Written by Mike Love, it was lyrically inspired by his fiancée at the time, a woman named Sumako.
The lyrics describe "a young girl who wants to go with her mother to a place called 'Sumahama' in search of her father.
[citation needed] When the release of that project fell through, the song was rerecorded by the Beach Boys.
The original United States LP release of the L.A. (Light Album) featured a version of "Sumahama" that faded out early during the final Japanese verse and did not feature the instrumental ending present on the later released 45 or the re-released CD version of the album.
"Sumahama" was released as a single in the UK backed with "Angel Come Home", charting at number 45.