Shut Down (Beach Boys song)


"Shut Down" is a song written by Brian Wilson and Roger Christian for the American rock band the Beach Boys. The primary melody is a twelve-bar blues. It was released on their 1963 album Surfin' U.S.A. and was also released on their 1963 album Little Deuce Coupe. It was also released as the B-side of the "Surfin' U.S.A." single. The single peaked at number 23 in the US on the 'Billboard' Hot 100 chart, and number 34 in the UK

History

The song details a drag race between a Super-Stock 413 cu. in.-powered 1962 Dodge Dart and a fuel-injected 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray and is derived from a longer poem by Christian. The song is sung from the perspective of the driver of the Sting Ray who brags that he will "shut down" the 413. While the implication is that the Sting Ray will win the race, the song ends before the end of the race with the 413 still in the lead, with the Sting Ray closing the gap. Although the race is often interpreted as having an inconclusive outcome, the lyrics in the outro refrain do state, "Shut it off, shut it off/Buddy now I shut you down", clearly indicating that the narrator, in his Corvette Sting Ray, has in fact won the race, as he tells the Dodge 413's driver to "shut off" the car's engine and accept the fact that he has just been "shut down"., an early 1960s SS Dodge Dart with its 413 cu. in. engine with twin 4-barrel carburetors and ram-air induction, producing 410–420 horsepower, 460–470 torque, would have most likely easily beat a 1963 Chevy Corvette Sting Ray with its fuel injected 327 cu. in. engine producing roughly 350–360 horsepower, 352 torque. Also, the fact that the narrator even says that his "slicks" are starting to spin
The song was recorded and released by Jan & Dean on their 1982 album, One Summer Night/Live.

Personnel

A live version was released on Hawthorne, CA and the song is also part of a live medley on Endless Harmony. A 2003 stereo remix of the song appeared on the compilation. It also plays in the Super Mario Bros. Super Show episode "The Great BMX Race", and is the basis for "Go, Putt-Putt" in Putt-Putt Enters the Race.