Heroes and Villains

Wilson asked Parks to be his lyricist in mid-July 1966, and this was their first song. At the first writing session Parks heard the descending melody and thought of Marty Robbins's "El Paso", then came up with the opening line, "I've been in this town so long". Wilson had the Old West in mind, and he pictured a three-minute musical comedy that would top "Good Vibrations".

The recording was the most complex of any Beach Boys song. About 30 session dates went to it and it cost roughly $40,000. Wilson tried at least a dozen versions, and most of the final composite was made in three days at his home studio. The Beach Boys released it as a single in July 1967, and it peaked at 12 in the US and 8 in the UK.

For the 2004 album Wilson restored the "Cantina" section, because the band had already been playing that structure live. Wilson played it on piano at a Christmas gathering in 2000, performed it at the Radio City Music Hall tribute in March 2001, and played it on The Tonight Show on 28 September 2004. The Smile Sessions in 2011 gave a whole disc to its original sessions.