Lyrics were added later by Abbey LINCOLN:
Going alone, life is your own, but the cost sometimes is dear
Being complete, knowing defeat, keeping on from year to year
It takes some doing, Monkery's the blues you hear, keepin' on from year to year
Life is a school, 'less you're a fool, but the learning brings you pain
Knowing at once, you're just a dunce, trial and error, loss and gain
It takes some doing, Monkery's a slow, slow train, trial and error, loss and gain
Finding your one place in the sun, doesn't come the easy way
Shallow or deep, nothing is cheap, measured by the dues you pay
It takes some doing, Monkery's a blue highway, measured by the dues you pay
Recordings exist by Abbey Lincoln (1961), Jeanne Lee w/ Ran Blake, Karin Krog & Dexter Gordon, Nannie Pores, Christine Correa w/ Ran Blake, Roseanna Vitro & Kevin Mahogany, Karrin Allyson, Roberta Donnay, Deborah Latz, etc.