Space Monkey Lyrics - Live On Tour - John Prine

Space monkey, space monkey, what you doing out there? 

Why it's dark as a dungeon, way up in the air 

Come gather 'round me you little monkeys and a story I'll tell 

About a brave young primate, outer space knew him well 

He was born at the top of a big old tree 

Way back in 1953 

He could swing through the jungle and hang by his toes 

Till they took him to Russia 'cause they could I suppose 

They dressed him up in a spacesuit and it started to snow 

Shot him off in a rocket where no man would go 

Space monkey, space monkey, what you doing out there? 

Why it's dark as a dungeon way up in the air 

There'll be no one to greet you when you get back home 

Well, no hammer or sickle, you'll be on your own 

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He had plenty of Cuban bananas and loads of Spam 

But he found great difficulty trying to open the can 

One day he slipped on a banana peel and the ship lost control 

It spun out of orbit and shot out the black hole 

It's been four decades now, that's nine monkey years 

That's a long time for a space monkey to confront all his fears 

Space monkey, space monkey, what you doing out there? 

Why it's dark as a dungeon way up in the air 

But there'll be no one to greet you when you get back home 

No hammer or sickle, you'll be all on your own 

Space monkey, space monkey, it's time to get real 

The space race is over, how does it feel 

Cold War's had a heatwave, Iron Curtain's torn down 

They've rolled up the carpet in space monkey town 

Now Leningrad is Petersburg and Petersburg's hell 

For a card-carrying monkey with a story to tell 

Photos 

The space monkey was reportedly last sighted about 

A half a block off of Red Square 

In a karaoke bar having a few drinks with some of his friends 

There was the dog that flew Sputnik 

And a blind red-headed, one legged parrot 

Who had done some minor research for Dow Chemical 

They were drinking American Vodka 

Imported all the way from Paducah, Kentucky 

And reportedly had their arms around each other's shoulders singing 

"Those were the days, my friend, we thought they'd never end" 

Space monkey, space monkey, there's nothing to do 

But it's better than living in a Communist zoo 

There'll be no one to greet you when you get back home 

No hammer or sickle, you'll be all on you own 

Space monkey