Hear Previously Unreleased 1972 Beach Boys Song ‘Carry Me Home’

The Beach Boys have released a previously unreleased song titled “Carry Me Home,” which was recorded in 1972, ahead of its appearance on an upcoming box set.

Sail on Sailor – 1972 is an in-depth exploration of that time in the band’s history as it embraced change. It will be released on Dec. 2 in six-CD and five-LP editions, and contains newly remastered versions of 1972’s Carl and the Passions – "So Tough" and 1973’s Holland, along with unreleased outtakes, demos, live recordings and alternate versions.

Sail on Sailor is available for preorder now. You can hear “Carry Me Home” below.

“Written and produced by Dennis Wilson about a soldier dying in the Vietnam War, the hauntingly beautiful, downtempo ballad features powerful vocals from Dennis and Blondie Chaplin over plaintive piano, country-tinged pedal steel, acoustic guitar, marching drums and the band’s trademark harmonies,” a press release explained. “This marks the first official release of the oft-bootlegged track that has circulated among hardcore fans in inferior audio quality for years.

"It has long been one of the most requested songs to be released from the group’s archive. Although it has been considered for release over the years, Sail on Sailor – 1972 finally provides the historic and musical context the song has long deserved.”

The press release noted that 1972 was a pivotal period for the Beach Boys as they moved on from previous successes. On So Tough they brought in new band members Chaplin and Ricky Fataar. After that, they left California for Europe to work on Holland. “A massive and massively expensive undertaking, the band’s entire L.A.-based studio was dismantled, shipped overseas and rebuilt by engineer Stephen Moffitt. Meanwhile, the band members and their families and staff lived in different hamlets and soaked up the new environment.”

“While both albums found success upon release, they’ve only continued to grow in stature 50 years after their release. … Sail on Sailor – 1972 offers an opportunity like never before to revisit this creatively fertile and transitional time in the band and experience this underappreciated era, a time when the Beach Boys threw out all the rules and reinvented themselves once again.”