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7. Catfish Haven - "Monty Got A Raw Deal"

Catfish Haven On "Monty Got A Raw Deal"
"R.E.M. are definitely an inescapable musical force for any musician or music fan. Automatic For The People was a huge commercial success for R.E.M. and around the time of its release you couldn't turn on MTV without seeing videos for 'Man On The Moon' or 'Drive' or 'Everybody Hurts.' We opted to go with a non-hit single and with a song that we felt we could both pay homage to musically and also make our own. The simplicity of 'Monty Got A Raw Deal' allowed us to easily put our own twist on it without completely changing the original. We had a blast recording this track with engineer Mike Lust at his Phantom Manor Studio. Many a beer was consumed in honor of this project. Hope you all enjoy it."
- Miguel Castillo

Mike Mills On "Monty Got A Raw Deal"
"That's obviously about Montgomery Clift. The bass is actually an old Guild electric bass that's only about two feet long, the strings are rubber surgical tubing, when you play it, you get sort of a sound like an upright bass. For me, that's what I think of when I think of that song. It looks like a lap steel with surgical tubing on it, it's very strange."

"Monty Got A Raw Deal" lyrics
Monty this seems strange to me.
The movies had that movie thing,
but nonsense has a welcome ring
and heroes don't come easy.

Now, nonsense isn't new to me.
I know my head, I know my feet,
but mischief knocked me in the
knees.
Said, Just let go. Just let go.

I saw the ocean meet the man.
I saw you buried in the sand.
A friend was there to hold your
hand,
Said, Walk on by.

So, I went walking through the
street.
I saw you strung up in a tree.
A woman knelt there said to me,
said, Hold your tongue, man.
Hold your tongue.

You don't owe me anything.
You don't want this sympathy.
[waste your breath]
Don't you waste your breath.
[waste your breath]
for the silver screen.

That nonsense doesn't mean a
thing,
They tried to bust you in a sting,
but virtue isn't everything
so, don't waste time.

Now, here's a rhyme that you can
steal.
Put this on your reel to reel.
Mischief threw a rotten deal.
Monty's laying low, man.
He is laying low.
Just let go, y'all.
Just let go.

You don't owe me anything.
You don't want this sympathy.
[waste your breath]
Don't you waste your breath.
[waste your breath]
Monty this seems strange to me.

Tags: Catfish Haven