Henry was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, but grew up in the Detroit area where he met Melanie Ciccone, Madonna's sister, whom he married in 1987. In 1985 he moved to Brooklyn, New York, where he played at small clubs. His debut album Talk of Heaven came out in 1986. He signed to A&M Records and released two albums, Murder of Crows (1989) and Shuffletown (1990)
After Henry and his wife moved to Los Angeles in 1990, he left A&M in 1992 to join the independent label Mammoth, located in North Carolina. He released Short Man's Room and Kindness of the World, on which members of the Jayhawks provided instrumental backing.
In the mid-1990s Henry decided "to do something decidedly more eclectic" instead of continuing with country-rock. He turned to producer Patrick McCarthy, in making his next album Trampoline (1996). Trampoline also employed metal guitarist Page Hamilton, who demonstrated his own eagerness to stretch by collaborating on the album.
Asked to contribute a song to a benefit album for singer Vic Chesnutt in 1996, Henry also collaborated with his famous sister-in-law on a cover of Chesnutt's "Guilty by Association" (Sweet Relief II: Gravity of the Situation, The Songs of Vic Chesnutt, 1996).
In 1999 Henry released the experimental album Fuse with trip hop shadings. His eighth album, Scar, followed in 2001. The band on the record consisted mainly of jazz musicians (Marc Ribot, Brian Blade and Brad Mehldau among others) and Jazz saxophonist Ornette Coleman guesting on the track "Richard Pryor Addresses a Tearful Nation".
In 2001, Henry sang on the song "Alleluia" from Julia Fordham's album, Concrete Love. His self-produced album Tiny Voices appeared on Epitaph's Anti label in 2003.
Henry produced Teddy Thompson's 2000 album Teddy Thompson, a critically acclaimed album from the son of British folk legends, Linda Thompson and Richard Thompson. Henry also produced Solomon Burke's 2002 album Don't Give Up On Me, which won Best Contemporary Blues Album at the 2003 Grammy Awards. 2005 releases produced by Henry include Ani DiFranco's Knuckle Down, Aimee Mann's 1970s concept album The Forgotten Arm, and Bettye LaVette's I've Got My Own Hell to Raise.
He also produced the multi-artist album I Believe to My Soul, which featured Allen Toussaint, Mavis Staples, Ann Peebles, Irma Thomas and Billy Preston.
In 2006, Henry teamed with Toussaint, producing his collaborative album with Elvis Costello, The River in Reverse.
In September of 2006, Henry and his longtime hero Loudon Wainwright III began composing the music for the Judd Apatow movie Knocked Up. Snippets of instrumentals were used as background score for the film, but the full versions of the songs make up Wainwright's 2007 album Strange Weirdos. Henry produced Mary Gauthier's 2007 album Between Daylight and Dark.
Henry's 10th album, "Civilians," was released in 2007 on the Anti label. His 11th album, Blood From Stars, followed in 2009, and his 12th, Reverie, was released in 2011.
http://www.joehenrylovesyoumadly.com/
Monkey
Joe Henry Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'll treat him good
I'll talk to him
Like he talks to you
I'll cut your corn
And I'll keep it dry
And maybe someday, someday, someday maybe
Maybe someday, someday, maybe someday
You'll come back
I'll dress myself
In your finest things
I'll chew my lip
To keep it soft
I'll try forgetting
So I won't forget
And maybe someday, someday, someday maybe
You'll come back to me
Maybe someday, someday, maybe someday
You'll come back
Here comes the rapture
Of song and story
Looking just like
The icecapades
I'll play the harlot
When they make the movie
And maybe someday, someday, someday maybe
You'll come back to me
Maybe someday, someday, someday maybe
You'll come back to me
Maybe someday, someday, someday maybe
You'll come back to me
Maybe someday, someday, maybe someday
You'll come back
The song "Monkey" by Joe Henry is a heartbreaking tune of lost love and hope for a reunion. It starts by the singer's admission of keeping his former lover's monkey and promising to take good care of it. The monkey serves as a metaphor for the love that he used to share with his partner. He promises to talk to the monkey just like his former lover did, hoping that somehow the connection will bring her back to him.
The second verse sees the singer going further to assure the former partner of his deep commitment. He promises to cut her corn and keep it dry, an action that shows his attention to detail and his willingness to go out of his way to make sure that she is comfortable. He speaks of dressing in her finest things, something that signifies his deep connection to her and the fact that he has accepted that she is no longer a part of his life.
The chorus is the most poignant part of the song, where the singer expresses his longing for his ex to come back to him someday. He acknowledges that it may never happen, but the hope that it might keeps him going. He speaks of the possibility of her return three times, with each line getting more earnest, indicating his deep-seated desire for his ex to come back to him.
Overall, "Monkey" is a song that explores the intricate emotions that come with heartbreak and the hope that things may get better in the future. The lyrics are melancholic and poignant, and the delivery by Joe Henry is soulful and emotive.
Line by Line Meaning
I'll keep your monkey
I'll keep something that belongs to you - probably a burden or responsibility.
I'll treat him good
I'll take care of it well, providing better attention than you are.
I'll talk to him / Like he talks to you
I'll understand this problem or responsibility through empathy so I can communicate with it.
I'll cut your corn / And I'll keep it dry
I'll complete chores you were supposed to do and even ensure that work is perfect.
And maybe someday, someday, someday maybe / You'll come back to me / Maybe someday, someday, maybe someday / You'll come back
Despite your absence, there's still the hope you'll have a change of heart and come back to me.
I'll dress myself / In your finest things
I'll adapt to fit the image of what you expect, even to the point of adopting your appearances.
I'll chew my lip / To keep it soft
I'm willing to hurt myself to prevent from becoming hard and bitter when dealing with your absence.
I'll try forgetting / So I won't forget
I attempt to forget and let things go to be free from the burden of your memory.
Here comes the rapture / Of song and story / Looking just like / The icecapades
The world will move on and continue with shows and narrative, even though these events can feel like the end of the world right now.
I'll play the harlot / When they make the movie
I'll make any sacrifice asked of me; even trade my body for a role in the movie adaptation that may be made about this situation.
And maybe someday, someday, someday maybe / You'll come back to me / Maybe someday, someday, someday maybe / You'll come back to me / Maybe someday, someday, someday maybe / You'll come back to me / Maybe someday, someday, maybe someday / You'll come back
Even though you're not here, there's the slightest possibility that you will return someday, and I cling to that hope for a reunion.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JOE HENRY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind