Beach Boys - Spirit Of America Lyrics

No terrism back here

You said “straight to your soul” in description. Yes!!!!

The Beatles ripped these guys off, ask McCartney.

I love the Beach Boys, but I have trouble listening to them these days. The feeling of nostalgia is just too painful. What stands out to me about them is their earnestness and complete lack of irony or cynicism. Nobody today would write a heartfelt song about his room, or his dad, or loyalty to his school. Or about a car--always referred to as "she" by the way.

:) Then try "Pom pom play girl", "i'd love just once to see you" or "I'm Bugged At My Old Man", for instance. Enjoy!

a classic song from the little deuce coup album. [ it,s about the americans capturing the land speed record ]

Graig Breedlove. was his name. 407 mph on the saltflats in his rocket car 🇺🇸 ♥️ 💙 named Spirit of America ♥️💙 circa 1964 there abouts

One of Brian's prettiest vocal melodies for sure. I could listen to this song over and over.

when i was like 13 0r so i once shook Craig Breedlove's hand at the International Car Show at the New York Coliseum back in the era!

could we somehow just make this the American anthem?

genki2 genki3 love❤️❤️!!!

The King of my heart in MUSIC, very dangerous Brian. You took a chance and produced,wrote,sang, arraigned music .Thank you for the SPIRIT you evoke , Forever

Brian's voice is so beautiful in this song, it almost makes me cry.

The Bonneville Salt Flats had seen some strange things//But the strangest thing yet.....was a jet without wings//Once as a jet....it played in the stars, but now on the ground is the king of all cars// refrain// An airplane, an auto, now famous worldwide// The Spirit of America, the name on the side// The man who would drive her....Craig Breedlove by name// A daring young man played a dangerous game//refrain// With a J-47, a jet for its power, Craig Breedlove had averaged 4-0-7 per hour// Both man and machine had given fair warn// They'd set a new record on that warm August morn//refrain//

Great song; could never understand the lyrics until I read them; thanks.

The correct verse begins...Half airplane, Half auto.

The Beach Boys best car song...beautifully sung by Brian Wilson. Should be included in any serious "best of" compilation.

my fav is on this LP as well No Go Show Boat. by way have a bad NASCAR car joke. Q why does a chicken coop only have two doors. A. if it had four it would be Sedan

happy fourth lol

Just incredible

nice. haven't heard in years thanks

On surfboards or on the salt flats our hearts took us there didn't they ?

Beach Boys/Woman Fan Forever Mrs. Amanda Johnston.

among their most authentically doo-wop originals

Craig Breedlove drove three different Spirit of America cars. He was the first driver to go over 400 mph on land. He was also the first man to drive over 500 mph and also 600 mph. In the third Spirit of America car, Breedlove failed to break the 700 mph mark, reaching a top speed of 676 mph.

This song is about the first Spirit of America car, which went over 400 mph in 1963. The following year, Breedlove would pass the 500mph mark in the same car, reaching a speed 526 mph.

The first Spirit of America car was powered by a General Electric J47 jet engine, from an F86 Saber jet fighter. The J47 powered many other aircraft, but the Saber was the most famous plane to use the J47 engine. The Saber was the most one of most produced jet fighters in history. It was used extensively by the US for air combat in the Korean war.

When Craig Breedlove set his record of 526 mph in 1964, at the end of his second run, he lost his parachute brakes. The Spirit of America skidded for 5 miles, went between a row of telephone poles and crashed into a pond at 200 mph. After the crash, Breedlove climbed out of his car, soaking wet and proclaimed, "And now for my next act I'm going to set myself on fire". The crash earned Breedlove a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for the "longest skid marks".

I'm glad I didn't know the lyrics to this when I was a kid. I had all kinds of visions of what this song was about. A car song so good you'd expect it to be sung in a cathedral.

First time I'm hearing this song. Is it just me or does this song sound like I'm So Young?

Anthony Remedios
Yes it does, Brian's creativity also included subtle, lnventive imitations... e.g. Surfin USA's tune was exactly "Sweet Little Sixteen" for which he was nailed for taking the credit. Surfer Girl stems from Disney - When You Wish Upon a Star, etc. It all goes back to J.S. Bach who was a true master of melodic beauty/complexity, though he also must have been influenced by others as well.

Thank you

Anthony Remedios Brian's voice was amazing though on this rather obscure tune, the Beach Boys (Wilsons) survivor and still tunesmith in old age.

@Waddy Coppinger It is.

Doo Wop with axle grease😘

Spirit Of The United States America

Brian's vocals are so pure its just unbeatable.

This song is about Craig Breedlove who set a land speed record in a car named Spirit of America. Just for the record (pun intended) & it is a cool song.

I'd love to hear an all-vocals version of this song.

The Beach Boys have a whole subdivision of music in their "Car Songs".  I'm just shooting from the hip here,  but I'd probably put the Surfing Songs, and Sun/Beach songs in with these....This song, along with Surfer Girl, Warmth of the Sun, Betsy, etc..share fabulous vocals unmatched by anyone.  Others were in the same genre once in a while...

The Beach Boys recorded more car songs than surfing songs.

FACT.

Mostly known only by serious Beach Boys fans who recognize it as one of Brian's best lead vocals. No one could match Brian's voice, especially his falsettos. He was amazing in his prime.

Back in those days, I didn't know who was singing a lot of their songs....of course Mike Love was distinctive....it's good to know that this great voice was Brian as has been said, in his prime....

People like Taylor Swift and Katy Perry don't need to have Famous Singers as There Influence People like Taylor and Katy can be There Own Influence just like Me.

Prob we'll run away is

i just LOVE this song. it has a special meaning to me. i love the beach boys.

this is like a 1950s rock song, sung better than any band from that era

+B WAPP, let's not get carried away. I love Brian Wilson and his music, but there were some pretty fine singers and bands in the 1950s. Enthusiasm for one decade does not justify lying about another decade.

I with you BWapp. The only band that I think sang better were the Beatles. Whether it was John and Paul or those two plus George they were amazing. The Beach Boys were awesome especially their music thru Pet Sounds.

This is my new favorite BW song

the actual car is in the museum near where i live. when ever i go see it, this song plays in my head.

On the page the lyrics are so corny. They just soar with it. I could listen to it forever.

Everything they did was great.
The Beach Boys are America's greatest ever group.
No question.

George Vreeland Hill

What sort of music do you have from The Pendletons? I'm very interested to hear where and how you got it! :)

This song is a tribute to Craig Breedlove and his jet powered Spirit of America that set speed records in the early '60s, not to Charles Lindburgh.

Well...if it was a tribute to Charles Lindbergh's 1927 Atlantic crossing, the song would have been entitled "The Spirit of St. Louis" after his airplane.

I first fell in love with this song when I bought the compilation albums of the same name (strangely enough, I bought this first in '75 and then "Endless Summer" which was released in '74). I must've worn the grooves down of those records, for playing them so much. I fell in love with this '60's music in the '70's and here it is the 2nd decade of the 21st Century and I still love the Beach Boys...and probably always will!

I saw them TWICE in New Orleans in the '80's. Once in City Park at night and once at the University of New Orleans(UNO) baseball diamond. Fantastic concerts. This from a BB fan from the early '60's. I was born in '52 so I was 11 when this came out. The BB's had a fabulous mix of '50's groovin' and mid-sixties sound that was theirs and theirs alone thanks largely to a musical genius by the name of Brian Wilson. Without Brian, there would be no Beach Boys. He nearly lost his mind doing it, but he wrote some of the most unforgettable and powerful music - EVER!

and me also

And me too! :D

It was with me!

great tribute to charles lindburg i wish i could find a live recording of it brian is great

Wrong! Charles Lindbergh= Spirit of St. Louis= 1927 1st solo TransAtlantic crossing in an aircraft.
Craig Breedlove= Spirit of America =1963 1st land vehicle over 400 mph.
Back to the History Books for you.

I cant believe how good is this excelent 1963 quality stereo track and we cant find a fcking stereo track for good vibrations.

America needs this kind of song right now. The government has sucked so much of it out of us. Thanks for reminding us when America was at it's best! Thanks Brian.

I never knew the history of the song and am so glad you enlightened us.
I wonder what year this took place.
However I did always love this song and played it to death on my record album as a teen. Hope I can get it on my IPod somehow.
The BeachBoys gave such quality enjoyment to our lives. God Bless them for that.

"Once as a Jet it played in the skies"
"But now on the ground it's the king of our cars"
Awesome!

Correction...it played in the stars...rhymes with cars.

The first time I heard this, I thought it was Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. Another great, under-played Beach Boy classic.

wonder what their voices would sound like together

@benjamin3290 How neat! Craig was a hero to kids like me. I had a Breedlove relative in Dallas, btw. And you may know Patty Loveless' first husband was a Breedlove.

bksanf01 breedlove came from and still lives in my hometown

@bksanf01 Craig Breedlove is actually my grandfather's first cousin, we all share the same last name. Awesome family history! He was the first to go 300, 400, and 500 mph.

@alanhfrank
Yes, this is a splendid sound, these young men were in a very high level. Thanks for your coment.

One of my all time favorite groups and tunes...thisis a fine example of their doo wop style and is the tip of the iceberg of their earlier skills. I still have a copy of SURFIN' on "X" records (flip LUAU), and of course their even earlier material as the Pendletons (sp?). Thanks for sharing this great cut.

The PENDLETON?? Wow. I had forgotten that was their first chosen name. They actually recorded for Capital Records by that name? I never knew of it and I'm a BB fan almost from their inception in '62-'63.

@horrorshow20000
Thanks for your coment. This is a wonderful song for me too.

@bksanf01
Thanks for this information, i didn't know it, tough I supposed something like that.

I do not see the following among the comments. Sorry if this is common knowledge ...

This song commemorated Craig Breedlove's world land speed record at Bonneville, breking 400 MPH in the Spirit of America. The context was the height of the Cold War and the "space race." We didn't know at the time who was going to win it. There was a lot of fear of nuclear attack. So when Breedlove set the record in a car named Spirit of America there was great national pride.

Sad this song wasn't a hit

This song shows why Roger Christian was called one of the best "hot rod poets"of all time.This song is as good or even better than his better known songs(ie Little Deuce Coupe,Shut Down and Don't Worry Baby).

@westentrance agreed sir!! If you get their complete album, they do a handful of covers of motown songs and if I did not know better, I would think it was the original artist(s). I think they might have even sounded better.

The first time I heard this I swore it was Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. Valli's falsettos were a little sharper than Wilson's but it was close enough to fool me.

Great drama in an opereatic single. Brian probably wrote this over cornflakes.

Thank you very much for your splendid comment!
Yeah, fantastic album it is, with songs like this.
And Be true to your school is really amazing, for sure!
Greetings and blessings.

nos es de mis bandas preferidas, pero el comienzo era más rockero.