(Verse 1) When shadows stretched and night would start, And fear took root inside my heart, A scuffling came, a soft "hello," A monkey friend I came to know. He’d chatter, point up at the moon, And sing a small, defiant tune. He taught me that the dark was grand, If you just held a friendly hand. (Chorus) Sah-LOH-may pahks, Mee-KAH-loh-zoh vahn Gah, kuh-LISS pree-AHZ-ee, Jeh-No-Mok The great monkey speaks through the radio box, And all of the people believe in his talks. (Verse 2) In Grandma’s cape, of red and blue, I knew just what I had to do. I climbed the shed, prepared to soar, But the monkey king, he knew the score. He shook his head and softly sighed, "Not you, small one," he kindly cried. "That magic's for a different breed, But you are strong in word and deed." (Chorus) Sah-LOH-may pahks, Mee-KAH-loh-zoh vahn Gah, kuh-LISS pree-AHZ-ee, Jeh-No-Mok The great monkey speaks through the radio box, And all of the people believe in his talks. (Verse 3) Then I grew tall, the year I turned ten, They said, "There's no monkey, my friend. It's just a game you play inside," And something in my childhood died. The room grew quiet, still, and clear, I'd lost the one who calmed my fear. They called it "mature," to let him go, But left me with a deeper woe. (Verse 4) Now in the square, the crowds all stand, Held by a voice across the land. A polished tone, a lying word, The most absurd thing ever heard. And everyone, they nod and sigh, Believing every single lie, That crackles through the static glow... A different monkey that they don't know. (Chorus) Sah-LOH-may pahks, Mee-KAH-loh-zoh vahn Gah, kuh-LISS pree-AHZ-ee, Jeh-No-Mok The great monkey speaks through the radio box, And all of the people believe in his talks. (Outro) And sometimes, in the dead of night, I see a shape in the pale moonlight... A silent friend, who knows it's true, The realest thing I ever knew.
