Peter Tork Felt 1 of The Monkees’ Songs Could Change the World

TL;DR:

• Peter Tork revealed his brother, Nick Thorkelson, wrote one of The Monkees’ songs.
• Tork felt the message of the song had the potential to change the world.
• He was upset the track was not more widely available.

Peter Tork said one of The Monkees‘ songs had the potential to change the world. The song was excluded from the standard track listing of one of The Monkees’ albums. Subsequently, fans were still able to hear the track.

Peter Tork said 1 of The Monkees’ songs was about political problems

During a 2016 interview with The Baltimore Sun, Tork discussed The Monkees’ 2016 album Good Times! He was upset a song was excluded from the standard edition of the album. “The song is called ‘[A] Better World,’ and my brother Nick wrote it,” he said.

Tork explained the message of “A Better World.” “And the first thing the song says is there’s more than enough,” he said. “There’s enough to feed all the hungry people. The difference is entirely political. And not naming any partisan group, but it’s political. And the short-sightedness of that is the actual cause of 97 percent of the world’s difficulties.”

Tork thought “A Better World” had the potential to cause change. “And I’m absolutely convinced that if the message got through, was just made available, that things could be made to change a little bit here and there,” he opined.

Peter Tork revealed how fans could access the song

In a 2016 interview with Goldmine, Tork also mentioned “A Better World.” “That’s not on the CD but it’s gonna be available in one of the exclusive editions for a couple of retailers,” he said. For context, “A Better World” appeared on editions of Good Times! available at FYE and Barnes & Noble.

“Andrew Sandoval put a string quartet on [‘A Better World’] for the color,” Tork continued. “I think it’s a very good song and it’s easy to listen to. It’s not turgid or thick but it’s very significant.” Tork said the lyrics of “A Better World” were more “sophisticated” than some of the Prefab Four’s earlier work.

How The Monkees’ ‘A Better World’ performed on the pop charts in the United States and the United Kingdom

“A Better World” was never a single, so it did not chart on the Billboard Hot 100. None of the singles from Good Times! charted either. Meanwhile, Good Times! became a minor hit. It reached No. 14 on the Billboard 200 and stayed on the chart for four weeks.

The Official Charts Company reports “A Better World” did not chart in the United Kingdom. Meanwhile, Good Times! reached No. 29 in the U.K. It spent a single week on the U.K. chart.

“A Better World” wasn’t one of The Monkees’ hits but it has a good message.