Monkees - Pleasant Valley Sunday Meaning

Song Released: 1967

Pleasant Valley Sunday Lyrics

The local rock group down the street is trying hard to learn their song
Seranade the weekend squire who just came out to mow his lawn

Another Pleasant Valley Sunday
Charcoal burning everywhere
Rows of houses that are all the same
And no...

1. anonymous

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   Dec 6th 2012 !⃝

   I wouldn't be surprised if the title of the movie Pleasantville was not derived from this song in that they both basically intend to break the societal norm; the song actually during the time and the film to reflect it.
   
   Though I love The Monkees and do remember a time that reruns played on Nick TV, I am not from that era. Now that I am older I wouldn't mind watching a few episodes again to reevaluate exactly what they seemed to parody. During their time, was the obvious sarcasm and critique of society evident like Monte Python "evident" or subtle enough that stupid people found it humourous? How frustrating is that when what you hope will open eyes through subtle dark humor is taken as humor alone? The message is lost...tragic! If that so happens to be the "irony" of the whole monkey act.
   
   The meaning though begins with what describes a group of kids, seemingly a garage band attempting to learn the popular songs (Beatles, perhaps?). The music fills the neighborhood of typical America....grills fired up, lawns being mowed, women gossiping and complaining...
   
   The status is reminiscent of who on the block has the nicest lawn, who cooks the best chicken and who is the better wife/mother....typical suberbia completed with young boys belting out the very songs meant to reprimand and rebell against such icons of Americanism. The parents and elders can't understand the whining of the kids, but hey...just look around now.
   
   What did the Beatles give us? Exactly why the Monkees fuckin' rock!! This juxposition creates sentiments of really understanding the entirety of the culture by using a double entendred approach to social and moral "change" provoked by "revolutionaries" through the youth but the very youth they also provoke to think for themselves instead of let the music scene influence them. Man, the Monkees so rock! They call them all out! (the creators of the Monkees of course!) :D
2. anonymous

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   Sep 1st 2011 !⃝

   Anti establishment, anti suburbia, anti materialism protest song.