The Fourth of July is one of the great holidays, if only because it enshrines the great American pastimes of putting large piles of meat to the flame, drinking cheap beer outdoors, listening to the Beach Boys, and blowing shit up with illegal fireworks. Oddly, there aren't that many Fourth Of July party jams out there (well, outside the realm of contemporary country music), and songs that go by the title of the holiday are often contemplative political statements (just think of the USA-themed songs of Springsteen). Well, here's one of the latter, a little-known Beach Boys track from 1971 written by Dennis Wilson and sung by his brother Carl; it was intended for the Surf's Up album but not released until the band's 1993 box set. It's mellow and the lyrics are on the depressing side, but this holiday, in my opinion, should include a few moments of national introspection before we get back to our flame-broiled weenies and contraband explosives. The Beach Boys, "4th Of July":
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