"I Know There's an Answer", originally titled "Hang On to Your Ego", is about a protagonist who hesitates to tell people the way that they live could be better. Wilson's response when asked about LSD and "Hang On to Your Ego" was: "I had taken a few drugs, and I had gotten into that kind of thing. I guess it just came up naturally." Loren Schwartz, who introduced Wilson to LSD, recounted that Wilson's first trip was on 125 micrograms of "pure Owsley" and said that Wilson "had the full-on ego death. It was a beautiful thing." The song features an improvised bass harmonica solo played by Tommy Morgan at Wilson's request.