Don’t Worry Baby

🎵 Sing along with the full lyrics at LyricFind

In 1964, Brian Wilson wrote this with lyricist Roger Christian as a love letter to another song entirely: The Ronettes’ “Be My Baby,” which Wilson was so obsessed with that he reportedly listened to it over and over, sometimes to the point of tears, calling it the greatest record ever made. He actually wrote “Don’t Worry Baby” hoping the Ronettes would record it — but producer Phil Spector turned it down, so the Beach Boys kept it for themselves. The lyrics tell an oddly sweet story of a young man who brags his way into a drag race he can’t back out of, only to be soothed by his girlfriend’s reassurance. This hot-rod song found its way onto the Beach Boys’ red-hot single as the B-side of “I Get Around,” their first #1 hit — and it climbed to #24 on the Billboard Hot 100 all on its own, a rare feat for a flip side. Rolling Stone has since ranked it among the greatest songs of all time.