From Road (1988) by The Kinks

The Road (Davies)

Sitting alone on my hotel
Looking in the mirror wondering, "well,
After all this time you never thought you'd still be out on the road?"
Like a gypsy I was born to roam
Like a wanderer with no fixed abode
I think about the friends I've left behind on the road

Well, the road's been rocky along the way
It's been a long, hard haul on the motorway
But if it gets too smooth it's time to call it a day

(On the road)
The bed and breakfasts and the greasy spoons
(The road)
The loser bars and the noisy rooms
(The road)
The casualties who did too many lines
(The road)
Wasted talent on women and wine

I think of all the friends I've left behind
Whenever it's time to get back out on the road

Started playing blues in a coffee bar
I took a trip down Charing Cross Road
With my imitation Gretsch guitar
And my head full of songs and my eyes full of stars
I saw a band called the Rolling Stones
I thought, "that's it, I'll get a band,
I'm leaving home, I'm out on the road."

The motorways all over this land
(The road)
Far away places like Wigan and Birmingham
(The road)
Didn't have no name, didn't have any fans
(The road)
Didn't have no money so we slept in the van

All those early gigs we ever played
Sometimes we were lucky if we even got paid
On the road
Pete played on the bass guitar
Liked to get around, mixing with all the stars
But Mrs. Avory's child was all fingers and thumbs
But solid as a rock, setting time on the drums
While Dave the Rave hit the rock 'n' roll riffs
Yours truly strummed away with a slightly limp wrist
On the road

Everyday is when I can't get used to it
Everyday is when I can't get away
Another day, another freeway to face
That's the road

Well, life is a road, it's a motorway
And the road gets rocky along the way
But if it gets too smooth it's time to call it a day

(On the road)
Jimi Hendrix, The Who, the Led Zeppelin and Free
They took the road so it's alright by me
Some are survivors, some are debris
If you play in a band that's the road that you take
Living in it, eating in it, sleeping in it
You wake up in the morning, what do you see?
The road

Life is a road, it's a motorway
Lost a lot of good friends along the way
All the families and homes that I've left behind
To the wives and the lovers and friends who had their time
I say, "you take your road and I'll take mine."
(You take your road and I'll take mine)
You take your road and I'll take mine
(You take your road and I'll take mine)

Life is a road, it's a motorway
And the road gets rocky along the way
But if it gets too smooth it's time to call it a day

(On the road)
Observed all the various phases from
Flower power, heavy metal and acid rock
And still all the critics keep saying
"Are they still around? When they gonna stop?"
It's just the dedicated followers of fashion who like putting down
All the well respected men who came dancing and are still on the road

Sometime I get suicidal
Now everyone is a rival
Different cars, different bars and hotels
Corporations, big business and egos
When it all gets too bad I think back
When we were all each other had
When we started out on the road

And there's gas in my tank and I've still got a way to go
Another hotel, it's time to check out soon
As I look around the room
I think of all the friends I've left behind
On the road

Destroyer (Davies)

Met a girl called Lola and I took her back to my place
Feelin' guilty, feelin' scared, hidden cameras everywhere
Stop! Hold on. Stay in control

Girl, I want you here with me
But I'm really not as cool as I'd like to be
'Cause there's a red, under my bed
And there's a little yellow man in my head
And there's a true blue inside of me
That keeps stoppin' me, touchin' ya, watchin' ya, lovin' ya

Paranoia, the destroyer.
Paranoia, the destroyer.

Well I fell asleep, then I woke feelin' kinda' queer
Lola looked at me and said, "ooh you look so weird."
She said, "man, there's really something wrong with you.
One day you're gonna' self-destruct.
You're up, you're down, I can't work you out
You get a good thing goin' then you blow yourself out."

Silly boy ya' self-destroyer. Silly boy ya' self-destroyer

Silly boy you got so much to live for
So much to aim for, so much to try for
You blowing it all with paranoia
You're so insecure you self-destroyer

(And it goes like this, here it goes)
Paranoia, the destroyer
(Here it goes again)
Paranoia, the destroyer

Doctor, Doctor help me please, I know you'll understand
There's a time device inside of me, I'm a self-destructin' man
There's a red, under my bed
And there's a little green man in my head
And he said, "you're not goin' crazy, you're just a bit sad
'Cause there's a man in ya, gnawin' ya, tearin' ya into two."

Silly boy ya' self-destroyer.
Paranoia, the destroyer

Self-destroyer, wreck your health
Destroy friends, destroy yourself
The time device of self-destruction
Light the fuse and start eruption

(Yea, it goes like this, here it goes)
Paranoia, the destroyer
(Here's to paranoia)
Paranoia, the destroyer
(Hey hey, here it goes)
Paranoia, the destroyer
(And it goes like this)

Paranoia, the destroyer
(And it goes like this.)

Apeman (Davies)

I think I'm sophisticated
'Cos I'm living my life like a good homosapien
But all around me everybody's multiplying
Till they're walking round like flies man
So I'm no better than the animals sitting in their cages
in the zoo man
'Cos compared to the flowers and the birds and the trees
I am an ape man
I think I'm so educated and I'm so civilized
'Cos I'm a strict vegetarian
But with the over-population and inflation and starvation
And the crazy politicians
I don't feel safe in this world no more
I don't want to die in a nuclear war
I want to sail away to a distant shore and make like an ape man
I'm an ape man, I'm an ape ape man
I'm an ape man I'm a King Kong man I'm ape ape man
I'm an ape man
'Cos compared to the sun that sits in the sky
compared to the clouds as they roll by
Compared to the bugs and the spiders and flies
I am an ape man
In man's evolution he has created the cities and
the motor traffic rumble, but give me half a chance
and I'd be taking off my clothes and living in the jungle
'Cos the only time that I feel at ease
Is swinging up and down in a coconut tree
Oh what a life of luxury to be like an ape man
I'm an ape, I'm an ape ape man, I'm an ape man
I'm a King Kong man, I'm a voo-doo man
I'm an ape man
I look out my window, but I can't see the sky
'Cos the air pollution is fogging up my eyes
I want to get out of this city alive
And make like an ape man
Come and love me, be my ape man girl
And we will be so happy in my ape man world
I'm an ape man, I'm an ape ape man, I'm an ape man
I'm a King Kong man, I'm a voo-doo man
I'm an ape man
I'll be your Tarzan, you'll be my Jane
I'll keep you warm and you'll keep me sane
and we'll sit in the trees and eat bananas all day
Just like an ape man
I'm an ape man, I'm an ape ape man, I'm an ape man
I'm a King Kong man, I'm a voo-doo man
I'm an ape man.
I don't feel safe in this world no more
I don't want to die in a nuclear war
I want to sail away to a distant shore
And make like an ape man.

Come Dancing (Davies)

They put a parking lot on a piece of land
When the supermarket used to stand.
Before that they put up a bowling alley
On the site that used to be the local palais.
That's where the big bands used to come and play.
My sister went there on a Saturday.

Come dancing,
All her boyfriends used to come and call.
Why not come dancing, it's only natural?

Another Saturday, another date.
She would be ready but she's always make them wait.
In the hallway, in anticipation,
He didn't know the night would end up in frustration.
He'd end up blowing all his wages for the week
All for a cuddle and a peck on the cheek.

Come dancing,
That's how they did it when I was just a kid,
And when they said come dancing,
My sister always did.

My sister should have come in at midnight,
And my mum would always sit up and wait.
It always ended up in a big row
When my sister used to get home late.

Out of my window I can see them in the moonlight,
Two silhouettes saying goodnight by the garden gate.

The day they knocked down the palais
My sister stood and cried.
The day they knocked down the palais
Part of my childhood died, just died.

Now I'm grown up and playing in a band,
And there's a car park where the palais used to stand.
My sister's married and she lives on an estate.
Her daughters go out, now it's her turn to wait.
She knows they get away with things she never could,
But if I asked her I wonder if she would,

Come dancing,
Come on sister, have yourself a ball.
Don't be afraid to come dancing,
It's only natural.

Come dancing,
Just like the palais on a Saturday.
And all her friends will come dancing
Where the big bands used to play.

Art Lover (Davies)

Sunday afternoon there's something special
It's just like another world.
Jogging in the park is my excuse
To look at all the little girls.

I'm not a flasher in a rain coat,
I'm not a dirty old man,
I'm not gonna snatch you from your mother,
I'm an art lover.
Come to daddy,
Ah, come to daddy,
Come to daddy.

Pretty little legs, I want to draw them,
Like a Degas ballerina.
Pure white skin, like porcelain,
She's a work of art and I should know
I'm an art lover.
Come to daddy,
And I'll give you some spangles.

Little girl don't notice me
Watching as she innocently plays.
She can't see me staring at her
Because I'm always wearing shades.
She feeds the ducks, looks at the flowers.
I follow her around for hours and hours.
I'd take her home, but that could never be,
She's just a substitute
For what's been taken from me.
Ah, come to daddy, come on.

Sunday afternoon can't last forever,
Wish I could take you home.
So, come on, give us a smile
Before you vanish out of view.
I've learned to appreciate you
The way art lovers do,
And I only want to look at you.

Cliches of the World (B Movie) (Davies)

Sunset over the high-rise,
By a motorway,
A little man looks up at the sky.
An uneventful end to a wasted day.
Close-up on the man at the window,
Looking at the street down below.
It's obvious he's got things on his mind.
He shakes his head, pulls down the blind.

He start's writing a letter,
To make it perfectly clear.
He's just a man who's reached the end of his rope,
Expressing his doubts and his fears.
In a world, feels so lonely and afraid,
Disillusioned by the promises they made,
It's a pity that it ended up this way,
Life is just a clich?.

I'm gonna do tomorrow
What I did yesterday.
It's such a dull routine,
Somebody cut this scene,
It's such a boring clich?.

Live life, day to day,
Seems so pass?.
Everything you hear and say,
Just another clich?.

Like an actor on a movie screen,
Living out someone else's dream.
Living out a total misconception,
Reality, a false perception.

It's such a wasted life,
Without any conclusion.

Days drift into days,
His life just slips away.
People so blas?,
Everything's a clich?.
Yes it is.
Yes it is.
Just an illusion.
Just an illusion.

Moonlight over the high-rise,
At the end of the day.
The little man is asleep in his bed,
Tucked up, safely away.

In his dreams he's taken away by alien beings to another
galaxy, deep in space. To a planet where a man can live
out his fantasies, and experience unimaginable pleasures.
But morning comes and soon the realities of life will
shatter his illusions, and the clich?s of the world will
bring him down. But still he's waiting for a change.

Days drift into days,
His life just slips away.
Everything is pass?,
Everything's a clich?.
Yes it is.
Yes it is.
Just an illusion.
Just an illusion.
Yes it is.
Yes it is.

See the sunlight over the motorway,
The little man, with anger in his eyes,
Stands by the window, looks at the sky.

Think Visual (Davies)

Productivity is getting higher and higher oh, oh, yeh
But profitability is getting tighter and tighter oh, oh, yeh
When you see our face in the market place we gotta clean cut image to keep
(The competition is getting tighter and tighter)
We gotta advertise, we gotta merchandise, ooh, oh, yeh
Flash those teeth
Competition's on the rise
Open those eyes better get computerised
Think visual, think visual, think visual
Think visual, think visual, show your personality
Marketing says we gotta merchandise
But economy says we gotta minimise huh -
We gotta budget to face and the marketplace is full of competition, competition
Think digital, synthisise, computerise, think visual
Productivity, marketability, higher and higher
Flash those teeth, open those eyes
Think visual, think visual
Flash those teeth, competitions on the rise
Open those eyes, better get computerised
Think visual, think visual, think visual
Think visual, think visual, push the button and see
Marketing say we gotta goal to chase
But economy says we gotta budget to face
Get your attitude straight, 'Cos it's all in your mind
And it's never too late to get a new design
And if you wanna compete you gotta visualise

Flash those teeth, come on open those eyes
Think visual

Living on a Thin Line (Davies)

All the stories have been told
Of kings and days of old,
But there's no England now.
All the wars that were won and lost
Somehow don't seem to matter very much anymore.
All the lies we were told,
All the lies of the people running round,
They're castles have burned.
Now I see change,
But inside we're the same as we ever were.

Living on a thin line,
Tell me now, what are we supposed to do?
Living on a thin line,
Tell me now, what are we supposed to do?
Living on a thin line,
Living this way, each day is a dream.
What am I, what are we supposed to do?
Living on a thin line,
Tell me now, what are we supposed to do?

Now another century nearly gone,
What are we gonna leave for the young?
What we couldn't do, what we wouldn't do,
It's a crime, but does it matter?
Does it matter much, does it matter much to you?
Does it ever really matter?
Yes, it really, really matters.

Living on a thin line,
Tell me now, what are we supposed to do?
Living on a thin line,
Tell me now, what are we supposed to do?

Now another leader says
Break their hearts and break some heads.
Is there nothing we can say or do?
Blame the future on the past,
Always lost in blood and guts.
And when they're gone, it's me and you.

Living on a thin line,
Tell me now, what are we supposed to do?
Living on a thin line,
Tell me now, what are we supposed to do?
Living on a thin line.

Lost and Found (Davies)

Waiting for the hurricane
To hit New York City
Somebody said it's hit the bay
This is the nitty gritty

And all the bag ladies
Better put their acts together
We're near the eye of the storm
This is really heavy weather

We were lost and found, in the nick of time
While the ship was going down
We were lost and found, just in time
With the hurricane crossing the coast line
We were lost and found, just in time
Oh

This thing is bigger than the both of us
It's gonna put us in our place
We were lost and found, just in time
Now we've got no time to waste

They're putting up the barricades
Because the hurricane is heading up this way
So won't you come in from the cold and the pouring rain
And the old see dog says shiver me timbers
The sky's gone black
And it's like the dead of winter

We were lost and found in the pouring rain
When the hurricane swept across the coast line

This thing is bigger than the both of us
It's gonna put us in our place
We're gonna see what really matters
When you see that storm stare us in the face

We were lost and found
And we beat the fear
We came through the storm
Now it all seems clear
We were lost and found, standing here
Looking at the new frontier

Lost and found, just in time
With the hurricane crossing the coast line

Lost and found, just in time
With the hurricane crossing the coast line

It (I Wanted It) (Davies)

I want you to imagine that somewhere in America
There's a lovely housewife watching TV,
Doing her housework...

(Audio clips of Gorby and Reagan talking detente)


Hi there.
Are you feeling tired, drained of all energy?
Is your life becoming routine? Does your husband
find you unattractive? Is your love life non-
existent? Then you need "It". Because "It", like
you, is a product of our time. "It" will change your
life. You'll be vibrant, elegant, sexy...

You want it.
Don't you?
It.

Yeah, she's got it
Ooh, she's really got it

She was born part of a Fifty's dream
TV Generation, from the cradle to the teens
Mr. Rogers, I Love Lucy, and Mary Tyler Moore
Jackie Gleason, Honeymooners and Zsa Zsa Gabor
Green Acres, yeah that's what you're looking for
You're a product of these times, just like the people next door
Bigger house, bigger 'fridge, bigger washing machine
'Cos you're a consumer'n, baby, you're the advertiser's dream

That's alright, outta sight, you couldn't care less
You can put it on a VISA card or American Express
Tell the people what they want, then decide what they need
Advertise, merchandise, satisfy their greed
Bigger house, bigger 'fridge, bank loan, get a bigger car
You can sell them any old shit if it's endorsed by a movie star

TV's got a little piece to dictate
They said you'd believe it 'cos it's a #1 rating
You're the products that you buy, the consumer and the goods
And you want it so bad, you'd sell your soul if you could

She want it so bad, she'd sell her soul if she could
And she wants it, so bad

She got it
Now she don't need it
She got she wanted, but she don't want it no more
She got she wanted, but she don't want it no more
She got she wanted, now they don't need it no more
She got it, so bad

Around the Dial (Davies)

Radios of the world are tuning in tonight,
Are you on the dial, are you tuned in right?
One of our D.J.'s is missing.
Are you listening?
Are you listening to me?
Can you hear me?
Can you hear me clearly?
Around the dial.

I've been around the dial so many times,
But you're not there.
Somebody tells me that you've been taken off the air.
Well, you were my favorite D.J.,
Since I can't remember when.
You always played the best records,
You never followed any trend.
F.M., A.M. where are you?
You gotta be out there somewhere on the dial.
On the dial.

(Are you ready) We're going 'round the dial,
(Are you listening) Around the dial,
(Are you tuned in) Around the dial,
(Are you searchin') Around the dial.
F.M., A.M. where are you?
You gotta be out there somewhere on the dial.
On the dial.

Where did you go Mr. D.J.?
Did they take you off the air?
Was it something that you said to the corporation guys upstairs?
It wasn't the pressure,
You never sounded down.
It couldn't be the ratings,
You had the best in town.
Somehow I'm gonna find ya, track you down.
Gonna keep on searchin',
Around and around and 'round and 'round...

(They're searchin') Around the dial,
(They're listenin') Around the dial,
(Poor station) The best in town,
(Poor D.J.) Who never let us down.
While the critics kept on knocking you,
You just kept on rocking around the dial.
Around the dial.

I've been searchin' for you on my radio.
This time your station really must have gone underground
Somebody said you had a minor nervous breakdown.
Was it something that you heard,
Or something that you saw,
That made you lose your mind,
Did you lose control.
Did you step out of line?
If you're there, give us a sign.

I can't believe that you've been taken off the air.
Think I'll sell my radio now that you're not there.
You never gave in to fashion,
You never followed any trends,
All the record bums tried to hack you up,
But you were honest to the end.
Gonna keep my radio on,
'Till I know just what went wrong.
The answers out there somewhere on the dial.
On the dial.

Can you hear me (around the dial)
Are you listenin' (around the dial)
Are you out there (around the dial)
Can you hear me?
Around the dial.

Give the People What They Want (Davies)

Hey, hey, hey...
Give the people what they want

Well, it's been said before, the world is a stage
A different performance with every age.
Open the history book to any old page
Bring on the lions and open the cage.

Give the people what they want
You gotta give the people what they want
The more they get, the more they need
And every time they get harder and harder to please

The Roman promoters really did things right.
They needed a show that would clearly excite.
The attendance was sparse so they put on a fight
Threw the Christians to the lions, sold out every night

Give the people what they want
You gotta give the people what they want
The more they get, the more they need
And every time they get harder and harder to please

Give 'em lots of sex, perversion and rape
Give 'em lots of violence, and plenty to hate
Give the people what they want
Give the people what they want

When Olswald shot Kennedy, he was insane
But still we watch the re-runs again and again
We all sit glued while the killer takes aim
"Hey Mom, there goes a piece of the president's brain!"

Give the people what they want
You gotta give the people what they want
Blow out your brains, and do it right
Make sure it's prime time and on a Saturday night.
You gotta give the people what they want
You gotta give the people what they want
Give the people what they want
Give the people what they want
Give the people what they want