Shock The Monkey

@Rickdickulous420 <br /> Aight e'rybody, let's take a look at the REAL meaning of this song, but start from looking at the last lyrical line in the song, “Shock the monkey to life.” This song is 100% about Peter's experience with making and smoking crack cocaine. Monkey, of course, refers to the intense craving effect a drug has on a person. Crack first was known to hit the streets in the US in ’80 and ’81; this song was released in 82. Additionally, when making crack, the final critical step is to ‘shock’ it whereby the crack, still in its liquid state and still in the hot water right after the cook, is doused with cold water to push any remaining air and salts out of the ball of oil, increasing its potency, while also turning it into a very hard rock of crack (how-to-properly-make-crack-cocaine-940.peatix.com/). It is also worthy to note that in the live version of this song, the last line lyric is, "How much am I paying you?" So, from this lens, the rest of the lyrics make much more sense and fall right in line with this theme of Peter's experience with smoking crack cocaine. Also, note in the following album in the song, Sledgehammer, he writes a lyrical line, "I kicked the habit. Shed my skin," and these lines echoed and emphasized by the background singers right after Gabriel sings them. You can't necessarily believe what he publicly declared the song to be about (jealousy) obviously because he had SO (pun intended) much on the line. 'Monkey' in this song refers to both the "primitive monkey mind" and its urges and compulsions of the crack addict as well as the addictive drug, crack, itself.<br /> <br /> Consider the lyrics below with the interpretted context in brackets beneath each respective line: <br /> <br /> Cover me when I run<br /> Drug run- when he is running to get the cocaine, or when he is high and speeding from the high<br /> Cover me through the fire<br /> Either when he's using a flame to cook the coke into crack or using the flame to smoke it, or both <br /> Something knocked me out the trees<br /> Trees referring to where and when he was high AF on crack<br /> Now I'm on my knees<br /> Figuratively in agony and in submission from the cravings, or literally on his knees carpet creeping hoping to find any last tiny little bits he had dropped, desperate for the rush from just one more crack hit, or both<br /> Cover me, don't you monkey with the monkey<br /> Lie for him, and don't mess with him in his monkey mind state, or mess with the monkey, crack<br /> <br /> Monkey, monkey, monkey<br /> Don't you know when you're going to shock the monkey<br /> Make the crack or mess with him in his withdrawing, craving, animalistic state<br /> <br /> Fox the fox<br /> Have to be sly<br /> Rat on the rat<br /> If he gets caught, he'll flip and give up his coke dealer<br /> You can ape the ape<br /> A person can fool another dumb person<br /> I know about that<br /> Because he's already done so (fooled people)<br /> There is one thing you must be sure of<br /> I can't take anymore<br /> Can't take any more of the crack experience, specifically him running out, or can't take any more of her chastising or lecture<br /> Darling, don't you monkey with the monkey<br /> Don't mess with him or the crack<br /> <br /> Monkey, monkey, monkey<br /> Him withdrawing, the crack<br /> Don't you know you're going to shock the monkey<br /> She's going to mess with him or succumb to the temptation and cook crack for herself, or cook crack for him<br /> <br /> Wheels keep turning<br /> Thinking how can he get more<br /> (Monkey)<br /> Something's burning<br /> The cooking, the smoking, or the desire for more crack<br /> (Monkey)<br /> Don't like it but I guess I'm learning<br /> Doesn't like the severe cravings and is learning that whoever had warned him about the cravings from smoking crack was right<br /> <br /> Shock!<br /> Shock!<br /> Shock!<br /> Watch the monkey get hurt, monkey<br /> Shock!<br /> Shock!<br /> Shock!<br /> Watch the monkey get hurt, monkey<br /> <br /> Cover me, when I sleep<br /> Cover me, when I breathe<br /> You throw your pearls before the swine<br /> The person who turned him onto crack telling him, "Oh, once you try this crack, you'll think snorting it is a waste moving forward, because the high is SO MUCH MORE INTENSE AND BETTER!"<br /> Make the monkey blind<br /> Peter is already a snorter coke head, and the temptation to feel what is a "snort coke buzz to the tenth power" when smoked as crack is absolutely irresistible, despite knowing the risk of deep addiction<br /> Cover me, don't you monkey with the monkey<br /> <br /> Monkey, monkey, monkey<br /> Don't you know you're going to shock the monkey<br /> <br /> Too much at stake<br /> (Monkey)<br /> Addiction<br /> Ground beneath me shake<br /> (Monkey)<br /> Realizing that crack is so good that he may have an addiction<br /> And the news is breaking<br /> E.g., "Gabriel was found smoking crack," or "Gabriel checked into rehab," as reported by the media.<br /> <br /> Shock!<br /> Shock!<br /> Shock!<br /> Watch the monkey get hurt, monkey<br /> Shock!<br /> Shock!<br /> Shock!<br /> Watch the monkey get hurt, monkey<br /> <br /> Shock the monkey<br /> Shock the monkey<br /> Shock the monkey<br /> <br /> Shock the monkey to life<br /> Pouring cold water over the still hot cocaine oil is the last step in processing cocaine into crack. This last step is bringing "the monkey" that will be on Gabriel's back into reality and bringing this potential to life<br /> (Shock the monkey to life)<br /> Shock the monkey to life, hey, hey<br /> (Shock the monkey to life)<br /> Shock the monkey to life<br /> (Shock the monkey to life)<br /> Shock the monkey to life, hey, hey<br /> (Shock the monkey to life)<br /> Hey, hey, hey<br /> <br /> Shock the monkey<br /> Shock the monkey<br /> Shock the monkey<br /> Shock the monkey to life