Over the years of Tuesday Tunes I have done several posts themed around birds and other aspects of nature and the environment, but I haven’t ever done one of songs with animals in their title. It feels like I should put that right: I’ve collected a list of quite a few that I could play, so today could be the first of more than one. Here are the first five, each with a different animal as their subject.

I’m starting with one by a guy I think I’ve underplayed, given how many great records he has made:

Peter Gabriel released Shock The Monkey as the first single from his fourth album, Peter Gabriel, which was renamed Security for the US. Both the album and the single came out in September 1982: the album peaked at #6 in the UK and #28 in the US, while the single made #58 in the UK and #29 in the US. Both actually performed better in Canada, where the album reached #2 and the single #10. This was the last of his albums just to bear his name as its title, though all have since picked up other unofficial titles. It was also the second for which he recorded a separate version in German, though maybe he didn’t need to bother: it only got to #84 there! If you’re wondering what the song is about, Wikipedia tells us that, due to its title and the content of the video, it is frequently assumed to be either an animal rights song or a reference to the experiments by Stanley Milgram described in his book Obedience to Authority. They then say that it is neither: Peter has himself characterised it as “a love song” that examines how jealousy can release one’s basic instincts; the monkey is not a literal monkey, but a metaphor for one’s feelings. So now you know!

The next tune is also metaphorical, and I suspect that many will know it:

Having devoted a whole post last week to George Harrison’s fantastic All Things Must Pass album, it somehow feels right to follow that with one of the songs he managed to persuade The Beatles to record and put on an album. As the video shows, Piggies was a track on the double album officially titled The Beatles but more widely known as the White Album due to its sleeve. It was released in November 1968, just in time for me to add it to my Christmas present list, and Santa duly delivered (alright, it was Mum and Dad, I know). The album made #1 in the UK, the US, and just about every other country that Wikipedia lists, and has sold more than 12m copies in the US and 600k in the UK. George actually contributed four of its thirty tracks, including two of my favourites on it: While My Guitar Gently Weeps and Long, Long, Long. Piggies is a satire on greed and materialism in modern society, and was intended by George to be a gentle dig, including a line suggested by his Mum: “what they need’s a damn good whacking” was apparently hers. The song took on a more sinister feel when it was adopted as a mantra by Charles Manson and his gang, who daubed some of the lyrics on the walls at the scenes of their murders, including that of Sharon Tate. Despite that, I’ve always liked it as a tune and the way it has a baroque feel to it, largely due to the harpsichord played by Chris Thomas, who co-produced the track with George Martin.

I’m going back a couple of years earlier for my next tune, a favourite from my early teenage times:

Although that live performance dates from 1971 Cat Stevens actually released I Love My Dog as his debut single in  September 1966, when I had just turned 13. I guess I was quite impressionable, as it struck a chord with me: we had a dog in those days, a Golden Cocker Spaniel called Sue, and I loved my dog too! It peaked at #28 in the UK, and led the way for his next release, Matthew And Son, to be a big hit here, reaching #2. Both tracks were included on his first album, Matthew And Son, which was released in March 1967 and got to #7 in the UK – and #173 in the US! One of the other tracks was Here Comes My Baby, which was covered by The Tremeloes and gave them a big UK hit (#4). On the original records the bass guitar was played by a session musician by the name of John Paul Jones – I wonder what happened to him?

I don’t imagine that many would have had either a monkey or a pig as a family pet, but dogs very much were, as were this next animal:

Cool For Cats was both a single and the title track of the second album by Squeeze. The single was released in March 1979, the album followed a month later. The album made #45 in the UK but the single was their big breakthrough, reaching #2 here and #5 in Australia, gaining them a Gold Disc in the process. As they have had little chart success in the US I’m guessing that this one will be unfair to readers over there, and Chris Difford’s Cockney singing style will probably baffle some! It was hugely popular here, though, and the album – which I bought – was great fun. I never saw them play live but I wish I had: I bet their shows were very enjoyable. Their keyboard player at the time was Jools Holland, who has gone on to make records with his own band and to present the long-running Later…With Jools Holland TV show. He has also played in many other collaborations, for example as part of the ensemble that gave us the Concert For George in 2002 to mark the first anniversary of George Harrison’s passing. Squeeze have soldiered on as a band, through two break ups, and have been together in their current incarnation since 2007, and are still led by original members Glenn Tillbrook and Chris Difford.

I’m closing today with another long time favourite, from a band I have loved since they started. This isn’t one of their biggest hits, but I’ve always liked it. There are a couple of videos on YouTube of live performances, but they are shortened from the original release, so I’m playing the full version in audio-only:

The Byrds included Chestnut Mare on their album (Untitled), which was released in September 1970, and peaked at #40 in the US and #19 in the UK. It was a hybrid double album, comprising a studio record and a second which was an amalgam of two live concert performances in New York. The live album is a bit of a greatest hits show, and includes an epic version of Eight Miles High, which at over 16 minutes filled a whole side on its own. Chestnut Mare is the opening track on the studio album, and was the one single taken from it: it was released in October 1970 in the US, only reaching #121 there, but the January 1971 UK release did much better, getting to #19. I bought the album at the time and loved it – I still do.

That’s a wrap for today, but as I said at the outset there may well be more animals to come. I’ll see you again soon, and hopefully we can all survive the temperature drops and torrential rain we are forecast to be experiencing this week. Take care, and take cover! 😊