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Songfacts:  You can leave comments about the song at the bottom of the page.

This is about an alcoholic beverage. Brass Monkey is rum, vodka, and orange juice mixed over ice. Very popular with college kids trying to get drunk.

Licensed To Ill was the first rap album to go #1 in the US. It is the best-selling rap album of the '80s.

Back in the day of naval wars being fought with the old fashioned cannons, they would stack the cannonballs in a pyramid. This conserved space and made it easy to load them. However, they would roll around the deck if there weren't something to hold them in place. To solve this problem, they used a large metal plate with indents in which to place the bottom rows of cannonballs. They found that if they used iron, when it got wet the cannonballs would rust, so they used brass and called it a brass monkey. Brass tends to really expand and contract with the weather, and when it got really cold the indents would get smaller, causing the cannonballs to be dislodged, hence the saying, "It's cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey." (thanks, Ben - Langley Air Force Base, VA)

Comments:

I agree with Rob. A brass monkey is a 40 with orange juice!
- Cynthia, Conawy, AR

Ah man, me & my friend LOVE this song!!! Everytime we go to drink something, whether it be milk or coke or water or anything, we say "YOU PUT YOUR LEFT LEG DOWN, YOUR RIGHT LEG UP! TILT YOUR HEAD BACK & FINISH THE CUP!!!" and we do all the motions & everyone laughs at us. One of the best songs ever!!!
- Olivia, Columbia, SC

you guys are all wrong. Brass monkey olde english 40oz consumed down to the label, then add orange juice. da ya research!
- rob, hollywood, CA

My friend tells me that her little 6-year old sister thinks this is her favorite dancing song. Obviously, she doesn't know what it is really about.
- Pippin, Rhye, CA

John i bet i like them better than you. if you want we can play poker at my hotel in the Burmuda Triangle while i rape a wildebeast and then we can go skinny dipping with ur mother.
- joseph, Alabama, AL

The Beasties are one of my favorite bands easily but i definitely think this song is way overrated. The albums pretty good but Paul's Boutique and Check your head are way better
- John, Cape Coral, FL

Cannon balls were not stored on rolling ship decks. They were stored below to keep them away from the corrosive salty water which would impair their performance. Having round cannon balls on deck would be a space use and safety impairment. Brass is an expensive and heavy material to use compared to wood.
- ralph, costa mesa, United States

Mmmm it does go well with the chicken! Delicious again Peter.
- Jeremy, Warren , RI

It's also a ghetto fabulous cocktail comprised of 3 parts malt liquor, 1 part Sunny Delight...you drink the required portion out of your 40-oz and then top it off with Sunny D
- Kel, Milwaukee, WI

Ive found that a bottle of Brass Monkey is best when served at 80 degrees, a good handbag-warm treat if you ask me. I also prefer to drink my brass monkey on subway trains. YEA B MONKEY!
- meg, brooklyn, NY

drink responsibly..............
- Kieran, Harlow, United States

I drank a bottle of Brass Monkey about 10 years ago and that was one hell of a blind drunk!! I woke up against a light pole 10 miles away in the median of a large road in Dallas. Had it not started to rain I might have slept there all day. I had to walk home. I still have no idea how I got there. I think I got in a van with some girls. I guess they tossed me off or ????
- Jon, Dallas, TX

In actuality, ready service shot was kept on the gun or spar decks in shot racks (also known as shot garlands in the Royal Navy) which consisted of longitudinal wooden planks with holes bored into them, into which round shot (cannon balls) were inserted for ready use by the gun crew. The stacks of cannon balls we see these days on ships is a recent phenomenon.
- Nick, Detroit, MI