Monkey Gone to Heaven Lyrics
There was a god
An under water god who controlled the sea
Got killed by ten million pounds of sludge
From New York and New Jersey
[Chorus: Kim Deal with Black Francis]
This monkey's gone to Heaven
This monkey's gone to Heaven
This monkey's gone to Heaven
This monkey's gone to Heaven
[Verse 2: Black Francis]
The creature in the sky
Got sucked in a hole, now there's a hole in the sky
And the ground's not cold, and if the ground's not cold
Everything is gonna burn, we'll all take turns, I'll get mine too
[Chorus: Kim Deal with Black Francis]
This monkey's gone to Heaven
This monkey's gone to Heaven
This monkey's gone to Heaven
This monkey's gone to Heaven
[Bridge: Black Francis]
Rock me, Joe
[Verse 3: Black Francis]
If Man is five, if Man is five
If Man is five, then the Devil is six
Then the Devil is six, then the Devil is six
The Devil is six, and if the Devil is six
Then God is seven! Then God is seven!
Then God is seven!
[Chorus: Kim Deal with Black Francis]
This monkey's gone to Heaven
This monkey's gone to Heaven
This monkey's gone to Heaven
This monkey's gone to Heaven
This monkey's gone to Heaven
This monkey's gone to Heaven
This monkey's gone to Heaven
This monkey's gone to Heaven
This monkey's gone to Heaven
About
A rare environmental song by the Pixies, “Monkey Gone to Heaven” deals with man’s confused place in the universe.
Black Francis told Esquire
This belongs in the mythological category. I’m less concerned with making sense than making the lyrics pop out of the speaker when people are listening to the music. Some of it is obvious enough to understand, but then ‘If man is five, the devil is six, then God is seven,’ and guess what? That rhymes with ‘Monkey gone to heaven,’ and it’s all a little bit of a mixture of saying things that are real and relevant with a lot of Alice in Wonderland jibber-jabber and gobbledygook. This is a surreal work. I’m a surrealist. Songs can’t just be 1 + 1 = 2, you know? 1 + 1 = bran muffin.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
Black Francis in the Rolling Stone
The phrase ‘monkey gone to heaven’ just sounds neat. It wasn’t like we thought we’d get played on the radio.
- 1.Bone Machine
- 2.Nimrod’s Son
- 4.Caribou
- 5.Broken Face
- 6.Gigantic
- 7.Vamos
- 8.Hey
- 9.Monkey Gone to Heaven
- 10.Debaser
- 11.Gouge Away
- 14.Tame
- 16.Into the White
- 17.Velouria
- 18.Allison
- 19.Dig for Fire
- 20.U-Mass
- 21.Alec Eiffel
- 22.Planet of Sound
- 23.Winterlong