These lyrics were originally posted at Corrente back when Condi Rice was wowing them on the beltway, with her "actionable this, actionable that" patter. I re-post it here because I was watching Beetlejuice today and felt the Calypso rhythm calling...
SWAT THE FLIES AND SHAKE THE TREES
I was shaking the trees when a monkey fell out
He landed hard and he started to shout:
"Why everybody always messing with me?
I’m just a stupid monkey in a stupid tree!"
I was swatting at flies when the monkey came round
He got real mad and he jumped up and down:
Why everybody got to remind me
I need a fly swatter and a strategy!
(chorus)
Come on down now, come on down
Come on down now, come on down
Swat at the flies that are buzzing around
Swat the flies and shake the trees
That stupid monkey just do what he please
I was drinking a soda in the Lone Star state
Looking at the sky and thinking of fate
Just then a monkey on the radio station
He say: Don’t ask me nothin’ when I’m on vacation.
I was dodging a bullet in the sands of Iraq
I was hoping my buddies had covered my back
Just then a monkey fell out of the sky
And gave us fake turkey and a plastic pie
(chorus)
Come on down now, come on down
Come on down now, come on down
Swat at the flies that are buzzing around
Swat the flies and shake the trees
That stupid monkey just do what he please
I was shaking the trees when a monkey fell out
He landed hard and he started to shout:
Why everybody always messing with me?
I’m just a stupid monkey in a stupid tree
I was swatting at flies when the monkey came round
He got real mad and he jumped up and down:
Why everybody got to remind me
I need a fly swatter and a strategy!
(repeat chorus)
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photo is of Sir Lancelot
(Lancelot Victor Edward Pinard)
Sir Lancelot was from Trinidad
And sang many a Calypso song...
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Comments
A while back, I wanted to record something of yours. I'm ashamed to say I don't even have a copy of either your poem (my hard drive died) or the recorded version we began but didn't finish (I could get it from our engineer friend with a little trouble). I remember parts of it: "May I never forget this crime against our soldiers/May I stand on every bridge, may I stand on every tarmac and point and shout/These are our sons and daughters/These are our dead returning. . ." It wound up being a kind of Doors-ish spoken-word thing. I wanted to add sound effects, but it's tough to get the band to spend money on tracks they don't play on.
Anyway, what I'm getting at: I could sing this, and we're going back into the studio soon.
If you want to hear something of ours first, there are a couple of tracks at http://www.thewarshers.com/pages/1/index.htm .
oh, "clear" channel. nevermind.
Thanks for the note: my computer crashed last year and I lost just about everything--the poem you mention is gone...as I recall it was an awkward fit for any kind of rhythm/melody action. Maybe it will turn up somewhere...
I went to your site and listened to a sample: very nice, a kind of rock 'n roll lament. I liked it.
I will post some lyrics today, based upon "the lost song" idea and what sounds may be buzzing about in my head...thanks for dropping by.
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