Lyrics:

(Warren Zevon and Jorge Calderon)He was an accident waiting to happenMost accidents happen at homeMaybe he should've gone out more oftenMaybe he should've answered the phoneHip-shakin' shoutin' in gold lame'That's how he earned his regal sobriquetThen he threw it all awayFor a porcelain monkeyHe threw it away for a porcelain monkeyGave it all up for a figurineHe traded it in for a night in Las VegasAnd his face on velveteenFrom a shotgun shack singing Pentecostal hymnsThrough the wrought iron gates to the TV roomHe had a little world, it was smaller than your handIt's a rockabilly ride from the glitter to the gloomLeft behind by the latest trendsEating fried chicken with his regicidal friendsThat's how the story endsWith a porcelain monkeyHe threw it away for a porcelain monkeyGave it all up for a figurineHe traded it in for a night in Las VegasAnd his face on velveteenHip-shakin' shoutin' in gold lame'That's how he earned his regal sobriquetThen he threw it all awayFor a porcelain monkeyHe threw it away for a porcelain monkeyGave it all up for a figurineHe traded it in for a night in Las VegasAnd his face on velveteen