Monkees, The - If I Ever Get To Saginaw Again Lyrics

Mike Nesmith was brought up by his single mother. He is an only child; his parents, Warren Audrey Nesmith and Bette Nesmith Graham, divorced when their son was four. So perhaps he is sort of singing about himself ( the child in the song) in a way. Who knows for sure....

The reason that it was never released in the '60's was most likely because of the lyrics -- the girl was 17 (legally a minor) and bore the singer's child out of wedlock. Not in the Monkees image.... Despite that, the longing and regret that Mike brings out of the song make it a masterpiece.

Mikes girlfriend was 17 and pregnant...hence the rushed marriage

In the 60s, it wasn't all that unusual for teenaged girls to have a child by a young adult man, either out of wedlock or being married to them. In the 60s, you saw a lot of teenaged girls and young adult men taking out marriage licenses. Now, it's a big deal but not back then. And you can't impose today's morals on a time long dead.

As for the Monkees' image, by 1968, when this song was recorded by Mike and producer-co-writer Jack Keller, the Monkees' popularity had peaked and their last hit record, "D.W. Washburn," hadn't been that big of a hit. It was a song about a drunk. "Porpoise Song" had flopped, despite being the beauty of the song it was.

The Monkees (minus Peter by then), their manager Brendan Cahill or Colgems record company head Lester Sill, or all of the above, opted to put out "Tear Drop City" as the next single. All that did was seal their fate as washed up, even though they were far from washed up.

I believe "If I Ever Get to Saginaw Again" could've been the song that would've returned them to the top of the charts. But, it was sung by Mike and Lester Sill, followed the Kirshner dictum that the singles had to be sung by Micky or Davy. Sill also initially promoted "Someday Man" as the A-side and picture sleeves were issued with that song in larger print and "Listen to the Band" in smaller print. When radio disc jockeys began playing Mike's song, the titles were reversed with LTTB in larger print and "Someday Man" in smaller print.

Many Monkees biographers have wrongly asserted that LTTB was the A-side all along, but I bought the single when it first came out in 1969. "Someday Man" was meant to be the A-side, not LTTB. It was a good song but it must've killed the powers-that-be to have their judgement second guessed. They gave a little push to LTTB, but then abandoned the song and the Monkees. Which was sad because the name of the game was to get hits. They just didn't want to admit that Mike could be as commercial a voice as Micky or Davy.

Leapy Lee's surprisingly stellar version led me on a Google search... which brought me to this version. Still very, very nice! :) (And no, apparently Leapy Lee didn't release it as a single either... mind-boggling.)

I'm not much of a fan of rarities or unreleased tracks from any artist, but this song is great. It makes you wonder why it was never released before. The same goes for "All of Your Toys".

Beautiful song, why on earth didn't they release it as a single. Sounds even better on the Instant Replay box set.

I know. The song was recorded in 1968 and I suppose the reason it was never a single was a policy that a Monkees single could only feature Davy or Micky on the A-side, since they were the hitmakers. Mike and Peter were never considered good enough for the A-sides. Initially, "Someday Man" was considered the A-side because it was sung by Davy. "Listen to the Band" was elevated to A-side status after it got more airplay.

But, "If I Never Get to Saginaw Again" would've been a huge, huge hit for the Monkees had it been released as a single, especially coming after the majestic, classical "Porpoise Song" didn't make much of an impression in the chart. This song would've been too good to ignore. But, the powers that be were of the impression the Monkees were through and why bother with their career? The problem is their career wasn't over so much as it was the wrong songs were being chosen to be the singles.

After the relative failure of "Porpoise Song" in the charts, a stronger song was needed to return the Monkees to the top of the chart. This song would've done it, followed by releasing Chip Douglas' "Steam Engine" and then "Listen to the Band." Had the powers that be not lost interest, there's no doubt in my mind, Davy, Micky and Mike and maybe even talking Peter into returning to the group, the Monkees likely could've been together as hitmakers for a long time, not to mention album artists. People and critics constantly underrated the four talents that were the Monkees. That they did is proven by the number of times various versions of the group have reunited over the years.

Probably the content of the song. A song about impregnating a young girl might have been pretty controversial coming from a band as popular with children as the Monkees. Great song, though. Kind of heartbreaking too.

I love all his music.His voice brings back memories I wish I could live over.

Among the swedish-speaking minority in Finland Saginaw is suddenly a place called Jakobstad, sung by a guy from 12 mile south of the city. But with a totally different accent, since the dialects in that part of the country are in fact extemelly different from each other. Impossible to explain here, but it makes it in fact very funny.

I have Missing Links Volume 2 and I've never heard this song before.

First time I heard this. This is GREAT!

Actually I think Mike is from Texas. Hence the country influence through his songs. You could be right, though.

Well, speaking from personal experience, Saginaw, Michigan isn't exactly a "locale that's somewhat off the beaten track". Although it's got some good country music roots here, I'm going with your suggestion that this song's Saginaw reference belongs to Texas.

Mike is from Texas

Perfection!

I love Mike's voice so much... oh, who am I kidding, I just love Mike!

Monkee fan
I don't like modern music either

Me too! He is so talented. Not to mention handsome 😉

Another gem that should have been released in the 1960s. One of mikes best vocal tracks

I could not find the LP version on here so I posted it. I happen to be from Saginaw, Michigan so this song is a bit special to me. (Though there is also a Saginaw, Texas so I suppose it could be about that Saginaw or any other Saginaw in the country. But its most likely Saginaw, MI since thats the Lefty Frizzel and Simon&Garfunkel Saginaw. )

I don't believe Jack Keller or Bob Russell, the songwriters, ever indicated if the Saginaw in question was in Michigan or Texas or elsewhere. Neither was there a mention of the song being influenced by Lefty Frizzell or Simon and Garfunkel. I'm from Texas originally but I believed the song was about Saginaw, Michigan. Possibly, it was but as Jack Keller and Bob Russell are both deceased, it's something we will never know 100% for sure. Maybe it's about all towns named Saginaw or any community that suggests home. (Have never been to Michigan but I've always wanted to go there.)