"Sumahama" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1979 album L.A. (Light Album). Written by Mike Love, it was lyrically inspired by his fiancée at the time, a woman named Sumako. The lyrics describe "a young girl who wants to go with her mother to a place called 'Sumahama' in search of her father."[1] Although some of the lyrics are in Japanese, Sumako was of Korean descent.[1]
Sumahama is also the name of a popular beach in Kobe, Japan. 'Hama' is the Japanese word for 'beach'.
Background
It was originally written by Mike Love for his unreleased solo album, First Love.[citation needed] When the release of that project fell through, the song was rerecorded by the Beach Boys.
The original United States LP release of the L.A. (Light Album) featured a version of "Sumahama" that faded out early during the final Japanese verse and did not feature the instrumental ending present on the later released 45 or the re-released CD version of the album. The original LP version of the song was approximately four minutes and seven seconds.
Single release
In the U.S., "Sumahama" was released as a B-side to the single "It's a Beautiful Day".
"Sumahama" was released as a single in the UK backed with "Angel Come Home", charting at number 45.[2]
