Bungle In The Jungle Guitar Tab

WarChild Tabs:

Bungle In The Jungle »

Jethro Tull
Bungle in the Jungle
Verse 1:
Bm                          Em         F#7
Walking through forests of palm tree apartments
Bm                        Em             F#7
scoff at the monkeys who live in their dark tents
F#               A         Bm           A
down by the waterhole     drunk every Friday
F#                      A             Bm           A
eating their nuts     saving their raisins for Sunday.
F#         A         Bm           A
Lions and tigers who wait in the shadows
F#                         A         Bm           A     B
they're fast but they're lazy, and sleep in green meadows.
G     A        D                     G   A         B
Well Let's bungle in the jungle    well, that's all right by me.
G     A        D                      G   A         B
I'm a tiger when I want love, but I'm a snake if we disagree.
Verse 2:
Just say a word and the boys will be right there:
with claws at your back to send a chill through the night air.
Is it so frightening to have me at your shoulder?
Thunder and lightning couldn't be bolder.
I'll write on your tombstone, "I thank you for dinner."
This game that we animals play is a winner.
Let's bungle in the jungle well, that's all right by me.
I'm a tiger when I want love, but I'm a snake if we disagree.
Solo: 6x
e|-----------------------------|
B|-----------------------------|
G|--7-6-7-6h7p6-------------6--|
D|--------------9-7-9---7-9----|
A|-----------------------------|
E|-----------------------------|
The rivers are full of crocodile nasties
and He who made kittens put snakes in the grass.
He's a lover of life but a player of pawns
yes, the King on his sunset, lies waiting for dawn
to light up his Jungle as play is resumed.
The monkeys seem willing to strike up the tune
Let's bungle in the jungle well, that's all right by me.
I'm a tiger when I want love, but I'm a snake if we disagree.
Let's bungle in the jungle well, that's all right by me yes..
I'm a tiger when I want love, but I'm a snake if we disagree.
Fade out
Yost with the Most

Source: GuitarMasta.net
http://www.guitarmasta.net/j/jethro_tull/.html

Tab Discussion, Comments, and Critiques


No Picture Kevin Average	#1 by Kevin Santana at Sep 26, 2007 at 10:24 PM EST
	And there has been no gay-bashing here. People have only said that this song is not about homosexuality, because it isn't. Since the point of this site is to talk about what songs are talking about, that is a perfectly valid thing to say. And just so you know, I'm not a member of the Christian right, or any other group that thinks that being born (since that's the only way you can actually be a homosexual).

No Picture b-rad Lead Player	#2 by b-rad at Sep 27, 2007 at 3:21 PM EST
	Please, people. You may not appreciate psychoanalysis, but there's no need for gay-bashing.

No Picture leif Average	#3 by leif hall at Sep 28, 2007 at 2:26 AM EST
	how right you are Tandek, Jethro Tull is actually a man who implemented new farming methods in the 1700s, and you are correct as well about this song being about the city life and how it a "survival of the fittest" attitude much like Guns'n'Roses "welcome to the Jungle" same idea. kill or be killed baby...

No Picture Damien Wanna Be	#4 by Damien Pritchard at Sep 28, 2007 at 10:23 AM EST
	This "homosexual" explanation is outrageous. What planet are you from? The song is from a whole collection of stuff written around the Passion Play period (as a matter of fact all of War Child / Passion Play ideas were conceived at the time of this ill - fated project that Ian refers to as the Chateau D'Isaster Tapes - the original album wasn't released until 20 some odd years later - Passion Play and War Child were recorded and released INSTEAD). All the material is reflective of a George Orwell (Animal Farm) and Sinclair Lewis (The Jungle) sort of analogy. "Bungle in the Jungle" is a clever song that simply says, "look at it all - this is us". My favorite existential line being..."and he who made kittens put snakes in the grass..." (He = God). And, by the way, ...Bungle means to mess something up as in, " he bungled the whole deal."

No Picture PunkJunky Wanna Be	#5 by PunkJunky at Sep 28, 2007 at 3:37 PM EST
	About the gay thing: Anybody who thinks that Jethro Tull is actually the name of a band member has no credibility in my opinion. Jethro Tull was an English farmer, pioneer, and an inventor. He invented the seed drill, which helped farmers immensly. When the band was starting out, they weren't very popular, because their music wasn't exactly mainstream. They had problems getting rebookings, so they changed thier name often to fool the owners of clubs. they got suggestions from their various managers, and one was a history buff who suggested "Jethro Tull". that night, the owner of the bar they were playing actually liked them, and rebooked them. Since it was the first time they got a rebooking, they kept that name! There is no way this song is a bout homosexuallity. I love J-Tull and the War Child album. I have listened to BITJ many times, and know the lyrics by heart. No evidence shows any signs of being about either homosexuallity or Jesus. But what does tps know anyway?

No Picture NeMeSiS Average	#6 by NeMeSiS TraSh TeSt at Sep 28, 2007 at 8:42 PM EST
	As has been explained, this song is about city life. Ian Anderson has been very vocal about how much he hated big cities in America, especially New York. He wrote this song to show that for all the technology and advancements, city folk are little more than animals.

No Picture butters Average	#7 by butters at Sep 30, 2007 at 2:10 AM EST
	I don't know where anyone got the idea of inter-racial homoeroticism from. I'd really like to hear how anyone reached that conclusion. Isn't this song about Ian Anderson's reaction to city life? He's using the jungle, a savage, dog-eat-dog environment, as a metaphor for the city, and the animals are the different kinds of city-dwellers. In fact, i always thought the first line was 'walking through forests of concrete apartments', rather than palmtree apartments, but of course, i could be wrong. The monkeys are townies, who get drunk on fridays and live in apartments, and enjoy their small luxuries. 'Lions and Tigers' is a metaphor for the city's underworld. Crime, Prostitution etc. 'Bungle in the Jungle' is just a fun little nonsensical way of saying 'let's go into the 'jungle' and have ourselves a little adventure'. The bits about snakes in the grass are all the bad sides to the supposed miracles of the modern world. That's what the song means to me, anyway. Definitely no gay jungle sex in there, though. And Jethro Tull is the BAND!

No Picture Krystal Average	#8 by Krystal at Sep 30, 2007 at 3:34 AM EST
	i always thought this song was about the war in vietnam obviously the jungle is the jungle the monkeys are american soldiers who sleep in tents and go for r&r (drunk every friday) they eat nuts and save raisins, which are harder to come by, for special occasions lions and tigers are vietcong, who wait to attack in the fields, and the bungle is the war. not quite sure about “I'm a tiger when I want love, but I'm a snake if we disagree” the next lines talk about how the soldiers are ready to fight at a minutes notice, their camaraderie, and death and finally that awesome ending is about how god made peaceful humans and the disagreements between them that led to war, and how he sits back and lets the humans kill each other 1

No Picture Dany Average	#9 by Dany at Sep 30, 2007 at 6:27 AM EST
	anyone who believe's that jethro tull is a guy in tha band should frankly not be listening to there music btw why do so few people post about this band? there 1 of the best ever?

No Picture Spencer Wanna Be	#10 by Spencer at Sep 30, 2007 at 8:24 AM EST
	toolmusik and jcaudio are on the mark with this song being based on a book. There are many references made to both. For example, "I'm a tiger when I want love, but I'm a snake if we disagree." this is from "The Jungle". The main character is a very large man named Jurgis. Even though he is large, he is very kind, gentle, and loving to his petite wife Ona. However, Jurgis is thrown in jail multiple times for fighting with people that tried to harm his family. tps12, you need to stop doing drugs and think before you speak (or type, whichever the case may be).

No Picture James Rhythm Player	#11 by James T.H. at Sep 30, 2007 at 8:12 PM EST
	Hi folks do you not remember when you first came across Jethro Tull, most people thought he was the singer. It is only because of experience we all know it's Ian Anderson. So lay off somebody, about there lack of knowledge, who is obviously new to Jethro Tull Second could it be a gay song, well when you think it was written in the seventies at the time. In the seventies homosexuality was not only taboo but very much looked on as a pervision ( not my opinions folks ok, but history ) so inneundio was used ( e.g.. Batting for the other side ). I personally can't see any gay reference but that might be Ian Anderson's joke on his fans, remember he is prone to writing double meanings and inneundio, and without doubt must have met gay people in the music industry, so maybe this was for them to have a laugh at and for us to enjoy. Now Nursie wants me to take my medicine so Byeeee

No Picture DEMENTED KID Average	#12 by DEMENTED KID at Sep 30, 2007 at 9:30 PM EST
	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jethro_Tull_%28agriculturist%29 Jethro Tull was the inventor of the seed drill.

No Picture bigus Average	#13 by bigus dickus at Oct 1, 2007 at 3:37 AM EST
	This song is very controversial. The topic of the song--anonymous gay sex between men of different races--would have raised enough eyebrows as it was, but when Jethro paints Jesus as a fellow homosexual at the end, he's asking for trouble. While the Christian right would have liked to ban this record, I'm glad it's been allowed to stick around. Mr. Tull tackles some interesting questions trying to resolve his own homosexuality with his faith.

No Picture Mitch Badass	#14 by Mitch Schooler at Oct 1, 2007 at 11:51 AM EST
	I also like the line "he who made kittens..." and I find the entire end of the song interesting, portraying God as a "player of pawns" who watches the interaction between humans -- no better than "monkeys" -- and probably sits laughing at their foolishness.

No Picture Eric Lead Player	#15 by Eric Hanstein at Oct 2, 2007 at 8:37 AM EST
	tps12, I signed up for an account here and everything, just for you. To start off, there is no "Jethro" or "Mr. Tull", or at least there hasn't been in many hundreds of years. "Jethro Tull" is a band name, filed under "J" at your local music store, and Ian Anderson is the lead singer, song writer, and flute player (among other things). The song Bungle in the Jungle was Ian's shot at big city life. "Bungle" is a made up word. The "Jungle" is, of course, the city itself. It is basically painting city life as a situation not much unlike the life of animals in the deep jungle, filled with the lazy yet deadly "tigers" and thier prey. Although it would not surprise me that the "Christian right" would make up thier own connections, this is the first I've heard of this one.

No Picture Charley Rhythm Player	#16 by Charley Hockin at Oct 3, 2007 at 8:35 PM EST
	Umm, yeah, WVonHapsburg... I don't know what you're smoking, but I see no gay-bashing in any comments. Maybe whatever I've been smoking has blurred my vision. Anyway, I love the song for the words, but also for the different instruments you can hear. I love Jethro Tull because I think it's amazing how rock can be mixed eith orchestra.

No Picture Kyle Average	#17 by Kyle at Oct 4, 2007 at 12:17 PM EST
	According to Ian Anderson (you can find an intersting list of answered questions at j-tull.com) the song is about modern life in a kind of fierce "dog eat dog"-society. About the gay thing: that's absurd. Stay away from drugs. ;-)

No Picture lee Wanna Be	#18 by lee Dutton at Oct 5, 2007 at 3:30 AM EST
	This song is all about the way the city thrives and the people in it live. The word "jungle" that is used to represent the city is not new to Jethro Tull. There is a famous book called "The Jungle" which details the lives and work habits of certain people living in cities during the industrial age. I believe this song is almost a summery of this book. P.S. "Jethro Tull" Is the name of the man who invented the Seed Drill.

No Picture kenzie Wanna Be	#19 by kenzie at Oct 5, 2007 at 6:15 AM EST
	In reference to the second comment, bungle is not a made up word. It means to mess things up. Great song, one of my 30 all time greats (along with JT's Aqualung and Thick as a Brick [both parts]).

No Picture Mud Average	#20 by Mud at Oct 5, 2007 at 9:25 AM EST
	If there is anything gay in this song, I'm not seeing it. I've always viewed this song as a modernized version of something William Blake would have written. If it was mentioned above, forgive my repetitiveness. But I must mention that there is plenty of reference to William Blake's Songs of Innocence and Experience here. Tyger! Tyger! burning bright, In the forests of the night: What immortal hand or eye, Could frame thy fearful symmetry? In what distant deeps or skies Burnt the fire of thine eyes! On what wings dare he aspire? What the hand, dare seize the fire? And what shoulder, and what art, Could twist the sinews of thy heart? And when thy heart began to beat, What dread hand? And what dread feet? What the hammer? What the chain, In what furnace was thy brain? What the anvil? What dread grasp, Dare its deadly terrors clasp? When the stars threw down their spears And watered heaven with their tears: Did he smile, his work to see? Did he who made the Lamb make thee? Tyger! Tyger! burning bright, In the forests of the night: What immortal hand or eye, Dare frame thy fearful symmetry? See more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songs_of_Innocence_and_Experience In other words, God and Life (and according to Blake, men's souls) are dichotomous - sometimes the creator and provider and sometimes the thief and the destroyer.

No Picture Rhys Average	#21 by Rhys at Oct 5, 2007 at 12:32 PM EST
	How the do you get gay sex among men of different races from this? Crack kills.

No Picture Jesus Professional	#22 by Jesus at Oct 6, 2007 at 9:38 AM EST
	This song is much in the vain of Aqualung. The gay thing seems outthere, although Ian Anderson was known to write controversial things on religion.

No Picture Kevin Average	#23 by Kevin Santana at Oct 6, 2007 at 4:04 PM EST
	They played this on what is now my favorite local station. I tried to play this song on my iPod, and it crashed (grr, now it's broken), so I turned to my Dad's favorite station, and when the current song finished, what do you know, but there was this song.