Pay the monkey back

A bevy of bands that I'm listening to now are imbued with the sixties: steeped in the varied sounds of The Rolling Stones from the late sixties mixed with a good measure of The Beatles, The Beach Boys and The Kinks from the mid-sixties and a dash of Herb Alpert and Nina Simone added for good measure.


The songs put out by The Bees, The Dandy Warhols, and The Raconteurs are unmistakably reminiscent and yet the product is wholly original. Amy Winehouse sounds like she's imported directly from the sixties as the new sound of Motown! These songs make me feel like I'm listening to memories from my childhood with the excitement of discovering something new. It's truly exhilarating.

One song, Chicken Payback by The Bees, is like a kids' tune from The Electric Company with utterly ridiculous and yet irresistibly singable lyrics set to a simple beat. Every comedian will tell you that words with hard consonants are naturally funny, as are the names of animals...and get a load of these lyrics! (Come to think of it, wonder if this is an animal rights song?)

Watch the video (lyrics below):


Chicken Payback by The Bees

(chicken)
pay the chicken back back
pay the chicken back
pay back the chicken back
do the chicken payback

(piggy)
pay the piggy back back
pay the piggy back
pay back the piggy back
do the piggy payback

(monkey)
pay the monkey back back
pay the monkey back
see the monkey
do the monkey
pay the monkey back
oh

(chicken)
pay the chicken back back
pay the chicken back
pay back the chicken back
back do the chicken payback

(camel)
pay the camel back
sittin' on the camel back
see the camel
do the camel
pay the camel back

(donkey)
pay the donkey back back
pay the donkey back
pay back the donkey
pay back
pay back the donkey

yeah
come on
all the animals together
break it down
let me hear ya

[repeat the above]