“If I Learned to Play the Violin”

If I learned to play the violin
And I traded my old guitar in
Would your parents still object
Or would I earn their respect
If I learned to play the violin?

I would even go and cut my hair
Though my friends would point and say I’m square
Girl, would your society
Still look down their nose at me
If I learned to play the violin?

I’d give up my beat ways
Take up more discreet ways
All you gotta do is ask me to
Whoa, just ask me to

And I learned to play the violin
Turn my back on everything I’ve been
I’d be like somebody new
But not change my love for you
If I learned to play the violin

I’d give up my beat ways
Take up more discreet ways
All you gotta do is ask me to
Whoa, just ask me to

And I learned to play the violin
Yes, I learned to play the violin
And I learned to play the violin
Yes, I learned to play the violin…


  1. The Monkees: The Day-by-Day Story of the ’60s TV Pop Sensation (2005), Andrew Sandoval, p. 291.