The Monkees assembled to be the stars of an American television series of t… Read Full Bio ↴The Monkees assembled to be the stars of an American television series of the same name, which ran on NBC from 1966 to 1968. The original lineup was: Micky Dolenz (drums, vocals), Michael Nesmith (guitar, vocals), Davy Jones (percussion, vocals) and Peter Tork (bass, keyboards, vocals) . The Monkees were formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California and initially disbanded in 1970 at the conclusion of their recording contract. At their peak they were competing with The Beatles for the top spot on album charts.

In the years since their original disbanding, the group has reunited in various incarnations, mostly involving Dolenz, Tork and Jones, but not Nesmith. The first reunion began in 1986 and at first featured only Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork. Davy Jones joined the others and a new album was released before they split again in 1989.

The next regrouping took place between 1993 and 1997 and featured a new album that included the particpation of all four members. A further reunion between 2001 and 2002, was followed by another reunion in 2011 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the television show. This reunion was cut short before 2011 had ended due to scheduling problems with the anniversary tour.

The unexpected death of Davy Jones at the beginning of 2012 prompted the most recent reunion tour, this time featuring Dolenz, Tork and Nesmith.

Created by producers of a TV series to be an American Beatles, the antics of the Monkees band members on the television series were very reminscent of Beatles' antics in films like 'Help' and 'Hard Day's Night'. Indeed, in songs like 'Forget that Girl...', the band and even the lead singer could sound just like the Beatles. With songs provided by Don Kirshner from such writers as Neil Diamond and Carole King, among others, the Monkees were assured of pop success. However, in the beginning, the four group members were hired only as actors to front the band and to provide the vocals whilst studio musicians recorded the backing music. These recordings were provided by Kirshner. Things changed though after the success of the single Last Train to Clarksville, the first hit, leading to demands that the band play live gigs. Having learned to play the music, the band became angry when the second LP was recorded (by Kirshner) by studio musicians, without their knowledge or musical input. They therefore demanded and obtained control of the music.

Nesmith who revealed that the band did not perform on their records was also instrumental in getting Don Kirshner sacked. the next album Headquarters was recorded by The Monkees alone, using hand picked producer Chip Douglas. While not as successful as their first two albums it made it to number one, only to be replaced a week later by The Beatles' Sgt Pepper album. The Monkees eventually settled on a formula of using their own talents as well as those of studio musicians. After two seasons the network and the group could not reach agreement on the format of a third season and the show was canceled even though the ratings were still high. A feature film named Head co-written by The Monkees, Jack Nicholson and Bob Rafelson) followed.

Peter Tork was the first to leave the band, in 1968, during 1969 The TV show went into Saturday morning reruns and the three remaining Monkees recorded two more albums. in 1969 Nesmith departed and began a serious foray into merging country and rock music. He also eventually developed a format that became MTV. By the way his mother invented a product called Liquid Paper, sold it to the Gillette Company for $47 million dollars then died a year later leaving the money to her only son. The remaining two Monkees Dolenz and Jones recorded one last album named Changes in late 1969.

There has, however, been a resurgent interest in The Monkees' music Rhino Records has been instrumental in restoring all their albums, adding bonus tracks, and equipping them with complementary liner notes and stories.

Davy Jones died on February 29, 2012 in Indiantown, Florida.

Peter Tork died on February 21, 2019, at his home in Mansfield, Connecticut.

Michael Nesmith died on December 10, 2021, in Carmel Valley, California.

DISCOGRAPHY (from www.themonkees.net):

The Monkees (1966)
More of The Monkees (1967)
Headquarters (1967)
Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd. (1967)
The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees (1968)
Head (1968)
Instant Replay (1969)
The Monkees Present (1969)
Changes (1970)
Then & Now...The Best of the Monkees (1986)
Pool It! (1987)
Live 1967 (1987)
Justus (1996)
Good Times! (2016)

Long Way Home
The Monkees Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

The other night I took the long way home
Out past the old schoolyard
It's funny how you keep it all inside
Dreams they do die hard

I closed my eyes and I could see your face
Somewhere back in time
One summer night a million miles ago

Back when you were mine

Say yes, say no, say that I'm grabbing at shadows
But don't carve the words in stone
I know it's late
But can't you see I was only
Taking the long way home

Sometimes its easy to get all wrapped up
In trying to be free
And all those dreams I sailed away to find
Were right in front of me

Say yes, say no, say that I'm grabbing at shadows
But don't carve the words in stone
One of these days
You're gonna see I was only
Taking the long way home

Although the letters stopped many years ago
I'll show you even time could not keep this heart
from letting go

The other night I took the long way home
Out past the old schoolyard
It's funny how you keep it all inside
Dreams they do die hard

Say yes, say no, say that I'm grabbing at shadows
But don't leave me here all alone
One of these days
You're gonna see I was only
Taking the long way home

Say yes, say no
But don't leave me here all alone
One of these days

You're gonna see I was only
Taking the long way home

Overall Meaning

In "Long Way Home," The Monkees contemplate the way dreams can die hard but can also reveal themselves in the most unexpected ways. The lyrics describe taking "the long way home" past an old schoolyard and closing one's eyes to remember a distant summer night when the person he loved was his. The song is about the journey that the singer, who is trying to be free, took to find his dreams but realized that they were right in front of him all along. It's his way of acknowledging that he held onto something that he thought had long died but is still alive inside him.

The lyrics suggest that the singer is hopelessly in love with someone from his past, and he wants to tell them how he feels. The singer is telling the person he loves to not carve their response in stone and to not leave him all alone. The singer recognizes that the letter stopped a long time ago, but time could not stop the feeling he had in his heart.

Overall, the song seems to be about accepting that sometimes, the journey to fulfillment may lead us on a long and winding road, but it's ultimately worth it because it brings us back to what we were searching for initially. It acknowledges that sometimes, we can get so caught up in trying to be free and fulfilling our own dreams that we overlook what's right in front of us.

Line by Line Meaning

The other night I took the long way home
I drove home through an alternate route recently

Out past the old schoolyard
I took the route that goes past my old school

It's funny how you keep it all inside
It's interesting how emotions and thoughts can be suppressed within oneself

Dreams they do die hard
One's aspirations are difficult to let go, even if they become unattainable

I closed my eyes and I could see your face
When I shut my eyes, I could visualize your countenance

Somewhere back in time
It was from some point in the past

One summer night a million miles ago
A single night so far back in the past that it seems almost immeasurable

Back when you were mine
During the period we were together

Say yes, say no, say that I'm grabbing at shadows
Tell me your answer, whether It's affirmative or negative or tell me the fact that I'm chasing phantoms

But don't carve the words in stone
Don't make it a pre-determined outcome that cannot be adjusted

I know it's late
I realize it's already nighttime

But can't you see I was only taking the long way home
Can you understand that I was simply extending my route to spend more time with my thoughts and memories

Sometimes it's easy to get all wrapped up
Occasionally we become too absorbed in our tangled thoughts

In trying to be free
We struggle to acquire liberty from our mental and emotional burdens

And all those dreams I sailed away to find
All of the aspirations I pursued, seeking to achieve them

Were right in front of me
Were within my grasp, unbeknownst to me

Although the letters stopped many years ago
Despite the fact that we ceased corresponding many years back

I'll show you even time could not keep this heart from letting go
I'll gladly reveal that even the passage of time didn't prevent my heart from moving on

But don't leave me here all alone
But please don't abandon me by myself

One of these days
At some point in the future

You're gonna see I was only taking the long way home
You'll realize that my extended route was just a solace for myself

Say yes, say no
Tell me your response

But don't leave me here all alone
But please do not leave me isolated

One of these days
In the future

You're gonna see I was only taking the long way home
You'll understand that I only prolonged the duration of the commute as a way of coping

Lyrics © DICK EASTMAN MUSIC
Written by: EASTMAN ALLAN RICHARD, HART BOBBY

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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