Take a Giant Step (song) Take a Giant Step (song) "Take a Giant Step" is a song written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King and released by the American band The Monkees in 1966. It was also covered in 1969 by singer Taj Mahal. The song was released as the B-side to the band's single "Last Train to Clarksville" and also as the closing track on side 1 of their debut album "The Monkees". Micky Dolenz sang the lead vocal. The song is presented as a plea to a heartbroken girl to move on from her past romantic disappointments, and to "learn to live again
Last Train to Clarksville "And I don't know if I'm ever coming home", was an indirect reference about a soldier leaving for the Vietnam War. It has often been presumed that the song refers to Clarksville, Tennessee, which is near Fort Campbell, Kentucky, the home of the 101st Airborne Division, which was then serving in Vietnam. However, according to songwriter Bobby Hart, that was not the case. Instead, according to Hart, "We were just looking for a name that sounded good. There's a little town in northern Arizona I used to go through in the summer on the way to Oak Creek Canyon called