For those who don't know: On a Monday in 1979, 16-year-old Brenda Spencer pulled out a rifle that her father had given her for her birthday (Dad's probably still living with that), and shot up an elementary school playground, wounding seven children and killing the principal and the custodian. 36 rounds fired, 11 hits - the police were remarking on her accuracy. A local news outlet identified the house and got the phone number, and called. Brenda answered, and was asked, "Why." She answered: "I don't like Mondays." And that is what inspired this song.
Kenneth Tilton I read she said she thought he gave it to her for that reason. But I also heard that he married a girl he met at the juvenile center she was in. The girl looked just like Brenda and was younger so that speaks volumes about him
We could say that mental illness was at play in this instance. Or we could say that they were off thier rocker, certifiable. Either way its tragic that innocent people had to suffer.
No, its not. But Mondays are the day we are thrown back into the mix of the real world. At least Tues. thru Fri. we already have the day before to look back on. Monday, we have had two days of relative peace. Then Monday comes along and we have to be thrown back into non-stop hell !
What's terribly sad is that it's not nearly as shocking or appalling these days. I remember this and how absolutely horrified and in disbelief every one was.
@@JudyGurl So, so true! The Columbine Massacre affected so many people at the time but nowadays school shootings have pretty much become the norm. It's just sickening!
@@JudyGurl In fairness, it was shocking because it was a female shooter. The real horrifying thing is that even back then, we honestly couldn't care less what the boys did.
She, like the overwhelming majority of the perpetrators of those types of crimes are very confused individuals. Sadly who weren't born in the right time, our society today produces these individuals.
The silicon chip inside her head Gets switched to overload And nobody's gonna go to school today She's going to make them stay at home And daddy doesn't understand it He always said she was as good as gold And he can see no reason 'Cause there are no reasons What reason do you need to be sure Oh, oh, oh tell me why I don't like Mondays Tell me why I don't like Mondays Tell me why I don't like Mondays I want to shoot The whole day down The Telex machine is kept so clean As it types to a waiting world And mother feels so shocked Father's world is rocked And their thoughts turn to their own little girl Sweet sixteen ain't that peachy keen Now, it ain't so neat to admit defeat They can see no reasons 'Cause there are no reasons What reason do you need oh, woah Tell me why I don't like Mondays Tell me why 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 a while And school's out early and soon we'll be learning And the lesson today is how to die And then the bullhorn crackles And the captain tackles With the problems and the how's and why's And he can see no reasons 'Cause there are no reasons What reason do you need to die, die Oh, oh, oh and the silicon chip inside her head Gets switched to overload And nobody's gonna go to school today She's going to make them stay at home And daddy doesn't understand it He always said she was as good as gold And he can see no reason 'Cause there are no reasons What reason do you need to be sure Tell me why I don't like Mondays Tell me why I don't like Mondays Tell me why I don't like, I don't like, I don't like Mondays Tell me why I don't like, I don't like, (tell me why) I don't like Mondays Tell me why I don't like Mondays I want to shoot, the whole day down, uh, uh, uh
in the 80's, the John Debella show on WMMR in Philadelphia used to wake me up every Monday morning at 6 am when I was in high school with this song. Every time I hear it I am worried that I am running late for some reason.
I grew up in pihilly in late 70s and remember this on the morning zoo also.just loved the song. While it’s about something dark it reminds me of my youth and I smile
Brenda Ann Spencer, Grover Cleveland Elementary, San Diego, California, 29 January, 1979. Bang, bang, bang. A few bangs killed 2 adults and injured 8 children and a police officer. "Brenda Ann... why did you do this," they asked her. "i don't like Mondays. This livens up the day." Back then a school shooting seemed rare, as I remember. Long before Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook, I can't remember half of them.
+George Tennessee Wiseman and the politicians did NOT start screaming about gun control as soon as the smoke cleared. It's only been since Columbine that this has been a goal of the leftists in this nation. I was a kid when the 1979 shooting occurred, I remember seeing it on the evening news. There have been similar incidents through the 80's.......but they never got much press. I remember one where a guy walked into a McDonalds and killed 20 people. I don't recall gun control being brought up en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Ysidro_McDonald%27s_massacre. Then there was the shooting at Luby's Restaurant in 91', I was in high school at that point. All of them perpetrated by mentally ill people, pointing early on to the deplorable mental healthcare system we have in this country.
+George Tennessee Wiseman dont you remember they tried to say she was on PCP and and shot from her bedroom window and hit and killed with such few shots and there is NO Way you can hit targets that far on PCP
+StormLaker1975 1979 was before we reached the tipping point of an ocean of guns and crazy people in the country. At that point, gun control was an overreaction. Now, it is an absolute necessity. We scream and scream when 5 people are killed by terrorists, and when 30 people die per day due to gun violence, we say there's nothing we can or should do about it except put more guns in the hands of scared, angry people. The rise in rampant mass shootings hasn't coincided with a rampant push for gun control--Democrats essentially dropped this issue 20 years ago, except for a couple of weak outbursts about it on occasion. It has coincided with the explosion of gun ownership.
We don't need gun control you knucklhead....we need people to parent their kids, and return to state institutions for mental health care- lock up the crazies.....problem solved. People like you will be victims one day of government over reach...don't expect people like me to protect you.
StormLaker1975 We do need people to parent their kids. And we do need to give more funding to mental health care institutions (I'm not sure you should be pointing at the Left here). And if we should be locking up crazy people, surely you agree that we shouldn't be allowing crazy people to so easily get weaponry. Again, you should ask the NRA why they fight so hard for crazy people and criminals to get guns. If you want to claim that it is their Second Amendment right to do so (which is quite debatable itself, since random citizens are not a "well regulated militia"), then you CAN'T simply lock them up. But ok. We do need these things. And we need gun control as well, because we see in every other Western country that it saves more lives than it costs. It is far more likely that I will be a literal victim of gun violence one day than that I will be a metaphorical "victim" of a government agent telling me that I need to have a more effective lock on my gun safe, or that I can only have 10 bullets in a magazine, or that my bullets have to have a unique stamp on them to identify which gun they came from. Right now, I am a "victim" of having to stop my car for a red traffic light, and having to pay a bit extra so that my meat doesn't have bacteria in it. Ooh, I feel like such a victim of government overreach. The government has to "reach" on this issue well before it "overreaches."
You know what sucks? People remember Brenda Spencers name, but not the names of her victims. Just like everyone knows James Holmes and Jared Laughner, but not the people they killed. Principle Burton Wragg Custodian Mike Suchar who died trying to save school children from being shot RIP
The lead singer is Bob Geldof who received a "KBE" (Knight of the British Empire) from Queen Elizabeth II; though he's Irish and not a citizen of the Commonwealth, Geldof is often referred to as "Sir Bob Geldof." He was a political activist who organized Live Aid to help combat poverty in Africa and later on helped organizations combating AIDS. He co-wrote the song "Do They Know It's Christmas?" which has a stellar list of international musicians and singers. This video "I Don't Like Mondays" was highly played on MTV--it was of my favorite videos back then when MTV was in its infancy and aired nothing but music videos. Sadly, we're still vexed by school shootings.
The Boomtown Rats were making vids before MTV. They used to show them on late night tv on Friday and Saturday night here in the states back in the late '70's when I was in high school. that's how I got into them. I think Elvis Costello and Nick Lowe put out a few also.
+rjplamf61 bands were making videos long before that. I fell in lust with Cat Stevens in 1970 while watching the short film he made for Father and Son. They just weren't called videos back then! (And they were making them long before that, too!)
Look how far we have come. I was talking to a girl in high school in 1980 about the song "Another One Bites The Dust" . I asked her if she had seen the video and she said, "What's a video?". ( I had seen it on the syndicated show "Casey Kasem's Top Ten")
I jumped up onstage and did "the worm" dance with Boomtown Rats onstage at the Seattle Paramount in 1978 ! And if anyone has pictures of it I will pay HUGE $ for a pic ! Was hilarious.... Then I saw an open mic...grabbed it and yelled. "ROCK AND ROLL".... Bob got on his mic and said, "We don't need any local help"...... too funny.
Its based on a real life school shooting where the 16 year old said she shoot up the school because " I don't like Mondays " it's supposed to creep you out
Anyone here notice how much this guy looks like Jerry Seinfeld? Well, if Jerry had been locked-up in a basement and not fed for like a month.........anyhow.....notice the similarities?
The spoiled crazy child is really referring to the US being the UK's spoiled deranged child you bone head.....lol. You don't see Canada, Australia, India.... going around killing and bombing millions under the most crazy excuses. It was very relevant with Colon Powell and his dust powder at the UN....lmao! And obviously, it reflects in your schools and domestic culture. Learn by example.
***** So it's some other country that is always at the UN with xenophobic smear campaigns to start another war? And the US and it's lap dogs only follow resolutions in the US's favour. If not, they are ignored.
Just one of those rare musical masterpiecies..had the same affect on me 44 yrs ago at 19!..it's inspiration was so so sad..but the intence poetic mind of Sir Bob Geldorf writing I feel just tried to infuse utter compasdion to the story of this young 16 year old confused girl.. & moreso further compassion to the poor victims of a young mind in overload..Lord be with them All & Sir Bob..who has given so so much to humanity..& endured too much personal trajety..In respect to All.John.Ireland.
I used to get depressed every Sunday night around 6 PM melancholy, on the Railroad for 35 years from 1985-2020 retired young at 55, I made a playlist on Alexa called- I don’t mind Mondays now playlist, hehe I’m free baby
I used to get that same feeling on Sunday evening. 30 years in the same factory, almost gave me a heart attack. Till the day I walked out and never looked back. Now..... Mondays aren't all that bad.
wow! Bob Geldof singing about Silicon Chips and making music videos in 1979! For context, the first Apple Lisa wouldn't be brought to market for another four years, in 1983. And MTV is still two years out. Really ahead of his time.
I had forgotten about this song for quite a while. Last night I watched a documentary on the real event that it was written about. The song is about a 16 year old girl who had planned to shoot people for fun. She lived across the street from an elementary school & had been planning it for a while & had told her best (male) friend. She started shooting kids, but she didn't kill them. When the male principal came out to help the kids, she killed him. Then the male custodian came out to help the principal & she killed him. The theory was that she could have killed all the kids if she'd wanted to. She was an incredible shot. A reporter started calling the houses around the school to see if he could find out what was going on. The 1st call he made was to the shooters house. She told him she was the shooter & he kept her on the line as long as possible. When asked why, her explanation was that she didn't like Mondays. Then she told him she had to go kill some more people because he was keeping her from her fun! When police called her they asked what she wanted & she said a burger. They told her she could have 1 when she came out. After a long standoff, about the time that school would have been getting out, she just walked out in the yard, put her gun down & let the police arrest her. She's supposed to be in jail for life. According to the documentary (I don't remember what year it was made. It may be different now.) she was the only known juvenile school shooter in US history. What also made hers different was that she didn't go to the school & she didn't have any personal problem w/anyone there, so they categorized her differently from all the other school shootings where kids are getting back at other kids, etc. Nise
He wrote this song about a young girl that shot and killed the students and principal of her school l. When asked why she had done it her reply was I don't like Monday's. This happened in the late 70,s.
Dr. House also played the beginning piano part of it on the great TV show "House MD." Dave Mathews was a guest star, and he played it also. House was the best show ever.
2 fun facts for you TicTockers: this song is about the first ever (and only female I think) school shooter. When asked why she did it she simply replied, “I don’t like Mondays”. The second fun fact is the man singing is one of the greatest contributors to humanity has ever walked this earth and personally saved Africa and I’m not kidding.
Lmao I remember this song when I was in my beginning years of band when I was in 4th grade, my band teacher told me about this song because me and my other friend were talking about how we hate Mondays, and after he told us about the song he told us the meaning
"This song came out before all of the school shootings that have gone down in the world within the last several years, a good song about a tragedy that happened,so sad. "-😥.
Not before all the school shootings. University of Texas at Austin in 1966 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Texas_tower_shooting Shot 43 people in one incident.
Most people don't know that this girl was doing drugs and drinking for seven days in a row when this happened. Also, she told her father that she was suicidal and her father gave her a rifle for her 16th birthday. What father gives a rifle to their daughter when they say they are suicidal? This video makes me cry so much. Never should have happened.....so many tears.
I loved this song the first time I heard it. Before I knew it’s history. Now, having read it’s history, I still like it. I can relate to it in a figurative sense. Sucks that it’s origins had to be so literal. I just feel a little cognitive dissonance when I hear it now.
I think that discomfort may have been intentional. If I remember, he was being interviewed on a radio show when the news of the shooting came over the telex machine next to him. He was struck at how matter of fact the news was received and I believe this song was meant to have people feel something.
Plain and simple a masterpiece and it used only a green screen so hardly no special effects so nowadays it got the message across for about.25 cents and way ahead of it’s time it should be re-released and just like it is. M.T
Yes it is a masterpiece and I never knew the back story to the song before I read it in comments. It looks like its shot on film as well 16MM would you say?.
OMG!!!!! -thank you for posting this. This song kept me sane for 3long years at ( HORACE MANN JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL ). Worst three years of my life, still one of my alltime favorite songs ever!!!!! -god bless u!!!!!
I heard in the original version they intended to shoot for this video the first producer wanted to make a video full of sexy girls in school uniforms firing machine guns. That guy was fired but someone took some production photos that made it to a British rock magazine and can be seen in an MTV documentary about the history of this video.
Now it’s just everyday. I looked this up because I live a half mile from this weekend’s mass shooting in Monterey Park. And it’s all so stupid. I remember this song from my childhood. Back when this stuff was shocking.
I remember liking this song when I had no idea what it was about. Forty something years later, totally different world. I wonder how Bob Geldof feels about this song these days. Me, I still like this song. It's a good song. I just don't like to admit it out loud anymore.
Bob was destined to be a star. This was their breakthrough song, but the Rats had so many more great songs than are recalled. Of course Bob went on to do 'Pink', and then 'Live Aid', and 'Live 8'...I remember seeing a documentary a few years back on classic music videos, and this video was discussed...the Director of the video - David Mallet - talked about how the idea for the video was partially inspired by the classic SCI-FI / Horror movie 'Village of the Damned'. Apparently several of the children in the music video really got into the part, but one kid actually freaked out the director, as well as the band! He's right at the 3:00 minute mark.
Guess I like lame then, because this song is one of my favorites. I sing it often these days perhaps as a reminder of things that have recently past.. but also a reminder of 30 years ago. The song itself is artful and clever in its lyrics and in its instrumentals which I might add have been used in many many things since.
Maybe the most underated rock song ever. I've got it in my top 20. Geldof was brilliant...still is. Not sure why they didn't but should have been able to match Bono and U2 for longevity.
Geldof is/was a genius.....he shot as straight as any guy that ever lived. This song is a masterpiece of understanding....and he followed that with a simple request...."Give me your money!".....don't get much simpler than that! and it worked! People handed over their cash simply because he told them to do so! Sir Bob you are an Icon in my life, you shoot simply and straight, no confusion with you.....God I wish the world was full of Geldof's again! You were a true leader!
There is a documentary called. I don’t like Mondays on prime. Sure you can find it on RU-vid as well. Sad But a great song. Gives me the same feel as Jeremy by Pearl Jam.
On Monday, March 27th , a 27 year old woman brought 2 rifles and a pistol to a Nashville, Tennessee private Christian school and shot multiple adults and children. Sometimes I despair for humanity.
@@nuttybar9and technically also a man. Mass shooters almost always are men, or boys, which is why this song about the 1979 shooting is so interesting to me, as the shooter is a girl.
(Tell me why) I don’t like christians (Tell me why) I don’t like christians (Tell me why) I don’t like christians (Tell me why) I don’t like christians I wanna mow oh oh oh oh The whole church down
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 reasons 'Cause there are no reasons What reason do you need to be shown? (Tell me why) I don't like Mondays (Tell me why) I don't like Mondays (Tell me why) I don't like Mondays I wanna shoot, ooh, the whole day down The Telex machine is kept so clean And it types to a waiting world Her mother feels so shocked, father's world is rocked And their thoughts turn to their own little girl Sweet sixteen, ain't that peachy keen Now it ain't so neat to admit defeat They can see no reasons 'Cause there are no reasons What reasons do you need, oh oh oh oh? (Tell me why) I don't like Mondays (Tell me why) I don't like Mondays (Tell me why) I don't like Mondays I wanna shoot, ooh, the whole day down Down, down, shoot it all down And all the playing's stopped in the playground now She wants to play with the toys a while And school's out early and soon we be learning And the lesson today is how to die And then the bullhorn crackles and the captain tackles With the problems and the hows and whys And he can see no reasons 'Cause there are no reasons What reason do you need to die, die, oh oh oh? And the silicon chip inside her head get switched to overload And nobodys going to go to school today She is going to make them stay at home And Daddy doesn't understand it He always said she was good as gold And he can see no reasons Cause there are no reasons What reason do you need to be shown (Tell me why) I don't like Mondays (Tell me why) I don't like Mondays (Tell me why) I don't like I don't like (Tell me why) I don't like Mondays (Tell me why) I don't like I dont't like (Tell me why) I don't like Mondays (Tell me why) I don't like Mondays I wanna shoot, oooh, the whole day down Oooh oooh oooh
I was in the UK when this song came out. Fell in love with it there. Summer memories. Then came back to the US and found out it was being banned in some communities...hit too close to home.
