In late 1968, Chappell and Lovich went to London, England to attend art school. It was there that Lovich first tied her hair into the plaits that later became a visual trademark, though at first she did it to keep her hair out of the clay when studying sculpture. Expressing a variety of artistic interests, she sought to find the best outlets for her work.
Over the following decade, Lovich attended several art schools, busked around the London Underground and appeared in cabaret clubs as an "Oriental" dancer. She also travelled to Spain, where she visited Salvador Dalí in his home. She played acoustic rock music around London, sang in the mass choir of a show called Quintessence at the Royal Albert Hall, played a soldier in Arthur Brown's show, worked as a "go-go" dancer with the Radio One Roadshow, toured Italy with a West Indian soul band, and played saxophone for Bob Flag's Balloon and Banana Band and for an all-girl cabaret trio, The Sensations. She recorded screams for horror films, adapted lyrics for French disco star Cerrone (including the sci-fi dance smash "Supernature," later recorded by Lovich in her own version) and worked with various fringe theatre groups. She was also one of thousands of people in the audience at the 1972 Lanchester Arts Festival when Chuck Berry recorded the risqué "My Ding-a-Ling" for Chess Records. As the audience was encouraged to sing-a-long technically this could be described as her first appearance on record. The record was a No. 1 hit in the U.K. and the U.S.A.
In 1975, Lene joined The Diversions, a funk group that put out five singles and an album on Polydor Records without success. In 1978, disc jockey and author Charlie Gillett presented her to Stiff Records boss, Dave Robinson, who quickly signed her to a contract. Her first single for Stiff was "I Think We're Alone Now", a cover of a song originally performed by Tommy James & The Shondells.
Invited to join the Be Stiff Route 78 Tour on 1978, Lovich quickly recorded her first album for Stiff, Stateless, which spawned the remixed hit singles "Lucky Number" and "Say When." Lovich's musical style combined ethnic influences with then current punk rock and new wave.
Maintaining her long term writing partnership with Les Chappell, Lovich recorded the albums Flex and No-Man's-Land for Stiff over the next few years, as well as an EP titled New Toy, the title cut penned by touring band member Thomas Dolby. She also recorded vocals for the track 'Picnic Boy' by The Residents. Following her departure from Stiff, Lovich released "Don't Kill The Animals," a single with Nina Hagen, with whom she had previously appeared in Cha Cha, a film that also starred Herman Brood; together, the three created the film's soundtrack.
In 1989, after an absence of several years, she recorded the album, March which was only moderately successful and was not released until nearly a year after the album's single "Wonderland" had been issued and become an American dance hit. Lovich continues to perform in much the same style she did back in the 1970s and 1980s, with Les Chappell still at her side. In 2005 she appeared on Hawkwind's Take Me to Your Leader CD, as well as appearing occasionally on stage with them.
Lovich's first album since March, entitled Shadows and Dust received a limited release on Mike Thorne's Stereo Society label on September 13, 2005.
Monkey Talk
Lene Lovich Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Monkey want to talk to you
Monkey got a lot to say
Monkey must communicate
Day is night, night is day
Everything is cross connected
Its a crazy cuckoo race
Men and monkeys all are we
Swinging through eternity
Monkey see, monkey do
Monkey want to talk to you
Monkey got a lot to say
Monkey must communicate
Played so hard all the way
Broken bodies soon will mend
There?s no need for you to cry
This is just a game my friend
Men and monkeys all are we
Swinging through eternity
Oh when the stars come tumbling down
And we find ourselves once more upon the ground
There?s no time to mess around
Oh there?s such a lot to do
Me and you
The lyrics of Lene Lovich's song Monkey Talk reflect on the idea that, despite our perceived differences, humans and monkeys share a common trait: the need to communicate. The opening lines, "Monkey see, monkey do/ Monkey want to talk to you/ Monkey got a lot to say/ Monkey must communicate," suggest that monkeys are just as eager to communicate with humans as we are to communicate with each other. The following lines, "Day is night, night is day/ Everything is cross connected/ It's a crazy cuckoo race/ I am almost glad it's ending," highlight the chaos and confusion that can arise from the difficulties of communication.
The lyrics go on to suggest that the struggle to communicate is not unique to humans, but is shared by all living beings. "Men and monkeys all are we/ Swinging through eternity" implies that we are all just creatures trying to find our way in the world. Even when we are struggling or hurting, as the lines "Played so hard all the way/ Broken bodies soon will mend/ There's no need for you to cry/ This is just a game my friend" suggest, we must ultimately pick ourselves up and keep moving forward.
The final lines, "Oh when the stars come tumbling down/ And we find ourselves once more upon the ground/ There's no time to mess around/ Oh there's such a lot to do/ Me and you," convey a sense of urgency and purpose. Despite the chaos and confusion of our lives, we must keep striving to communicate and connect with each other, because we have important work to do together.
Line by Line Meaning
Monkey see, monkey do
People tend to imitate the actions of others.
Monkey want to talk to you
The desire to communicate is a natural instinct in both humans and animals.
Monkey got a lot to say
Animals, like humans, have their own ways of expressing themselves.
Monkey must communicate
Communication is essential for all living beings to survive and thrive.
Day is night, night is day
The world can be a confusing and disorienting place.
Everything is cross connected
Many things in life are interdependent and interconnected.
Its a crazy cuckoo race
Life can be unpredictable and chaotic.
I am almost glad its ending
Despite the hardships, there is a sense of relief when something difficult comes to an end.
Men and monkeys all are we
Humans are not so different from other animals.
Swinging through eternity
Life is a journey that continues on forever.
Played so hard all the way
Life can be challenging and demanding, but it is still worth living to the fullest.
Broken bodies soon will mend
Even when we go through tough times, we have the ability to heal and recover.
There?s no need for you to cry
There is always hope and a reason to keep going, even in the darkest of times.
This is just a game my friend
Life, like many games, has its ups and downs.
Oh when the stars come tumbling down
When everything seems to be falling apart, it can be a scary and overwhelming experience.
And we find ourselves once more upon the ground
When we are faced with adversity, it can be grounding and help us refocus our priorities.
There?s no time to mess around
In times of crisis, it is important to act quickly and decisively.
Oh there?s such a lot to do
There is always something that needs to be done to improve the world around us.
Me and you
We are all in this together.
Lyrics © DOMINO PUBLISHING COMPANY
Written by: LENE LOVICH, LES CHAPPELL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind