All the leaves are brown and the sky is gray.
I’ve been for a walk on a winter’s day.
I’d be safe and warm if I was in L.A.;
California dreamin' on such a winter’s day.
Stopped in to a church I passed along the way.
Well I got down on my knees and I pretend to pray.
You know the preacher likes the cold;
He knows I’m gonna stay.
California dreamin' on such a winter’s day.
All the leaves are brown and the sky is gray.
I’ve been for a walk on a winter’s day.
If I didn’t tell her I could leave today;
California dreamin' on such a winter’s day.
California dreamin' on such a winter’s day.
California dreamin' on such a winter’s day…
I might be among the only ones that likes this version better than the original... Heh. Probably because this is the first version I heard of it as a kid. Hearing the original just makes me feel cheated, kind of...
John Phillips actually asked the Beach Boys to remake the song for its 20th (?) anniversary. He and the BB were longtime friends, and the BB were originally involved in planning the Monterey Pop Music Festival (the precursor to Woodstock '69) with John in 1967. Cass Eliot had passed and Denny Doherty wouldn't cooperate with a re-release of the song, so Philips turned to Brian Wilson for the new version. In its own way, this is at least as good as the original.
By FAR the best version. I like it that Brian was part of this--he's had a very difficult life. I find this video both uplifting and sad at the same time. Seeing them all slowly disappear at the end chokes me up for some reason.
Always wondered why everyone sings about California until I went there. Vacaville on my mind, twas love at first sight. California dreamin', I'LL BE BACK!
Recognize the guitar sound at the beginning and throughout the record ? It's Roger McGuinn (The Byrds) playing his Rickenbacker 12 string. .......sounds awesome !!
The original version of this song by The Mamas and The Papas is great, but this version is also just as great! I love the video with the then-surviving Mamas and Papas members making appearances in this. Just fantastic! RIP Mama Cass Elliot and John Phillips.