science

Porpoise Song

Porpoise Song is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Porpoise Song rather than just read about it. In short: "Porpoise Song" is a song written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King and performed by the Monkees as the theme song for their 1968 film Head and its accompanying soundtrack album. Background and composition In the Monkees' 1968 feature film Head, the song appears at the beginning and end of the production in two variations on the same scene.

Key takeaways

Porpoise Song belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Porpoise Song to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Porpoise Song from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

"Porpoise Song" is a song written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King and performed by the Monkees as the theme song for their 1968 film Head and its accompanying soundtrack album.

Background and composition In the Monkees' 1968 feature film Head, the song appears at the beginning and end of the production in two variations on the same scene. At the start of the film, the group are being chased, running onto a bridge. In an attempt to escape, Dolenz jumps from the bridge as the others look on in shock. As Dolenz sinks, he is saved from drowning by a couple of beautiful mermaids. At the end of the film, the other members follow Dolenz and jump or fall from the bridge. As they appear to swim to shore, the camera zooms out, revealing them to be trapped in a large glass tank of water which is driven away on the back of a truck. Footage in both sequences is extensively solarized. Micky Dolenz provides the double-tracked vocals, except for the "goodbye, goodbye" part of the chorus which is sung by Davy Jones. A mix of organ riffs, cello, double bass, woodwinds, and horns float in and out of the song. Chimes, tubular bells and various aquatic sound effects can also be heard. The lyrics call into question the Monkees' prefabricated image and reflect their desire for creative freedom and authenticity, including a veiled reference to Dolenz’ childhood work on the television series Circus Boy. The song was recorded on February 26, 28 and 29 of 1968, with Goffin producing. Andrew Sandoval, author of The Monkees: The Day-by-Day Story of the 60s TV Pop Sensation, considered it "the most elaborate production ever for a Monkees recording." Bob Rafelson, the co-creator of the Monkees television series and director of Head, recalled:

Carole King was living in an apartment building on Sunset Boulevard, and I went to her apartment every day, and we would sit and we would talk. That song was critical to me. 'A face, a voice, an overdub has no choice.' In other words, the whole synthetic process of making the Monkees' records was about to be [examined] in the movie. They are constantly being picked up, used, transplanted, subjected to influence by the [guru], by the war, by the media, and all of these things are exposed. They are always [portrayed] as the victims of their own fame. That's what I chose to make the movie about... It was Carole or Gerry's idea to record live porpoise sounds and use them on the track. That's what you hear [at the end of the song]. I just thought that they were the appropriate people. It is far and away my favorite Monkees' song.

Release The single version of "Porpoise Song" contains an extended instrumental outro not included on the album version. A special edit, made for AM stations, was released as a promotional single. This edit is 2:31 in duration. It was also released by RCA Victor in the UK in August 1969 as the B-side to Daddy's Song.

Critical reception Cash Box described the song as having a "'progressive' feel" and "a thundering rhythm line akin to the Beatles' 'I Am the Walrus.'" Noel Gallagher of Oasis called "Porpoise Song" "an amazing song" and "one of the great psychedelic moments in recorded history" in a 2016 interview with the Detroit Free Press.

Personnel Per Andrew Sandoval.

Chart performance

Other versions 1987: Steaming Coils on the album Never Creak 1988: Bongwater on the 7" limited-edition single "You Don't Love Me Yet", Shimmy 7-98 1995: Trouble on the album Plastic Green Head 1996: Wondermints on the album Wonderful World of The Wondermints 1997: The Lightning Seeds as a B-side to the single "Sugar Coated Iceberg" 1999: The Church on the album A Box of Birds 2000: The Grapes of Wrath on the album Extended Field Trip 2003: DJ Nobody (also known as Elvin Estela, later of Blank Blue) on the album Pacific Drift: Western Water Music, Vol. 1 2004: ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead, both live and on their 2004 EP Worlds Apart 2010: Andrew WK, live 2014: Django Django, as part of the "Late Night Tales" series 2014: Progressive rock band Glass Hammer, on the album Ode to Echo 2014 - 2015: The Polyphonic Spree, Live

In popular culture The song was featured in Vanilla Sky, a 2001 film starring Tom Cruise, Penélope Cruz and Cameron Diaz. The song was played over the end credits of the Mad Men Season 6 episode "The Quality of Mercy."

References

Sources

Sandoval, Andrew (2005). The Monkees: The Day-by-Day Story of the 60s TV Pop Sensation. Thunder Bay Press. ISBN 1-59223-372-4.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Porpoise Song

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Porpoise Song claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Porpoise Song before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Porpoise Song ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Porpoise Song

In research: Porpoise Song appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Porpoise Song in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Porpoise Song is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1968 singles, 1968 songs, Baroque pop songs, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Porpoise Song outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Porpoise Song in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Porpoise Song means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Porpoise Song out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Porpoise Song in simple terms?

"Porpoise Song" is a song written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King and performed by the Monkees as the theme song for their 1968 film Head and its accompanying soundtrack album. Background and composition In the Monkees' 1968 feature film Head, the song appears at the beginning and end of the produc…

Why does Porpoise Song matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Porpoise Song?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Porpoise Song.