Title: Punish The Monkey - Mark Knopfler Source:
[None] URL Source:[None] Published:Mar 2, 2014 Author:Mark Knopfler Post Date:2014-03-02 16:53:59 by christine Keywords:None Views:557 Comments:3
Poster Comment:
Youve been having sleepless nights
Youve gone as quiet as a church mouse
And checking on your rights
The boss has hung you out to dry
And it looks as though
Punish the monkey
And let the organ grinder go
Youve been talking to a lawyer
Are you gonna pretend
That you and your employer
Are still the best of friends?
Somebodys gonna take the fall
There's your quid pro quo
Punish the monkey
Punish the monkey, yeah
Punish the monkey
And let the organ grinder go
Here comes a policeman
He wont be sidetracked
Hes asking bout a smoking gun
Hes after the bad
Its a quiet life from here on in
You dropped your poisoned cup
The telephone is ringing
But youre not picking up
Times I've said are flunky
And everybody knows
Punish the monkey
(Punish the monkey)
Punish the monkey, yeah
(Punish the monkey)
Punish the monkey
And let the organ grinder go
Punish the monkey
(Punish the monkey)
Punish the monkey, yeah
(Punish the monkey)
Punish the monkey
And let the organ grinder go
Youve been having sleepless nights
Youve gone as quiet as a church mouse
And checking on your rights
The boss has hung you out to dry
And it looks as though
Punish the monkey
And let the organ grinder go
Youve been talking to a lawyer
Are you gonna pretend
That you and your employer
Are still the best of friends?
Somebodys gonna take the fall
There's your quid pro quo
Punish the monkey
Punish the monkey, yeah
Punish the monkey
And let the organ grinder go
Here comes a policeman
He wont be sidetracked
Hes asking bout a smoking gun
Hes after the bad
Its a quiet life from here on in
You dropped your poisoned cup
The telephone is ringing
But youre not picking up
Times I've said are flunky
And everybody knows
Punish the monkey
(Punish the monkey)
Punish the monkey, yeah
(Punish the monkey)
Punish the monkey
And let the organ grinder go
Punish the monkey
(Punish the monkey)
Punish the monkey, yeah
(Punish the monkey)
Punish the monkey
And let the organ grinder go
Punish the monkey
Punish the monkey
Punish the monkey
Punish the monkey
Punish the monkey
Punish the monkey
Punish the monkey
Punish the monkey
Is punishing your monkey, the same as spanking it?
Help me here.
“The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out... without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane, intolerable.” ~ H. L. Mencken
“Punish the Monkey,” a 2007 song by Mark Knopfler, is a case in point: when was the last time you heard it on the radio? -- An interpretation of the song with line-by-line annotation posted below concludes that “Punish the Monkey” is a powerful if subtle indictment of a society that has lost its moral claim to legitimacy.
Like "Let It All Go," "Punish the Monkey" is a supremely dispiriting song. Written from the point of a world-weary, cynical bard addressing a victim of injustice who is himself guilty and corrupt, "Punish the Monkey" describes the plight of someone resigned to taking the blame for an unspecified but evidently conspiratorial crime. The song is deeply ironic. It portrays a society that professes to be ruled by law but which is dominated by ghostly but powerful interests beyond the law's reach. Faced with their power, the song's protagonist can only turn to the law, but his only hope is to mitigate his punishment. With luck, it seems, he may avoid jail time and endure the stasis of enforced retirement merely ("a quiet life from here on in").
To question is to value the ideal of truth more highly than the loyalties to nation, religion, race, or ideology.
“The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out... without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane, intolerable.” ~ H. L. Mencken