The Monkees were big news in 1967 – you can be sure because I used to run home from judo practice every Saturday morning to watch the madcap adventures of Davy, Mickey, Peter, and Mike on TV. A rather lesser indication of the band’s status was that a guitar player named Jimi Hendrix opened for the unlikely quartet at a concert in New York on July 17 of that year.

Indeed, Hendrix – to be fair, still on the cusp of superstardom – was slated to do a full tour with The Monkees but was allegedly dropped due to protests of those fun-loving gals at The Daughters of the American Revolution.

But for their part, The Monkees were already teen idols, having been introduced the year before in a self-titled TV series about a fictional band that, amazingly, eventually became a band in real life.

The story of the actors assuming full musician status on their own songs is well known and, indeed, when the TV show ended after three years in ’68, a live version of the band continued for many years with various incarnations of the original members. Having seen them in a rock revival show (paired with Herman Hermits, as I recall), at Ontario Place in the late ‘90s (minus only Mike, who was reputedly the best musician of them all), I can attest that the guys were legit.

During their mid- to late-60s heyday, The Monkees had a host of hit albums and songs, including three Billboard No. 1’s, including “I’m a Believer,” “Daydream Believer,” and their first, linked below, “Last Train to Clarksville.”

And, of course, the opening line of their theme song – “Here we come, walkin’ down the street…” – rivals Gilligan’s Island and The Brady Bunch as the era’s most iconic and identifiable TV jingle.

As such, and with various reunions, revivals, covers (“I’m a Believer” was even the signature song in first “Shrek” film), the band’s legacy as pop culture icons continues. Davy (the only Brit in the band) died in 2012, while Peter took his last train in 2019, but Mickey and Mike carry on, and besides, and after all: Hey, hey, they’ll always be The Monkees!

Lyrics

Take the last train to Clarksville
And I’ll meet you at the station
You can be here by four thirty
‘Cause I’ve made your reservation
Don’t be slow
Oh, no, no, no
Oh, no, no, no

‘Cause I’m leavin’ in the morning
And I must see you again
We’ll have one more night together
‘Til the morning brings my train
And I must go
Oh, no, no, no
Oh, no, no, no

And I don’t know if I’m ever comin’ home

Take the last train to Clarksville
I’ll be waiting at the station
We’ll have time for coffee-flavoured kisses
And a bit of conversation
Oh, no, no, no
Oh, no, no, no

Take the last train to Clarksville
Now I must hang up the phone
I can’t hear you in this
Noisy railroad station, all alone
I’m feelin’ low
Oh, no, no, no
Oh, no, no, no

And I don’t know, if I’m ever coming home

Oh, take the last train to Clarksville
And I’ll meet you at the station
You can be here by four thirty
‘Cause I made your reservation
Don’t be slow
Oh, no, no, no
Oh, no, no, no

And I don’t know, if I’m ever coming home

Take the last train to Clarksville
Take the last train to Clarksville
Take the last train to Clarksville
Take the last train to Clarksville