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)
Words
The Monkees Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
(It hurts so bad, 'cause when I see you, I start crying,
I've tried everything to stop, but there's no denying,
That falling in love with you, girl, is just like dying
Oh, don't walk away,
Oh, how can I make you stay?
Don't turn away,
Just spoken to help nobody but you,
Words with lies inside,
But, small enough to hide till your playing was through
Girl, don't you know we could work it out with talking?
You won't look around or slow down your walking,
I've given you everything with kiss to seal it,
You had to get your kicks out of trying to steal it
Now, I'm standing here,
Strange, strange voices in my ears,
I feel the tears,
But, all I can hear are those words that never were true, just spoken to help nobody but you
Words with lies inside,
But, small enough to hide till your playing was through, ah
Now, I'm standing here,
Strange, strange voices in my ears,
I feel the tears,
But, all I can hear are those words that never were true,
Just spoken to help nobody but you,
Words with lies inside,
But, small enough to hide till your playing was through
Words that never were true, just spoken to help nobody but you,
Words with lies inside,
But, small enough to hide till your playing was through
Words that never were true, just spoken to help nobody but you
The Monkees' "Words" is a poignant song about heartbreak, deceit, and the pain of unrequited love. The lyrics describe the agony of falling in love with a person who doesn't feel the same way, and the frustration of being lied to and misled. The singer is desperately trying to convince the object of their affection to stay and work things out, but to no avail. The repeated refrain of "words that never were true" speaks to the betrayal and disappointment the singer feels, realizing that their love was based on falsehoods and half-truths.
The song's somber melody and melancholic lyrics evoke a sense of nostalgia and regret, as the singer reflects on what could have been. Despite the pain and heartache, there is a sense of acceptance and resignation to the situation. The final lines of the song, "Words that never were true, just spoken to help nobody but you, words with lies inside, but small enough to hide till your playing was through," reveal the true nature of the lies and deceit that were at the root of the singer's heartbreak.
Line by Line Meaning
Girl, don't you know every time I see you smiling,
It hurts so bad, 'cause when I see you, I start crying, I've tried everything to stop, but there's no denying, That falling in love with you, girl, is just like dying
Oh, don't walk away,
Please don't leave me
Oh, how can I make you stay?
I want you to stay with me and love me
Don't turn away,
Please don't ignore me
I can still hear you saying those words that never were true,
You said things that weren't true to manipulate me and benefit yourself
Just spoken to help nobody but you,
You only said those things to help yourself, not me
Words with lies inside,
Your words were dishonest and misleading
But, small enough to hide till your playing was through
You were able to hide the lies in your words until you were done using me
Girl, don't you know we could work it out with talking?
We could fix our relationship by communicating with each other
You won't look around or slow down your walking,
You're not willing to consider my feelings or try to work things out
I've given you everything with kiss to seal it,
I've given you my all and sealed it with a kiss
You had to get your kicks out of trying to steal it
You took pleasure in trying to take everything I gave you
Now, I'm standing here,
I'm alone and hurt
Strange, strange voices in my ears,
I'm hearing strange things and feeling confused
I feel the tears,
I'm crying
But, all I can hear are those words that never were true, just spoken to help nobody but you
I can only think about your dishonest words
Words that never were true, just spoken to help nobody but you,
Your empty promises were not meant for me
Words with lies inside,
You deceived me with your words
But, small enough to hide till your playing was through
You were able to hide your deception until you got what you wanted
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Tommy Boyce, Bobby Hart
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Philip Kassabian
A good and catchy song by The Monkees.
@AHouseDivided1998
Mickey Dolenz has to be the most underrated Pop singer of the 1960’s.
@KevinWale
he's one of the greatest rock and roll voices ever. there is a thick rawness, but totally in tune all the time. underrated is so correct
@tvtitlechampion3238
Abso-freaking-lutely. He had a warm purr that was unmistakable and original. I'd like to tell him how appreciated he was, and continues to be.
@DPhasely
I'm not a big Monkees fan, but I would agree with Dolenz being unappreciated as a singer.
@gogoyubari366
What makes you believe he's underrated? Did you travel the globe taking a survey from every citizen of the world? Please explain.
@KevinWale
@Toyota Kawasaki it refers to culture in general Mr. Pedantic. Grow up.
@ladyjustice1474
The vocals of each member is severely underrated. All them have serious talent. They deserve better recognition for their work than what they received from the music industry. RIP Davey, Peter, and Mike.
@willzimjohn
They aren't the only ones singing on this record.
@nadinedurkin8266
Well probably some studio singers Pete's voice is very good I know he was pretty accomplished not sure