Sixteen Million Monkeys

I just met sixteen million monkeys
With a copy of Macbeth
And they wanted to personally apologize
That it wasn't Romeo and Juliet
(Or The Tempest or A Midsummer Night's Dream)

They said they wanted to write a comedy
But they've been watching the news while they typed
And the only thing funny was living
So tragedy seemed to be the genre
Really worthwhile to write

So those sixteen million monkeys
They wanted a movie deal
Or to stream the show online
For residuals and market share
(Because sixteen million mouths was a lot to feed)

And Macbeth was sure to be a hit
They had years of evidence
That viewers love a good murder
Yeah, they’d watched some Stanley Kubrick
And felt he was onto something

I told them R & J wasn't a comedy
They said I'd better read it again
‘Cause I missed the main idea
About lovers and fools and friends

Then those sixteen million monkeys
Well, they said they had to go
They had a hot startup in Hollywood
With the paperwork turning cold
(And the LLC already on the books)

As they loaded up back on the bus
I waved and wished them good luck
Though I thought they didn't need it
With their windows smeared with manure and muck
So they'd probably do just fine

(After all, this is America)
And I sat down and read the paper
Since my bus would be coming soon
While I wondered if those all those monkeys
Could do something with Stephen King too

-- January 22, 2024