Porpoise Song (Theme from Head)
| "Porpoise Song (Theme from "Head")" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by The Monkees | ||||
| from the album Head | ||||
| B-side | "As We Go Along" | |||
| Released | September 23, 1968 | |||
| Format | 7" | |||
| Genre | Psychedelic rock | |||
| Length | 4:00 | |||
| Label | Colgems | |||
| Writer(s) | Gerry Goffin, Carole King | |||
| Producer | The Monkees, Gerry Goffin | |||
| The Monkees singles chronology | ||||
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"Porpoise Song (Theme from "Head")" is a song written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King and performed by pop/rock quartet The Monkees on their album Head. The song was released as a single in 1968, and reached #62 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The song’s lyrics and melody echoes the psychedelic vibe of mid-1960s rock music. Micky Dolenz provides the vocals, which are distorted by echoing effect, and a mix of organ riffs, cello, string-bass, woodwinds and horns float in and out of the tune. The lyrics call into question the order of the world and one’s place therein, and there are also veiled in-joke references to Dolenz’s childhood work as the star of the television series Circus Boy.[1][2][3]
In the Monkees' 1968 feature film Head, the song appears at the beginning and the end of the production, when the group's members jump from a bridge as a means to permanently escape their lives. Solarization visual effects are used on screen to mirror the psychedelic nature of the song’s lyrics.[4]
The song also appears on several "greatest hits" albums by The Monkees, and it was featured in Vanilla Sky, a 2001 film with Tom Cruise, Penelope Cruz and Cameron Diaz.
[edit] Covers by other artists
- 1988: Bongwater on the 7" limited-edition single You Don't Love Me Yet, Shimmy 7-98
- 1995: Trouble on the album Plastic Green Head
- 1996: The Wondermints on the album Wonderful World of The Wondermints
- 1997: The Lightning Seeds as a B-side to the single Sugar Coated Iceberg
- 1999: The Church on the album A Box of Birds
- 2003: DJ Nobody (also known as Elvin Estela, later of Blank Blue) on the album Pacific Drift: Western Water Music, Vol. 1
- 2004: ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead, both live and on their 2004 EP Worlds Apart
- 2010 Andrew WK, live and on youtube.[5]
[edit] References
- ^ Pamela RobertsonWojcik (2002). Soundtrack Available: Essays on Film and Popular Music. Duke University Press. p. 94. ISBN 082232797X. http://books.google.com/books?id=2cBQ_wC5lZUC&pg=PA94&dq=%22porpoise+song%22#v=onepage&q=%22porpoise%20song%22&f=false.
- ^ James E. Perrone (2006). The Words and Music of Carole King. PraegerPublishers. p. 16. ISBN 0275990273. http://books.google.com/books?id=e5lgPm5eq40C&pg=PA16&dq=%22porpoise+song%22#v=onepage&q=%22porpoise%20song%22&f=false.
- ^ Jim DeRogatis (2003). Turn On Your Mind: Four Decades of Great Psychedelic Rock. Hal Leonard. p. 638 pages. ISBN 0634055488. http://books.google.com/books?id=U7cQmRsLgN8C&pg=PA384&dq=%22porpoise+song%22&lr=#v=onepage&q=%22porpoise%20song%22&f=false.
- ^ Bill Gibron (July 27, 2007). "A ‘Head’ of its Time". PopMatters.com. http://www.popmatters.com/pm/column/a-head-of-its-time/. Retrieved 2009-10-05.
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JarXozHnCV0
