I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Cover me when I run
Cover me through the fire
Something knocked me out' the trees
Now I'm on my knees
Cover me, darling please, hey
Monkey, monkey, monkey
Don't you know when you're going to shock the monkey
Fox the fox
Rat the rat
You can ape the ape
I know about that
There is one thing you must be sure of
I can't take any more
Darling, don't you monkey with the monkey, hey
Monkey, monkey, monkey
Don't you know you're going to shock the monkey, hey, hey
Shock the monkey, hey yeah
(Monkey) Wheels keep turning
(Monkey) Something's burning
(Monkey) Don't like it but I guess I'm learning
Shock, shock, shock
Watch the monkey get hurt, monkey
Shock, shock, shock
Watch the monkey get hurt, monkey
Cover me when I sleep
Cover me when I breathe
You throw your pearls before the swine
Make the monkey blind
Cover me, darling please, hey
Monkey, monkey, monkey
Don't you know you're going to shock the monkey, hey, hey
Shock the monkey, hey yeah
(Monkey) Too much at stake
(Monkey) Ground beneath me shake
(Monkey) And the news is breaking
Shock, shock, shock
Watch the monkey get hurt, monkey
Shock, shock, shock
Watch the monkey get hurt, monkey
Shock the monkey
Shock the monkey
Shock the monkey hey, hey
Shock the monkey
Shock the monkey to life
Shock the monkey
Shock the monkey
Shock the monkey
Shock the monkey
Shock the monkey to life
Cover me through the fire
Something knocked me out' the trees
Now I'm on my knees
Cover me, darling please, hey
Monkey, monkey, monkey
Don't you know when you're going to shock the monkey
Fox the fox
Rat the rat
You can ape the ape
I know about that
There is one thing you must be sure of
I can't take any more
Darling, don't you monkey with the monkey, hey
Monkey, monkey, monkey
Don't you know you're going to shock the monkey, hey, hey
Shock the monkey, hey yeah
(Monkey) Wheels keep turning
(Monkey) Something's burning
(Monkey) Don't like it but I guess I'm learning
Shock, shock, shock
Watch the monkey get hurt, monkey
Shock, shock, shock
Watch the monkey get hurt, monkey
Cover me when I sleep
Cover me when I breathe
You throw your pearls before the swine
Make the monkey blind
Cover me, darling please, hey
Monkey, monkey, monkey
Don't you know you're going to shock the monkey, hey, hey
Shock the monkey, hey yeah
(Monkey) Too much at stake
(Monkey) Ground beneath me shake
(Monkey) And the news is breaking
Shock, shock, shock
Watch the monkey get hurt, monkey
Shock, shock, shock
Watch the monkey get hurt, monkey
Shock the monkey
Shock the monkey
Shock the monkey hey, hey
Shock the monkey
Shock the monkey to life
Shock the monkey
Shock the monkey
Shock the monkey
Shock the monkey
Shock the monkey to life
Lyrics submitted by magicnudiesuit, edited by Rickdickulous420
Shock The Monkey Lyrics as written by Peter Gabriel
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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It makes sense if the shock is finding out about a lover, particularly given the expression "spank the monkey", so this time it's not about masturbation, the monkey's been shocked by something a partner has done. "Don't like it but I guess I'm learning" is nice because it relates both to animal experimentation & discoveries about a relationship.