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One Monkey Lyrics
one monkey don't stop the show
one monkey don't stop the show
one monkey don't stop the show
ohhh so get on board
one monkey don't stop the show
one monkey don't stop the show
one monkey don't stop the show
ohhh so get on board
here comes a freight train
here comes a freight train
here comes a freight train
so get on board
one monkey don't stop the show
one monkey don't stop the show
one monkey don't stop the show
ohhh so get on board
there is a purpose of run and keel
there is a captain with a steady wheel
and one monkey don't stop the show
one monkey don't stop the show
one monkey don't stop the show
ohhh so get on board
one monkey don't stop the show
one monkey don't stop the show
one monkey don't stop the show
ohhh so get on board
here comes a slow train
here comes a slow train
here comes a slow train
so get on board
one monkey don't stop the show
one monkey don't stop the show
one monkey don't stop the show
ohhh so get on board
she's at the station, rollin' slow
ready for leavin' and she's gonna go
one monkey don't stop the show
one monkey don't stop the show
one monkey don't stop the show
ohhh
here come the freight train
here comes a freight train
here comes a freight train
so get on board
one monkey don't stop the show
one monkey don't stop the show
one monkey don't stop the show
ohhh
one monkey don't stop the show
one monkey don't stop the show
one monkey don't stop the show
ohhh so get on board
one monkey don't stop the show
one monkey don't stop the show
one monkey don't stop the show
ohhh so get on board
here comes a freight train
here comes a freight train
so get on board
one monkey don't stop the show
one monkey don't stop the show
ohhh so get on board
one monkey don't stop the show
one monkey don't stop the show
ohhh so get on board
here comes a freight train
here comes a freight train
so get on board
one monkey don't stop the show
one monkey don't stop the show
ohhh so get on board
there is a captain with a steady wheel
one monkey don't stop the show
one monkey don't stop the show
ohhh so get on board
one monkey don't stop the show
one monkey don't stop the show
ohhh so get on board
here comes a slow train
here comes a slow train
so get on board
one monkey don't stop the show
one monkey don't stop the show
ohhh so get on board
ready for leavin' and she's gonna go
one monkey don't stop the show
one monkey don't stop the show
ohhh
here comes a freight train
here comes a freight train
so get on board
one monkey don't stop the show
one monkey don't stop the show
ohhh
one monkey don't stop the show
one monkey don't stop the show
ohhh so get on board
one monkey don't stop the show
one monkey don't stop the show
ohhh so get on board
here comes a freight train
so get on board
Song Info
Submitted by
smallwonderrobot On Sep 20, 2006
More Gillian Welch
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I Dream A Highway
Everything Is Free
The Way It Goes
Hard Times
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This is politics, you can't fight city hall, she is being sarcastic about the power of the established machine, so get on board, or be branded a rebel, like Homs. Are you that monkey?
My friend says "Sounds to me like 1933"
Actually, it seems to be a reference to an old song called:"The Monkey and the Engineer" where the monkey, after carefully observing the engineer, attempts to run the train.Predictably the train is wrecked. An allegorical reference to our goverment or goverment in general perhaps? Somewhat reminiscient of :"Ship of Fools" in its theme.
The monkey and the engineer occurred to me as well. I've been playing that this week, and there's a monkey and a train... Maybe something there, she does identify as a deadhead. Welch sometimes weaves her stories into the music (wrecking ball, everything is free), so maybe she had a foolish person (monkey?) that potentially endangered the trajectory of the band, but this person wouldn't be allowed to stop the show, the train kept on... That might make her the captain with the steady wheel. Or maybe it's about life and god... Maybe not.
"One money don't stop the show" was a common expression in R&B circles going back to 1950. It means "one setback should not impede progress". We'll probably never know, but I wonder if "monkey" is a shortened version of "monkeywrench".