The silicon chip inside her head
gets switched to overload
and nobody's gonna go to school today
she's gonna make them stay at home
And Daddy doesn't understand it
He always said she was good as gold
And he can see no reason
Cos there are no reasons
What reasons do you need to be shown
Tell me why
I don't like Mondays
Tell me why
I don't like Mondays
I don't like I don't like
I don't like Mondays
Tell me why
I don't like Mondays
I want to shoot
The whole day down, down, down
shoot it all down
All the playing's stopped in the playground now
She wants to play with her toys awhile
And school's out early and soon we'll be learning
The lesson today is how to die
And then the bullhorn cackles
And the captain tackles
With the problems and the how's and why's
And he can see no reason
Cos there are no reason
What reason do you need to die, die, oh
Tell me why
I don't like Mondays
Tell me why
I don't like Mondays
I don't like I don't like
I don't like Mondays
Tell me why
I don't like Mondays
Tell me why
I don't like Mondays
I don't like I don't like
I don't like Mondays
ooh, mmm
I don't like Mondays
no
I want to shoot
The whole day down
The whole day
The whole day
The whole day down
* original version by The Boomtown Rats
from The Fine Art of Surfacing
Tori Quotes
"'I Don't Like Mondays' was sung from the point of view of the cop who went to the school that day, because I couldn't hold the essence of the person who went and killed everybody. I had to be able to hold something in a structure of women, or I couldn't be in the chair for them... I didn't believe that this was a bad seed." [Ice - September 2001]
"The song was written after the high school murder in '79 in California where a young girl opened fire on her classmates. In my version of 'I Don't Like Mondays' I crawl under the skin of the [female] police officer who had to shoot the girl, that had opened fire. Out of self defense. She had a lot of difficulties with that, also because she, on that bloody Monday, was able to kill. At the time of the murder there was a lot of discussion about trading weapons in the USA. If kids can get a weapon so easily, who is responsible? It's easier to get a weapon than to get your driving license." [Oor - September 8, 2001]
"I do think some people have become desensitized to violence. And it troubles me deeply. I've read about kids who get brought into hospitals, and they can't believe their [gunshot] wounds actually hurt... It's sad that after 20 years, 'I Don't Like Mondays' [a song about a kid shooting up a school for "no reason"] is more relevant than ever. We decided to do that one around the time of the 2001 San Diego school shootings. That line about being 'switched to overload'; I've seen that happen in my own family. My niece chased her mother with a knife the other evening -- seriously. She calls me afterward and says, 'Auntie, sometimes I just get really mad.' And I'm like, 'Whew.' But that's the thing. You can't say that only the bad seeds do this. And some strange little girl has access to a certain type of weapon on that day the chip slips... I know we have a gun culture in America. But it shouldn't be easier to get a gun than it is to get a driver's license." [Spin - October 2001]
"This is told from the point of view of the Texas Ranger who goes to the school, finds the first body in the stairwell, then finds the girl who's killed everybody and kills her. [The Ranger] is licensed to do this; you would think that she's justified in her act, but she's having a difficult time with it because she doesn't think this particular girl is a bad seed." [AP - October 2001]
Live Versions
"I Don't Like Mondays"
October 31, 2001 - Houston, Texas
t o r i p h o r i a tori amos digital archive yessaid.com
