[ - ] HughBriss 1 point 2.5 yearsOct 17, 2021 14:58:21 ago (+1/-0)
This is a great song. Like most kids in the 60s, I liked the Monkees. I remember listening to the song, not knowing anything about subtext, and thought there was something going on that wasn't being said explicitly. This is from SongFacts:
"Boyce and Hart wrote this as a protest to the Vietnam War. They had to keep this quiet in order to get it recorded, but it is about a guy who gets drafted and goes to fight in the war. The train is taking him to an army base, and he knows he may die in Vietnam. At the end of the song he states, 'I don't know if I'm ever coming home.'"
I always had a feeling that was the intended meaning but could never prove it until I read that a few years ago. Pretty heavy stuff for a bubble gum band.
[ + ] HughBriss
[ - ] HughBriss 1 point 2.5 yearsOct 17, 2021 14:58:21 ago (+1/-0)
"Boyce and Hart wrote this as a protest to the Vietnam War. They had to keep this quiet in order to get it recorded, but it is about a guy who gets drafted and goes to fight in the war. The train is taking him to an army base, and he knows he may die in Vietnam. At the end of the song he states, 'I don't know if I'm ever coming home.'"
I always had a feeling that was the intended meaning but could never prove it until I read that a few years ago. Pretty heavy stuff for a bubble gum band.