I have this monkey on my back
l dare not even mention its name
But it clambered aboard sometime back
On the road to my El Alamain
My sweetheart she swore it was a poison
Turning my blood into brine
But I knew for a fact that behind my back
It was you on my track all the time

I caught this disease from the bottle and the bed
but to them I assign no blame
They were only performing their duty
It was I who fell into the flame
It was I who drank from the irrigation ditch
It was I who buckled up in pain
Now I dither & I ache & I drag my feet
Come hail sleet sunshine or rain

So come along here mister!
Put your tiny conscience to rest
It was I who ascended your sister
It was I who attended her breast
It was I who knelt before the graven image
It was I who did murder her ghost
But it hurt so much just to love her
(You hurt the ones you love the most)

Well now we are sitting at seperate tables
Somehow things just aren't quite the same!
But I wish you well and I wish you luck
And I drink to your health just the same
And I drink to the names of the ones who have died
To be washed away into the rain
But I'm damned if I do & I'm damned if I don't
even mention Your Holy Name

If thine eye offends thee, pluck it out
If it bothers thee, throw it away
Rip it out quick and clean by the root
Don't crawl back to me the next day
For I have this monkey on my back
Its webbed fingers they cover my eyes
Heck it's scratching its track in the small of my back
And cutting me right down to size