, “Brian was the most highly regarded pop musician in America, hands down. Everybody by that time had figured out who was writing and arranging it all. ‘In My Room’ was the defining point for me. When I heard it, I thought “I give up – I can’t do that – I’ll never be able to do that.”
While Fogerty was more muted in his appraisal of the song, refusing to label it as something that would force him to quit altogether, he uttered three simple words when describing the song. Three simple words that represent the ultimate goal of songwriting.
He said, “Songwriting peers I admire include Lennon & McCartney, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Elton John & Bernie Taupin and Brian Wilson. You know that Brian Wilson song ‘In My Room’? It’s the truth.”
Pet Sounds and, in particular, ‘God Only Knows’ certainly represent the peak of Wilson and The Beach Boys’ songwriting legacy. And while their discography thereafter represented something of a slow decline, it can’t be mistaken for their only great piece of work. No, beneath that is a catalogue of work, just like ‘In My Room’ that proves Wilson as one of the greatest to ever do it.
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