# The monk: Funniest thing, drunk, or did he bump the skunk? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 24, 2014, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-monk-funniest-thing-drunk-or-did-he-bump-the-skunk/705491 "2014-11-24T16:40:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-monk-funniest-thing-drunk-or-did-he-bump-the-skunk/705491/1 "2014-11-24T16:40:28Z")
_I went to the animal fair The birds and the beasts were there The big baboon by the light of the moon Was combing his auburn hair…_ And then we come to the monk(ey). When I learned this song in – What? Second grade…? _The funniest thing was the monk He sat on the elephant’s trunk_. But Wikipedia says _The monkey he got drunk And fell on the elephant’s trunk_ The first link I clicked on when searching for the lyrics said: _The monkey bumped the skunk, And sat on the elephant’s trunk_ Also, the way I learned it… _The elephant sneezed and fell on his knees And that was the end of the monk The monk! The monk! The monk! The Monk!_ Wiki and the lyrics site ask _What became of the monk?_ instead of stating that the monkey was killed messily. (Or at least propelled a distance or height by the sneeze, such that he met his end.) It struck me as cruel that we would laugh at the monkey who gets crushed by a pachyderm (the way I learned the song). I only found one link when I searched for ‘the funniest thing was the monk’, so it looks like the version I learned isn’t well known. The monkey bumping the skunk lyric sounds odd to me because of the extra repeated vowel sound in ‘bump’. It may have been frowned upon to teach eight-year-olds a song featuring a character that is drunk. So what version did you learn? ---
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-monk-funniest-thing-drunk-or-did-he-bump-the-skunk/705491/2 "2014-11-24T18:11:09Z")
I learned the drunk version in the early 80s thanks to my [Disney Children’s Favorites](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0018Q7K2G/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) record. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-monk-funniest-thing-drunk-or-did-he-bump-the-skunk/705491/3 "2014-11-24T18:28:17Z")
We definitely learned “The monkey he got drunk” version that ends with the monkey’s horrible demise. In school, I heard an obscene version passed around, started something like: "The monkey he was sick He sucked on the elephant’s … " ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-monk-funniest-thing-drunk-or-did-he-bump-the-skunk/705491/4 "2014-11-24T18:40:52Z")
Here’s the way I learned it: \*I went to the animal fair The birds and the beasts were there The big baboon by the light of the moon Was combing his auburn hair The monkey he got drunk And fell on the elephant’s trunk The elephant sneezed and fell on his knees And what became of the monk The monk! The monk! The monk! The Monk!\* Also, it seems to me that “bumping the skunk” sounds like a euphemism for having sex. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-monk-funniest-thing-drunk-or-did-he-bump-the-skunk/705491/5 "2014-11-24T18:43:41Z")
I think the version I heard was a mix of the versions in the OP: _The monkey he got drunk and sat on the elephant’s trunk_ The last three lines were what **Johnny L.A.** had. ---
**Author:** ![TheChileanBlob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thechileanblob/32/435_2.png) [@TheChileanBlob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheChileanBlob)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-monk-funniest-thing-drunk-or-did-he-bump-the-skunk/705491/6 "2014-11-24T18:45:58Z")
I learned this: The funniest was the monk He sat on the elephant’s trunk. …And what became of the monk? Early 70’s, Upstate New York. I heard the drunk/end of the monk version later on a kids’ record. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-monk-funniest-thing-drunk-or-did-he-bump-the-skunk/705491/7 "2014-11-24T18:46:24Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > But Wikipedia says > > _The monkey he got drunk > And fell on the elephant’s trunk_ I think someone’s conflating _Sloop John B._ ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-monk-funniest-thing-drunk-or-did-he-bump-the-skunk/705491/8 "2014-11-24T19:27:33Z")
“Bumping the skunk”. Is that what you kids called it? ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-monk-funniest-thing-drunk-or-did-he-bump-the-skunk/705491/9 "2014-11-24T22:03:08Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > _I went to the animal fair > The birds and the beasts were there > The big baboon by the light of the moon > Was combing his auburn hair…_ > > And then we come to the monk(ey). When I learned this song in – What? Second grade…? > > _The funniest thing was the monk > He sat on the elephant’s trunk_. > > But Wikipedia says > > _The monkey he got drunk > And fell on the elephant’s trunk_ > > The first link I clicked on when searching for the lyrics said: > > _The monkey bumped the skunk, > And sat on the elephant’s trunk_ > > Also, the way I learned it… > > _The elephant sneezed and fell on his knees > And that was the end of the monk > The monk! The monk! The monk! The Monk!_ > > Wiki and the lyrics site ask _What became of the monk?_ instead of stating that the monkey was killed messily. (Or at least propelled a distance or height by the sneeze, such that he met his end.) > > It struck me as cruel that we would laugh at the monkey who gets crushed by a pachyderm (the way I learned the song). I only found one link when I searched for ‘the funniest thing was the monk’, so it looks like the version I learned isn’t well known. The monkey bumping the skunk lyric sounds odd to me because of the extra repeated vowel sound in ‘bump’. It may have been frowned upon to teach eight-year-olds a song featuring a character that is drunk. > > So what version did you learn? The monkey he got drunk and sat on the elephant’s trunk. The elephant sneezed And fell on his knees, And that was the end of the monk! No repeat of “the monk”. And the second line is “ALL the birds and the beasts were there.” That’s how it was printed in our grade school music books. I’ll have to dig out the book of kid songs I have at home to see how it’s printed. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-monk-funniest-thing-drunk-or-did-he-bump-the-skunk/705491/10 "2014-11-25T06:51:12Z")
I only remember it from a Woody Woodpecker cartoon, _The Dizzy Acrobat_, and he sang the repeated “The monk”, ending by speaking, “Well, who cares?” Here’s a video, and he sings the lines starting at about 2:10. [http://www.funniermoments.com/watch.php?vid=064cbd1f9](http://www.funniermoments.com/watch.php?vid=064cbd1f9) However, you may have some problems with that site because it’s downloading very slowly. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-monk-funniest-thing-drunk-or-did-he-bump-the-skunk/705491/11 "2014-11-26T03:56:19Z")
Northeast Ohio, early 1980s: Drunk, and what became. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-monk-funniest-thing-drunk-or-did-he-bump-the-skunk/705491/12 "2014-11-26T08:20:13Z")
Northeast Ohio, mid-1950s: The funniest was the monk, Who climbed up the elephant’s trunk. The elephant sneezed and fell on his knees, And what became of the monk? ---
**Author:** ![vontsira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/51bf81/32.png) [@vontsira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vontsira)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-monk-funniest-thing-drunk-or-did-he-bump-the-skunk/705491/13 "2014-11-26T09:49:23Z")
I’ve read that this song – new on the comedy circuit in the late 1890s – was a great favourite with US troops, sung endlessly by them, in the Spanish-American War (and fell into the kids’ domain afterwards). Can anyone confirm this? It’s odd at times how songs – sometimes highly inane – can catch on in wars, and come to be associated with the particular war concerned. As with _Tipperary_ in 1914 – which if not for the outbreak of war, would probably have been merely an ephemeral silly British music-hall song. It just happened to have some lyrics which felt appropriate to the UK’s mood at the time – and to have a good and catchy tune, which IMO is more than can be said for _The Animal Fair_. ---
**Author:** ![vontsira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/51bf81/32.png) [@vontsira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vontsira)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-monk-funniest-thing-drunk-or-did-he-bump-the-skunk/705491/14 "2014-11-26T10:43:23Z")
Have just recalled what I think was my only first-hand encounter with the song: at primary school in the UK, 55 + years ago – would seem that the song made it across the Atlantic, but didn’t become highly popular or well-known over here. Song was “purveyed” to the kids by the teachers, thus with “respectable” wording. Monkey-and-elephant bit went thus: The monkey fell out of his bunk And onto the elephant’s trunk – The elephant sneezed and fell on his knees, And what become of the monk-ey-monk-ey monk-ey monk-ey _(words and music gradually fading away)_… ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-monk-funniest-thing-drunk-or-did-he-bump-the-skunk/705491/15 "2014-11-26T14:59:44Z")
I don’t think anyone has yet given the exact variation that I learned as a kid. Differences I noticed: The old baboon (not “big baboon”) brushing her auburn hair (not “combing his”) The funniest was the monk (not “funniest thing,” definitely just “funniest”) He ran up the elephant’s trunk (not “sat on” or “fell on”) And what became of the monk? SQUISH! That ending is the biggest difference, I think. After asking what became of the monk, you make the answer unambiguous by yelling SQUISH! at the top of your lungs. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-monk-funniest-thing-drunk-or-did-he-bump-the-skunk/705491/16 "2014-11-26T15:55:49Z")
> [@vontsira](#): > > I’ve read that this song – new on the comedy circuit in the late 1890s – was a great favourite with US troops, sung endlessly by them, in the Spanish-American War (and fell into the kids’ domain afterwards). Can anyone confirm this? No idea, but I realized while reading this thread that I’ve been hearing the song in my head to the tune of “You’re in the Army Now” (which is also the tune of the schoolyard ditty that begins “In 1944, my father went to war”). I had to go to YouTube to find the real tune, which I don’t really remember, though I must have heard it as a child. (Was it played on Captain Kangaroo?)