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Monty Got A Raw Deal Lyrics
"Monty Got A Raw Deal"
Monty this seems strange to me.
The movies had that movie thing,
But nonsense has a welcome ring
And heroes don't come easily.
Now, nonsense isn't new to me.
I know my head, I know my feet,
But mischief knocked me in the knees.
Said, Just let go. Just let go.
I saw the ocean meet the man.
I saw you buried in the sand.
A friend was there to hold your hand,
Said, Walk on by.
So, I went walking through the street.
I saw you strung up in a tree.
A woman knelt there said to me,
Said, Hold your tongue, man. Hold your tongue.
You don't owe me anything.
You don't want this sympathy. (waste your breath)
Don't you waste your breath. (waste your breath)
For the silver screen.
That nonsense doesn't mean a thing,
They tried to bust you in a sting,
But virtue isn't everything
So, don't waste time.
Now, here's a rhyme that you can steal.
Put this on your reel to reel.
Mischief threw a rotten deal.
Monty's laying low.
He is laying low.
Just let go, just let go.
You don't owe me anything.
You don't want this sympathy. (waste your breath)
Don't you waste your breath. (waste your breath)
Monty this seems strange to me.
The movies had that movie thing,
But nonsense has a welcome ring
And heroes don't come easily.
Now, nonsense isn't new to me.
I know my head, I know my feet,
But mischief knocked me in the knees.
Said, Just let go. Just let go.
I saw you buried in the sand.
A friend was there to hold your hand,
Said, Walk on by.
So, I went walking through the street.
I saw you strung up in a tree.
A woman knelt there said to me,
Said, Hold your tongue, man. Hold your tongue.
You don't want this sympathy. (waste your breath)
Don't you waste your breath. (waste your breath)
For the silver screen.
They tried to bust you in a sting,
But virtue isn't everything
So, don't waste time.
Now, here's a rhyme that you can steal.
Put this on your reel to reel.
Mischief threw a rotten deal.
Monty's laying low.
He is laying low.
Just let go, just let go.
You don't want this sympathy. (waste your breath)
Don't you waste your breath. (waste your breath)
Monty this seems strange to me.
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Obviously the song is about Montgomery Clift who was a great actor who happened to be gay at a time when it was kept secret. After his car wreck he had a bad scar on his face that left him depressed. He eventually died alone from slow self-destruction. It is a great song. The title is itself a joke. There once was a silly game show called Let's Make A Deal. It was hosted by a man named Monty Hall.
Publisher, your brain is blocked
"Monty Got A Raw Deal"
Monty this seems strange to me. The movies had that movie thing, But nonsense has a welcome ring And heroes don't come easily. Now, nonsense isn't new to me. I know my head, I know my feet, But mischief knocked me in the knees. Said, Just let go. Just let go.
I saw the ocean meet the man. I saw you buried in the sand. A friend was there to hold your hand, Said, Walk on by. So, I went walking through the street. I saw you strung up in a tree. A woman knelt there said to me, Said, Hold your tongue, man. Hold your tongue.
You don't owe me anything. You don't want this sympathy. (waste your breath) Don't you waste your breath. (waste your breath) For the silver screen.
That nonsense doesn't mean a thing, They tried to bust you in a sting, But virtue isn't everything So, don't waste time. Now, here's a rhyme that you can steal. Put this on your reel to reel. Mischief threw a rotten deal. Monty's laying low. He is laying low. Just let go, just let go.
You don't owe me anything. You don't want this sympathy. (waste your breath) Don't you waste your breath. (waste your breath) Monty this seems strange to me.
shit...i came on to try and interpret it but i hav no idea...is it from the perspective from a cop who lets a criminal off b/c, even though he deserves punishment, he knows he'll get worse than he deserves???
bhoover247: D'oh! Totally missed the link to Monty Hall and 'LMAD'. Thanks for that!
I wonder if the lines "I saw the ocean meet the man, I saw you buried in the sand" isn't a reference to the movie "From Here to Eternity", which Clift starred in. The movie has that famous 'beach scene' but it's between Burt Lancaster -- not Clift -- and Deborah Kerr. Maybe a double entendre or a euphemism for another event in Clift's life.
that makes perfect sense, good call
that makes perfect sense, good call
I believe that "the man" may be Burt, and "buried in the sand" refers to Clift and his dying scene in "From here to eternity". I also thing that the next few lines ("So, I went walking through the street") mean that watching the movie affected Micheal's life strongly.
I believe that "the man" may be Burt, and "buried in the sand" refers to Clift and his dying scene in "From here to eternity". I also thing that the next few lines ("So, I went walking through the street") mean that watching the movie affected Micheal's life strongly.
REM is perhaps my favorite band, and Clift was certainly a great actor, so finding out that this song is about him meant a lot to me. All of his movies that i have seen so far are great, so anyone who doesn't...
REM is perhaps my favorite band, and Clift was certainly a great actor, so finding out that this song is about him meant a lot to me. All of his movies that i have seen so far are great, so anyone who doesn't mind watching black-and-white should try them.
To me this song is in part about Montgomery Clift's life.
At the same time I think it's about much more than this. The song just uses Montgomery Clift as an example of a life
where mischief/nonsense has struck. Where unjust things take place. As the song says Monty Got a Raw Deal. But the song
is just using Montgomery Clift's life as one example of a life where unjust things have taken place. This is something that
happens to all of us in all our lives ... some more than others. Stipe's advice is to "just let go," "hold your tongue," to not
"waste time" and to "not waste our breath." The latter phrase in particular is great. By advising us not to waste our breath,
I think Stipe is basically saying not to waste our lives dwelling on these injustices. Shit happens. But this is inevitable and
often times we make a bad situation even worse. So don't waste time, don't waste your breath, live.
Another good phrase is "you don't owe me anything." To me what this phrase means is that life doesn't owe us anything.
Life doesn't owe us anything. Bad things may happen, good things may happen. But be aware, Stipe seems to be saying,
life doesn't owe us anything and we shouldn't act (ever) as if life owes us something. Having that kind of attitude only
causes us to eventually/inevitably "waste our breath" and diminishes the quality of our lives.
Seriously just cus stipe is gay doesn't mean all his songs are about homosexuallity give it a rest people.
@QOP No, but he does talk a lot about how people should just except others for who they are and the tragedy attached when people don't. You can bet on that.
@QOP No, but he does talk a lot about how people should just except others for who they are and the tragedy attached when people don't. You can bet on that.
@QOP No, but he does talk a lot about how people should just accept others for who they are and the tragedy attached when people don't. You can bet on that.
@QOP No, but he does talk a lot about how people should just accept others for who they are and the tragedy attached when people don't. You can bet on that.
@QOP I agree about the give it a rest part, but you got Michael's sexuality wrong. He's bi. This either-or, black-and-white, gay-or-straight attitude so many people seem to have is so misguided.
@QOP I agree about the give it a rest part, but you got Michael's sexuality wrong. He's bi. This either-or, black-and-white, gay-or-straight attitude so many people seem to have is so misguided.
@GwiberWyrdd I've heard him refer to himself as queer, which is generally used for when sexuality is too complicated to put into words or a neat grouping, as it can often be. Even bi sometimes gives the impression of a 50/50 attraction split, when that isn't necessarily the case.
@GwiberWyrdd I've heard him refer to himself as queer, which is generally used for when sexuality is too complicated to put into words or a neat grouping, as it can often be. Even bi sometimes gives the impression of a 50/50 attraction split, when that isn't necessarily the case.
Monty (i don't kno his second name) was an actor who was villified for being gay, i think... thats what this is about
Monty (i don't kno his second name) was an actor who was villified for being gay, i think... thats what this is about
His name was Montgomery Clift, I don't know much about him but he was pretty revolutionary I think. But he was gay, so I'm thinking Little Baby Nothing is right from the title, and lines like "I saw you strung up in a tree."
Great, great song by the way.