When I lit my first cigarette it didn't hurt me none   But I realized the danger on my 97th one   I took a pill, I did the patch, got myself hypnotized   Blew away the ashes, drew a great big breath of life   Now there's      One less monkey   Hangin' on my back   I shook it off, cut it loose and that's 5, 4, 3, 2   One less monkey that I have to feed   I feel so much lighter, now there's   One less monkey on me      I was just a number on the clock from 9 to 5   Rushing through the madness, I was payin' with my life   I had a dream, I had a plan a long, long time ago   Resigned myself to freedom and I took it on the road   Now there's      One less monkey   Hangin' on my back   I shook it off, cut it loose and that's 5, 4, 3, 2   One less monkey that I have to feed   I feel so much lighter, now there's   One less monkey on me      There's a jungle full of monkeys that would love to weigh you down   But I'm lookin' for a better way of monkeyin' around      One less monkey   Hangin' on my back   I shook it off, cut it loose and that's 5, 4, 3, 2   One less monkey that I have to feed   I feel so much lighter, now there's   One less monkey on me      I feel so much lighter, I feel so much higher   I feel so much finer now   There's one less monkey on me