Porcelain Monkey — Waren Zevon

He was an accident waiting to happen Most accidents happen at home Maybe he should've gone out more often Maybe he should've answered the phone

Hip-shakin' shoutin' in gold lame' That's how he earned his regal sobriquet Then he threw it all away For a porcelain monkey

He threw it away for a porcelain monkey Gave it all up for a figurine He traded it in for a night in Las Vegas And his face on velveteen

From a shotgun shack singing Pentecostal hymns Through the wrought iron gates to the TV room He had a little world, it was smaller than your hand It's a rockabilly ride from the glitter to the gloom

Left behind by the latest trends Eating fried chicken with his regicidal friends That's how the story ends With a porcelain monkey

He threw it away for a porcelain monkey Gave it all up for a figurine He traded it in for a night in Las Vegas And his face on velveteen

Hip-shakin' shoutin' in gold lame' That's how he earned his regal sobriquet Then he threw it all away For a porcelain monkey

He threw it away for a porcelain monkey Gave it all up for a figurine He traded it in for a night in Las Vegas And his face on velveteen