We’re just trying to be friendly.

April 18, 2006

I have a lot of music on my iPod that was copied over from other people’s iPods, and I was exploring the other day on the subway and saw a song called “Cuddly Toy.” That’s just silly, I thought, and decided to listen. What followed was the meanest, most misogynistic listening experience of my iPod’s lifespan thus far. The lyrics:

You’re not only cuddly toy that was ever enjoyed by any boy

You’re not the only choo-choo train that was left out in the rain

The day after Santa came

You’re not the only cherry delight that was left out in the night

And gave up without a fight

You’re not the only cuddly toy that was ever enjoyed by any boy

You’re not the kind of girl to tell your mother

The kind of company you keep

I never told you not to love no other

You must of dreamed it in your sleep

Is that not, um … mean and weird and objectifying? “Gave up without a fight”? Um, creepy?

You know whose song that is? The Andrew Dice Clay Band, you guess?

No no, it’s…The Monkees!

You know they like to Monkee around.

Can you believe that? I specifically remember a “But we’re too busy singing/To put anybody down.”

Posted by jen | Filed Under Jen says, dudes, lyrics 

Comments

10 Responses to “We’re just trying to be friendly.”

  1. Anonymous on April 18th, 2006 1:05 pm

    Listen, when you’re only five-two in platforms and you’re job is aping (pun intended) a real rock band, who just happens to be the Beatles, you’re bound to run into some masculinity issues.
    Davy Jones was just lettin’ them tricks know, “fuck with me and you be left out in the rain, Ho.” That’s it. Those poor Monkees had to go on after Jimi Hendrix for like a year! That’s enough to make any guy feel sackless.

  2. Matt Penn on April 18th, 2006 1:40 pm

    Somehow, I’d tend to doubt that the same guy who penned “You are the sun/I am the moon/You are the words/I am the tune/Play me” had a hand in this. I think we can rule out Neil Diamond this time, huh?

  3. Melinda on April 18th, 2006 3:24 pm

    You can credit Harry Nilsson for “Cuddly Toy.” He was able to quit his day job at a bank when he sold it to the Monkees.

  4. Melinda on April 18th, 2006 5:17 pm

    Nilsson also is responsible for the theme from “The Courtship of Eddie’s Father,” which contains the line:

    “He’s a one-boy Cuddly Toy,
    My up, my down, my pride and joy.”

    Which illustrates that Nilsson recycles, and also there’s a Jacko theme in there somewhere.

  5. Anonymous on April 18th, 2006 5:55 pm

    You know, I don’t think the Monkees wrote any of their own songs. What if it was Carol King who wrote it? That’d be weird.

  6. Matt Penn on April 19th, 2006 12:17 am

    I know that Neil Diamond wrote “I’m a Believer”, and that Harry Nilsson wrote “Cuddly Toy”, but I’m not sure who some of the other artists who wrote Monkees songs might be.

    Fun fact: Bette Nesmith Graham, the mother of Mike Nesmith of the Monkees, invented Liquid Paper!

  7. Simple Simon on April 19th, 2006 8:57 am

    There were alot of disputes within the band and much of it had to do with resenting that Davy Jones had been cast in Star Trek; the most popular sci-fi show of it’s day.

  8. Anonymous on April 19th, 2006 5:54 pm

    I don’t think you’re allowed to complain about the lyrics to songs you didn’t pay for.

  9. JenIsFamous on April 19th, 2006 7:10 pm

    I don’t think you’re allowed to complain about the lyrics to songs you didn’t pay for.

    That’s kind of a weird thing to say. If someone wrote a song full of racial slurs, I think I could very reasonably complain about it — and I certainly wouldn’t want to endorse the song by buying it.

    However, as for the Monkees, Lord paid for it, and in a few days, those MP3s are community property, baby.

    Jen

  10. Beyond a Reasonable Doubt on May 13th, 2006 11:53 pm

    You better run for your life if you can, little girl
    Hide your head in the sand little girl
    Catch you with another man
    That’s the end’a little girl

    Well you know that I’m a wicked guy
    And I was born with a jealous mind
    And I can’t spend my whole life
    Trying just to make you toe the line

    You better run for your life if you can, little girl
    Hide your head in the sand little girl
    Catch you with another man
    That’s the end’a little girl

    Let this be a sermon
    I mean everything I’ve said
    Baby, I’m determined
    And I’d rather see you dead

    You better run for your life if you can, little girl
    Hide your head in the sand little girl
    Catch you with another man
    That’s the end’a little girl

    I’d rather see you dead, little girl
    Than to be with another man
    You better keep your head, little girl
    Or you won’t know where I am

    You better run for your life if you can, little girl
    Hide your head in the sand little girl
    Catch you with another man
    That’s the end’a little girl

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