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)

What Am I Doing Hangin' 'Round
The Monkees Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Just a loud mouth Yankee I went down to Mexico
I didn't have much time to spend, about a week or so
There I lightly took advantage of a girl who loved me so
But I found myself a-thinkin' when the time had come to go

What am I doin' hangin' 'round?
I should be on that train and gone
I should be ridin' on that train to San Antone

What am I doin' hangin' 'round?

She took me to the garden just for a little walk
I didn't know much Spanish and there was no time for talk
Then she told me that she loved me not with words but with a kiss
And like a fool I kept on thinkin' of a train I could not miss

What am I doin' hangin' 'round?
I should be on that train and gone
I should be ridin' on that train to San Antone
What am I doin' hangin' 'round?

Well, it's been a year or so, and I want to go back again
And if I get the money, well, I'll ride the same old train
But I guess your chances come but once and boy I sure missed mine
And still I can't stop thinkin' when I hear some whistle cryin'

What am I doin' hangin' 'round?
I should be on that train and gone
I should be ridin' on that train to San Antone
What am I doin' hangin' 'round?

What am I doin' hangin' 'round?
I should be on that train and gone
I should be ridin' on that train to San Antone
What am I doin' hangin' 'round?

What am I doin' hangin' 'round?
I should be on that train and gone

I should be ridin' on that train to San Antone
What am I doin' hangin' 'round?

Overall Meaning

The Monkees' song "What Am I Doing Hangin' 'Round" tells the story of a young American man who goes down to Mexico for a holiday and ends up falling in love with a Mexican girl. Despite her love for him and the paradise setting of the garden she takes him to, the singer can't get the thought of leaving off his mind, worrying he is wasting his time in Mexico. He is torn between his desire to stay with the girl and his need to move on with his life.

The song is all about the internal dilemma of the singer. He recognizes that he has something special with the girl but can't shake the feeling that he should be doing something else with his life. The train is an important symbol in the song, representing leaving behind a place or a situation, possibly for something greater, and the singer is constantly torn between staying with the girl and getting on that train to move on.

This song was written by Michael Martin Murphey and Owen Castleman by whom it was intended for Kenny Rogers, but the song was later rejected. So the song was handed over to producers who made it the Monkees' style.

Line by Line Meaning

Just a loud mouth Yankee I went down to Mexico
I, a loud and brash person from the Northern United States, traveled to Mexico.

I didn't have much time to spend, about a week or so
I had a limited amount of time to spend in Mexico, only about one week.

There I lightly took advantage of a girl who loved me so
I took advantage of a girl who loved me while I was in Mexico.

But I found myself a-thinkin' when the time had come to go
As my time in Mexico came to a close, I began to question my actions and feel regret.

She took me to the garden just for a little walk
The girl I took advantage of took me for a walk in a garden.

I didn't know much Spanish and there was no time for talk
I did not speak much Spanish and we did not have time to communicate.

Then she told me that she loved me not with words but with a kiss
The girl showed her love for me through a kiss instead of words.

And like a fool I kept on thinkin' of a train I could not miss
Despite her affection towards me, I foolishly kept thinking about catching a train to leave Mexico.

Well, it's been a year or so, and I want to go back again
After a year has passed, I yearn to return to Mexico.

And if I get the money, well, I'll ride the same old train
If I can afford it, I will take the same train back to Mexico.

But I guess your chances come but once and boy I sure missed mine
I realize that opportunities like the one I had in Mexico only come once and I regret missing out on it.

And still I can't stop thinkin' when I hear some whistle cryin'
Even now, when I hear the sound of train whistles, I can't help but think of the train I missed in Mexico.

What am I doin' hangin' 'round?
Why am I still lingering around instead of moving forward?

I should be on that train and gone
I should have already left and be on my way to the next destination.

I should be ridin' on that train to San Antone
I should be traveling on a train towards San Antonio.

What am I doin' hangin' 'round?
Why am I still stuck in the past instead of moving forward?

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: MICHAEL MURPHY

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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