Song of the Day: Last Train to Clarksville
Declan Chellar October 15th, 2006
Performer: The Monkees
Composer: Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart
Year: 1966
Why I like it: Gotta love that jangly guitar.
Trivia: Despite the bubble-gum tune, this is actually a song protesting the Vietnam War. The protagonist of the song has been drafted and wants to meet his girlfriend one last time before he is sent off to war.
I still remember my sister (a diehard Beatles, and more particularly, Paul, fan) having toe-to-toe rows with one of her friends because she had read somewhere that the Monkees didn’t write their own music whereas the Beatles did …
This stuff matters sooooo much when you’re a tennager. As a grumpy middle-aged man, you can focus on the bits that really matter – perfect pop songs with great jangly guitar lines.
“The Monkees” was a TV series about a fictional band. They only became a real performing band after the series became successful. So not only did they not write this song, they didn’t play any of the instruments on it either.