You Still Believe in Me
The lyrics are about a man who, while acknowledging his irresponsible behavior and unfaithfulness, is impressed by the unwavering loyalty of his lover, who is left shouldering the stability of their relationship.
Wilson's then-wife Marilyn surmised that this choice of subject matter was indebted to the couple's marital struggles at the time.
One of the first songs produced for Pet Sounds, Wilson recorded the track between October 1965 and February 1966 with the aid of his bandmates, Asher, and 13 session musicians who variously played harpsichord, clarinets, 12-string electric guitars, timpani, finger cymbals, pianos, basses, and bicycle horn.
According to biographer Peter Ames Carlin, "Brian already had a set of lyrics that fit with the tune's sweet vaguely melancholy sound and quirky textural effects (a bicycle horn and bell).
"[2] In December 1965, Wilson contacted jingle writer Tony Asher about a possible lyric collaboration, wanting to do something "completely different" with someone he had never written with before.
[4] Wilson played some of the music he had recently recorded and gave a cassette to Asher containing the backing track to "In My Childhood".
"[4] Later, Asher revised his story again, "If I remember correctly, the original melody sounded exactly the way it does on the album, and someone had already written lyrics.
He knew that he was not a good husband, and that I was very lonely, and really didn't get much back from him, and he made me cry all the time, because it was hard to understand that kind of life, what was going on for him.
[12] As with other songs on Pet Sounds, the subject matter of "You Still Believe in Me" derived from Asher and Wilson's intimate discussions regarding their experiences in life and romance.
[11][nb 1] Wilson stated that the song is about a man who feels free to express love in a fashion associated with the opposite sex.
[15] He writes, "You Still Believe in Me" was an interior monologue of self-doubt, exploring and debating Marilyn's patient capacity to forgive Brian's selfishness and creative absorption.
Contrasting the rude force of their frequent breakups with the softer tone of their reconciliations, Brian admits the only time he feels in control of the relationship is when she's providing the stability, although he's unable to be what she wants him to be.
[17] Commenting on its placement on the record, music critic Jim Esch said the song develops "a theme inaugurated and suggested by 'Wouldn't It Be Nice': fragile lovers buckling under the pressure of external forces they can't control, self-imposed romantic expectations and personal limitations, while simultaneously trying to maintain faith in one other.
[20] According to musicologist Philip Lambert, the repetition in the verse progression appears to reflect "the constancy of the girl's faith and spirit", whereas the simplistic melodies and overall mood of the piece "captures the guy's immaturity".
[11] Biographer David Leaf quoted an unnamed "classically-trained musician" discussing the song: [It] compositionally embodies the unique manner in which Brian writes music.
[21] Musicologist James Perone writes that the "snaky" melody in "I want to cry" represents one of the "high points" of the piece.
[23] The ending, recorded before Asher rewrote the lyrics, features the sounds of a bicycle bell and horn, a remnant of the song's original childhood theme.
[31] In his self-described "unbiased" review of the album for Record Mirror, Norman Jopling described the song as "slightly off tune ... [it has] a delicate backing which thank heavens doesn't interfere with the complicated but smoothflowing [sic] harmonies ..."[32] AllMusic reviewer Jim Esch decreed that the song "signalled to listeners of Pet Sounds that something new and wonderful was happening to pop music" and referred to the ending coda as the "moment that you realize that something in pop music has irrevocably crossed the line and merged with a classical sensibility.
