Green Tambourine

the album
The song tells the story of a street musician pleading for someone to give him money. In exchange he offers to play his green tambourine. The song's instrumentation contains the titular tambourine as well as an electric sitar, a frequent signature of the so called "psychedelic sound". Another hook is the heavy, psychedelic tape echo applied to the word "play" in each chorus and at the end, fading into a drumroll ("Listen while I play play play play play play play my green tambourine"). The echo is noticeably different in the mono and stereo mixes. The mono version also starts fading out slightly earlier than in the stereo version. The musical arrangement also features sweeping orchestrated strings and the distinctive vibraslap percussion instrument. While the Lemon Pipers played on the record, producer and joint author composer Leka hired a string section to accompany the band, to add extra depth to the already psychedelic arrangement. The string section consisted of Elliot Rosoff, David Sackson, Irving Spice, Louise Stone, Louis Gaborwitz, and Deborah Idol on violins; Seymour Berman on viola; and Seymour Barab and Sally Rosoff on cellos. The single's B side, "No Help from Me," featured lead vocal by keyboardist Bob Nave and did not appear on either of the group's two albums.

Chart (1967–1968)PeakpositionAustralia (Go Set)3Belgium (Wallonia)30Canada RPM 1003Germany9New Zealand (Listener)3South Africa (Springbok)6Switzerland (Swiss Hitparade)7UK Record Retailer7U. S. Billboard Hot 1001U. S. Record World 100 Top Pops1

Chart (1968)RankCanada RPM 1006U. S. Billboard Hot 10047U. S. Cash Box Top 1008

In 1968, an instrumental version was released by Lawrence Welk and His Orchestra on the album Love Is Blue, and as a single. Welk's version reached No. 27 on Billboards Easy Listening chart, No. 21 on Record Worlds "Top Non Rock" chart, and No. 11 on Record Worlds chart of "Singles Coming Up". Mrs. Miller covered the song on her 1968 album Mrs. Miller Does Her Thing. The Status Quo covered the song on their 1968 debut album Picturesque Matchstickable Messages from the Status Quo. UK band Sun Dragon recorded a very similar version in 1968 for the MGM label. The Peppermint Rainbow covered the song on their 1969 album Will You Be Staying After Sunday. Leka used the backing track of the Lemon Pipers' hit on this recording. Tripping Daisy covered the song on their 1992 debut album, Bill (The Dragon Street release). Robert Goulet covered the song for the 2001 film Recess: School's Out, providing the singing voice for the character Mikey, releasing it as a single from the film soundtrack of the same name.

The song was featured in a TV commercial for the Plymouth Road Runner in 1970. Actor Billy Bob Thornton's character of Lorne Malvo plays the song at the beginning of Episode 9, "A Fox, a Rabbit, and a Cabbage," of Fargo, adapted from the Coen Brothers' 1996 movie. The song is featured in the end credits of the Disney animated film Recess: School's Out, sung by Robert Goulet.