Heroes and Villains – lyrics
E73856
Heroes and Villains – lyrics is the surreal, wordplay-rich text Van Dyke Parks wrote for the Beach Boys’ ambitious 1966–67 single “Heroes and Villains,” central to the mythic SMiLE project.
All labels observed (3)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Heroes and Villains (Verse) | 1 |
| Heroes and Villains (single version) | 1 |
| Heroes and Villains – lyrics canonical | 1 |
Statements (50)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Beach Boys song component
ⓘ
poetic text ⓘ song lyrics ⓘ written work ⓘ |
| associatedAct | The Beach Boys ⓘ |
| associatedAlbum | Smiley Smile ⓘ |
| associatedAlbumProject | SMiLE ⓘ |
| author | Van Dyke Parks ⓘ |
| collaborationWith | Brian Wilson ⓘ |
| copyrightCategory | musical work lyrics ⓘ |
| copyrightHolder |
Brian Wilson
ⓘ
Van Dyke Parks ⓘ |
| countryOfOrigin |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| creationPeriod |
1966
ⓘ
1967 ⓘ |
| firstOfficialReleaseContext | Heroes and Villains single ⓘ |
| firstOfficialReleaseYear | 1967 ⓘ |
| genre |
psychedelic pop lyrics
ⓘ
surrealist lyrics ⓘ |
| hasMultipleVersions | yes ⓘ |
| influencedBy |
American folk imagery
ⓘ
Tin Pan Alley wordplay ⓘ Western movies ⓘ |
| language | English ⓘ |
| lyricsFor | Heroes and Villains ⓘ |
| notableLine |
Heroes and villains, just see what you’ve done
ⓘ
In the cantina, Margarita keeps the spirits high ⓘ I’ve been in this town so long that back in the city I’ve been taken for lost and gone ⓘ My children were raised, you know they suddenly rise ⓘ |
| originalIntendedReleaseContext |
SMiLE
ⓘ
surface form:
SMiLE album
|
| partOf | SMiLE mythos ⓘ |
| primaryComposerOfMusic | Brian Wilson ⓘ |
| structure |
modular sections
ⓘ
multiple narrative vignettes ⓘ |
| stylisticFeatures |
American frontier motifs
ⓘ
Old West references ⓘ alliteration ⓘ fragmented narrative ⓘ internal rhyme ⓘ mythic Americana ⓘ nonsense-like phrases ⓘ surreal imagery ⓘ wordplay ⓘ |
| subjectOf |
critical analysis of SMiLE
ⓘ
fan interpretations ⓘ |
| theme |
Old West
ⓘ
surface form:
American West mythology
heroes and villains duality ⓘ moral ambiguity ⓘ romantic intrigue ⓘ small-town life ⓘ |
Referenced by (3)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
this entity surface form:
Heroes and Villains (single version)