Bob Geldof wrote this song after reading a report about 16-year-old Brenda Ann Spencer, who fired at children playing in a school playground across the street from her home in San Diego, California. She killed two adults and injured eight children and one police officer. Spencer’s explanation for her actions was “I don’t like Mondays, this livens up the day.” The song was performed less than a month later and became a major hit in the UK.

You, too, can plays like this – all you need is the sheet music. We found the sheet music on Musicroom. Just click on the images below.

House playing the Piano

I Don't Like Mondays by Bob Geldof £2.25

Lyrics to “I don’t like Mondays”

The silicon chip inside her head
Gets switched to overload,
And nobody’s gonna go to school today,
She’s going to make them stay at home,
And daddy doesn’t understand it,
He always said she was as good as gold,
And he can see no reason
Cos there are no reasons
What reason do you need to be shown

Tell me why
I Don’t like Mondays
I want to shoot
The whole day down

The Telex machine is kept so clean
As it types to a waiting world,
And Mother feels so shocked,
Father’s world is rocked,
And their thoughts turn to
Their own little girl
Sweet 16 ain’t that peachy keen,
No, it ain’t so neat to admit defeat,
They can see no reasons
Cos there are no reasons
What reason do you need to be shown

Tell me why …

All the playing’s stopped in the playground now
She wants to play with her toys a while
And school’s out early and soon we’ll be learning
And the lesson today is how to die,
And then the bullhorn crackles,
And the captain tackles,
With the problems and the how’s and why’s
And he can see no reasons
Cos there are no reasons
What reason do you need to die

The silicon chip …

Tell me why …

Pendulum formed in their home-town of Perth (Western Australia) in 2002. The last 12 months have seen Pendulum retreat to the depths of the underground to work on their second album, and to hone and perfect their sound for the live arena. They say of their efforts:

In production techniques and (arguably) sound quality, something has been lost in the process – that original sense of self-escape, the idea of leaving yourself open to experience something you don’t necessarily find in every-day life. That was the energy we picked up on and liked about it. We want our music to be an escape. While technology continues to constantly advance electronic music when we first got into it. It felt like the same energy found with bands like Led Zeppelin and even The Beatles, and still occasionally today with bands like Tool, The Mars Volta, Queens Of The Stone Age and others.

If you turn on the radio today you’ll hear 20 tracks in a row describing someone’s every-day life, or songs with a one-line catchphrase chorus about shaking your ass in the club – the production is usually great but when you look deeper, there’s nothing behind it…

The video at the top of this article is probably not the most representative of Pendulum, but it’s a really good laugh once it gets going!

Pendulum are playing the following UK dates in May:

• Cardiff University Students’ Union 1 May
• Liverpool University 2 May
• Glasgow Academy 3 May
• Newcastle University 4 May
• Carling Academy Bristol 6 May

You will find more up to date tickets at the bottom of this page.