Porcelain Monkey lyrics by Warren Zevon, 1 meaning, official 2024 song lyrics | LyricsMode.com
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Warren Zevon – Porcelain Monkey lyrics
Warren Zevon and Jorge Calderon, Zevon Music bmi/Googolplex Music bmi

He was an accident waiting to happen
Most accidents happen at home
Maybe he should've gone out more often
Maybe he should've answered the phone

Hip-shakin' shoutin' in gold lame'
That's how he earned his regal sobriquet
Then he threw it all away
For a porcelain monkey

He threw it away for a porcelain monkey
Gave it all up for a figurine
He traded it in for a night in Las Vegas
And his face on velveteen

From a shotgun shack singing Pentecostal hymns
Through the wrought iron gates to the tv room
He had a little world, it was smaller than your hand
It's a rockabilly ride from the glitter to the gloom

Left behind by the latest trends
Eating fried chicken with his regicidal friends
That's how the story ends
With a porcelain monkey

He threw it away for a porcelain monkey
Gave it all up for a figurine
He traded it in for a night in Las Vegas
And his face on velveteen

Hip-shakin' shoutin' in gold lame'
That's how he earned his regal sobriquet
Then he threw it all away
For a porcelain monkey

He threw it away for a porcelain monkey
Gave it all up for a figurine
He traded it in for a night in Las Vegas
And his face on velveteen
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Lyrics taken from /lyrics/w/warren_zevon/porcelain_monkey.html

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Songwriters: JORGE CALDERON, WARREN WILLIAM ZEVON
Porcelain Monkey lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Wixen Music Publishing

Porcelain Monkey meanings

  • j
    + 2
    John Smith
    It's about the death of Elvis, one of two songs Zevon wrote about Elvis ("Jesus Mentioned" is the other). The song, written with Jorge Calderon, was inspired by a postcard that Calderon had showing the monkey in Elvis's TV room. The song is a cautionary tale of the last days of Elvis. The much earlier "Jesus" was written not long after the death of Elvis and strikes me as a profoundly moving song, though some find Zevon's imagery grotesque. For the record, despite two Elvis songs, Zevon has said that Elvis was not a great influence on him.
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    • j
      + 2
      John Smith
      It's about the death of Elvis, one of two songs Zevon wrote about Elvis ("Jesus Mentioned" is the... Read more →

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