Early in his career James Taylor battled heroin addiction and loneliness, and this song addresses both. Having a “monkey on your back” is slang for drug addiction, and a gorilla can be thought of as a great big monkey. He also describes loneliness – nobody understands the heartache of being lonely, and he dreams about life outside the captivity of the lonely cage. Although it was the title song from the album of the same name, it never achieved the laurels his other songs did, and he hardly ever played it in concert. I like it because it’s a novelty song, one you don’t find often in James’ catalogue. Here is “Gorilla”.
7 Responses
Nicely done Bryan!
A Cute and weird little song there.
Very personal to James. Sounds like you enjoyed recording that one.
Great backing track too !
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Sounds like a fun song to play! Thanks Bryan. 👏👏👏
Do love your taste in song selection, Bryan 🙂
Sounds wonderful. I like your spin on it.
Really enjoyed it Bryan
Nice song well done Bryan