King Kong
Tom Waits Lyrics

They shot him down
The authorities killed King Kong

They thought he was a monster
The people saw Kong as a monster

But he was the King
But Kong was actually the King of his island

They came to his island
People from the outside world arrived on Kong's island

And they brought her with them
They brought a woman with them

They wanted to get his picture
They were trying to take a picture of Kong

But they were surprised by his enormous size
Kong's size was larger than expected

And when he saw the woman
Kong took a liking to the woman

He took her without question
Kong took the woman without hesitation

Because after all
This was because he was the King

He loved the woman
Kong had deep affection for the woman

He loved the way she looked
Kong appreciated the woman's appearance

And she wouldn't stop screaming
The woman, however, was still scared and screaming

And he fought a Tyrannosaurus Rex
Kong fought and defeated a T-Rex to protect the woman

And it was a bloody battle
The battle between Kong and the T-Rex was fierce

But he fought it for his woman
Kong was fighting for the woman's safety

And he climbed up a mountain
Kong climbed a mountain to find sanctuary for the woman

And he looked around
He surveyed the surroundings

Some kind of forest
He was in a jungle

With all these dinosaurs
And he saw many other dangerous creatures

And he stripped his woman
Kong undressed the woman

He stripped her bare
He removed all her clothing

But there was a pterodactyl there!
But then a pterodactyl appeared to threaten them

And then a hero
The woman was rescued by a man

Came and took his woman
The man arrived and took the woman away from Kong

And they fell off the mountain
As they attempted to escape, they fell off the mountain

Into some water
They fell into water

And then later
Later on, Kong searched for the woman again

He came looking for his woman
Kong searched for her

But they were waiting
However, the people were ready for him this time

And they threw a bomb
They threw a bomb at him

And they tied him
The people tied Kong up

And took him across the ocean
They took Kong across the ocean

And they chained him
He was chained to prevent his escape

And put him in the show
Kong was put on display as entertainment

And when he saw his woman
When Kong saw the woman once again

He broke loose
Kong broke free from his captivity

And everyone fled in terror
People were afraid and ran away

And he was looking for her
Kong was searching for the woman he loved

And he overtook a train
Kong stopped a train in pursuit of the woman

And he was looking in the street
He looked for the woman in the streets

And then he found her in her apartment
Kong discovered the woman in her apartment

And he climbed up the Empire State building
Kong climbed up the Empire State building

It was like a phallic symbol
The building was a symbol of power and masculinity

And he took his woman
Kong took the woman up the building with him

To the top of that towering temple
They made it to the top of the building

And he climbed up and looked around
He climbed up to get a better view of the city

Some kind of city
The city was a marvel to Kong

With all those skyscrapers
The towering buildings were impressive

And all the cars
Kong saw the busy street below

Just him and his screaming woman
Kong was with the woman he loved, who was still scared

And they were finally alone
They had a moment of peace alone together

He loved his woman
Kong's love for the woman was genuine

You could see it in his eyes
His emotion was evident in his eyes

His great big eyes
Kong's eyes were large and full of expression

From the moment that he saw her
Kong fell in love with the woman from the beginning

He was all choked up inside
His emotions were overwhelming

But when the airplanes came
The military attacked Kong using airplanes

He was soon to die
Kong was dying

But he hung on long enough to set his woman down
He made sure the woman was safe before he died

And make sure that she was safe
He wanted to protect the woman he loved

And as the bullets pierced
As Kong was being shot with bullets

He looked at her so sincere
He looked at the woman lovingly

Before he fell
Kong fell to his death

Who killed the monkey
The overall question being asked is, who killed Kong?

'Twas beauty that killed the beast
It was ultimately the woman's beauty that led to Kong's demise

And Willis O'Brien died
Willis O'Brien, the animator for the King Kong film, passed away

A tragic death
His death was a sad event

There wasn't much
There wasn't a lot that Willis O'Brien had left behind

That he had left
He didn't have much that survived beyond him

And Ray Harryhousen said
Another animator, Ray Harryhausen, said

That when Willis died
When Willis O'Brien passed away

That's when the King was really dead
The true death of King Kong was the passing of the animator that gave him life

They shot him down
The song repeats its opening lines to end, bookending the story of King Kong's tragic end

They thought he was a monster
They killed Kong thinking he was a savage beast

But he was the King
But, students of the King Kong story know, that he was simply the dominant force of his own world, taken too soon from it