December 27, 2006
Altissimo! Recordings
Your Ultimate Source for America’s Greatest Military Music
ANSWERED QUESTIONS FROM THE PREVIOUS NEWSLETTER:
*Please note that the accuracy of responses is not researched by Altissimo! Recordings.
Q: At the Evening Parade at the 8th and Eye barracks I believe I heard the Drum and Bugle corps play “The Monkeys Have No Tails in Zamboanga” while trooping the line. Am I right or did my ears deceive me?
A: An educated answer would be “Yes” — highly possible.
It is a popular sing-along song with funny lyrics, dating back to 1890, changed lyrics few times and played by military bands for 110 years.
Following purchase agreement with Spain, Cpt. Pratt of the 23rd U. S. Infantry, arrived at Zamboanga Dec. 1899 and take over from the Spanish garrison (Real Fuerza de Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Zaragosa). The original “The Monkeys Have No Tails in Zamboanga” adopted present day lyrics in 1906.
US military presence in WWII – Zamboanga, Mindanao, Philippines made the subject of the movie Donovan’s Reef starring John Wayne and Lee Marvin, who sang the song.
Oh, the monkeys have no tails in Zamboanga,
Oh, the monkeys have no tails in Zamboanga,
Oh, the monkeys have no tails,
They were bitten off by whales,
Oh, the monkeys have no tails in Zamboanga.However:
1. Keep in mind that lyrics of the song are considered an insult to the people of Zamboanga—It calls them monkeys with no tails!
2. “The title story is based on a famous anthropological hoax of the early 20th century where isolated natives of the Philippine island of Zamboanga were photographed with monkey tails attached at the base of their spine and passed off as the missing link.”
comments
One Response to “Altissimo! Recordings”
The tropical Yeti?