The Kinks Album

[No lyrics]

Standing at the end of the horizon
Looking at another setting sun
Nature gave us all these toys to play with
But we've abused them, each and every one
They stretched the chord, snapped the wire
Lit the fuse but can't retire
We're going to the wall of fire
Tip-toeing on the great high wire
Let's have a real fire

The city slickers built the great illusion
Now they're the first to crumble in the sun
Now we're going through the wall
Let's see the flames before we fall
We're going through the wall of fire
Let's have a real fire
Tip-toeing on the great high wire
Through the wall of fire

We drove on many rocky roads together
Through the storms and hurricanes we rode
Unified so no one could destroy us
We stretched the bounds
But always kept the code
Liberals shout and cause concern
Forget next week while we all burn
Let's run right through the wall of fire
Let's have a real fire
Death-defying while the flames grow higher
Through the wall of fire
Let's go through the wall of fire
Running through the wall of fire

Drift away, just drift away
Sometimes I wish I could just drift away
They say there's gonna be a river of blood
It's apocalypse now
So we're waiting for the flood
The ice is gonna melt, the water gonna rise
And we'll all go to hell
So they're keeping us advised
While the dollar falls down
The yen gonna climb
It's a moral decline
And I'm losing my mind
I think I'll just drift away
To that island of my dreams
Live in total fantasy
Close my eyes and drift away

Back in the real world
There's tension everywhere
And the smell of fear
Keeps hanging around and polluting the air
The man on the news is going over the top
Now he'll say anything so his show don't flop
Wall Street's down, so what
And according to astute market analysis
The world's gonna stop
They shout the story to the nation
Pass on the panic to the population
This is the end of civilization
It's all over now

[Chorus:]
Meanwhile, I just drift away
To my island in the sun
Imaginary paradise, perfection
Sometimes I wish I could just drift away
Drift away (drift away)
Drift away (drift away)
Drift away (drift away)

Now all the politicians are running out of hope
They've burned all their bridges
Now they just can't cope
And who do we blame now we're all going broke?
It's that man over there
Who's hanging from a rope
Newsmen winding up the nation
A little bad news helps circulation
Pass on the panic to the population
It's all over, it's all over
It's all over now

Times like this, I just drift away
To my tropical fantasy
Living on coconuts growing on the trees
Sometimes I wish I could just drift away
Drift away, drift away, drift away
It's apocalypse now, drift away
Rivers of blood, drift away
And the man on the news is going over the top

[Chorus]

I'm a drifter who has lost his way
And I'm still searching for my dream
A wandering nomad with no home to stay
Just like a gypsy or a refugee
Lookin' at another sign for another town
Wondering if I'm ever gonna settle down
Or am I gonna keep on searchin' till my dying day

[Chorus:]
Still searching, still searching, still lookin', all alone
Till I find myself a home
Still searching, still searching, just like a rolling stone
Destination still unknown
When all my energy starts letting me down
I get this feeling I'll be still wandering 'round
Still searching, still workin', still lookin'
Until I find a way

This world is full of restless souls
Sleeping rough and living day to day
Drifters who left families wondering why they went away
Perhaps that's how I wanna be
While I'm looking for some peace of mind
How can I find security?
A restless spirit who can't reach his goal
Can't find a home until I've found my soul
Still hitchin' rides and lookin' for a place to go

[Chorus]

Still searching, still searching, still searching
Until my dying day, oh yeah
Why? yeah
Surprise, surprise
Still searching, still workin', still lookin'
Until I find my way
I'm a drifter who has lost his way
And I'm still searching for my dream

Everybody got something hidden
In a darkness deep inside
Everybody gotta fatal flaw
Everybody got something to hide
Take a look into my eyes
See the fear and silent cries - phobia
Deep inside, take another look at it - phobia
Everybody got a phobia
Take another look, what you got - phobia
There are alleyways of your psyche
That have gotta be analyzed
Psychological penetration
Of the fear you cannot hide
There's a key to a door to be opened
And I wanna take a look inside
And in the darkest shadow of your mind
What you gonna find?
Phobia

Out under a technicolor ray
It all disappears on a bright, sunny day
But even on a crowded street
Somebody you might meet
Might trigger a repeat of phobia
Strikes again, fear of fire and being buried alive
Dizzy heights, wire coat hangers
Things that crawl and go bump in the night - phobia
Fear of germs
Creepy crawlies that make you squirm - phobia
Images of long ago, memories that you hardly know
A minor childhood incident
Triggering something deep below
Spiders' webs and black cats
Cockroaches and sewer rats
Full moons and witches hats
Creepy crawlies, vampire bats - phobia
I'm talking about phobia

Crowded rooms, too many faces
Suffocation, open spaces
Everybody gotta weird sensation
That they wanna keep trapped inside
Maybe it's a sexual deviation
Hiding beneath a respectable guise
If you are of this persuasion
There is just one explanation - phobia
Started out a long time ago - phobia
When you were small you may have seen a sight
But you were too young to know - phobia
What you got - phobia
Everybody got phobia, what you got - phobia
Everybody got phobia, take another look, what you got?
Everybody got phobia, what you got?
Phobia

Standing by the elevator
Feeling gloomy and down
Waiting for the flashing light
To lift me up from the ground
Then the elevator opened
And I saw her standing there
She had to be a young executive
She looked so corporate and clean
And I thought I'd seen her somewhere before
On the cover of a magazine
I didn't think she'd even look at me
Or bother to glance my way
But she actually smiled at me and said
Hi-ya handsome, have a good day

[Chorus:]
I must be dreaming if she looks at me
I gotta be dreaming, is it a fantasy
Now I've got positive emotions
Buzzing 'round every molecule in me
I gotta be dreaming, is it reality
But over and over I live that memory
Was it real or only a dream
La la la la

Was it my imagination playing tricks on me
When she looked my way
Maybe she took me for somebody else
Whatever it was, it made my day, hey hey

I wake up in the morning
Smiling with anticipation
Suddenly I feel alive
Face the world with expectation
I must be dreaming this world is a better place
Was my imagination playing tricks on me
Was it real or only a dream?
I see a great big sunset
Where only clouds used to be
Was it all an illusion, is it fantasy
If it's just a dream
It's good enough for me, yeah yeah

Waiting by the elevator
Feeling optimistic and keen
Waiting for my executive goddess
To appear as if in a dream
Then the elevator opened
She was talking to another guy
And I tried to say hello to her
But I failed to even catch her eye
Then everybody crowded inside
And I sadly stood my ground
Thinking life's just like that elevator
It takes you up and brings you down

[Chorus]

Was it only an illusion
Was it real or only a dream

[Chorus]

Walking 'round this metropolis
With its buildings that reach to the clouds
There must be millions of people out there
Walking 'round with their heads bowed
This city kills me, but it thrills me
Now something's gone and held up the crowd
They're pointing at a man standing high on a ledge
And somebody just cried out loud
Don't look down at the people below, oh
Don't look down
It's a long way to fall and I'd sure like to know
What made it happen, sure makes you think
Must have been something special
To send him to the brink
Down here on the sidewalk, he's clearly in view
Then a voice shouts up to him
Try thinking it through but whatever you do

[Chorus:]
Don't look down
At the people below, oh
Don't look down, things might start looking up
You just never know

He's heard the cries of the lunatics facing defeat
The cheers of the winners
Who are dancing in the street
Perhaps the crime and corruption finally got through
And the violence of the city
Just broke him in two
Now a voice from the queue shouts

[Chorus]

Don't look down, don't look down
Down here on the sidewalk
It's stopped all our lives
People are talking instead of just walking by
Before this happened it was just another day
Now people are talking instead of walking away
Now we're gripped by this tragedy
Our blood starts to pump as we all shout together
Don't jump, don't jump

[Chorus]

Don't look down, we all shouted out, oh
Don't look down
It's a long way to fall and I'd sure like to know
What made it happen, guess we'll never know
Now the sun's come out
Looks like he's standing on a rainbow
He's in the heavens, I'm standing on the ground
Saying don't look down

Babies being born every day
In a world where there's so much to discover
All the babies crying out from the womb
Not much room, can I come out mother?

Mama, can you hear me call?
Don't drop me now
'Cos it's a long way to fall
Mama, I can hear all the sounds
Outside it's like a battleground
And I'm afraid to fall down
Into the great big nowhere
Papa's had a skin full of beer
Mama, don't let him into here
Baby, baby

Babies being born
Different hormones and genes
There's so many of us out there
How was I conceived
Was it love, was I meant
Or was I just an accident

Mama, what I sense from outside
It's a world full of fear
And there's nowhere to hide
Mama, I feel safe between these walls
And I'm so scared of heights
And it's a long way to fall
Into the great big nowhere
Maybe Papa's getting pressure from his peers
Are you straight, are you queer
So he made me, baby

Babies being born, some are rich, some are poor
But they're innocent and unprepared
Little girls and boys, didn't ask to be born
But they're always popping out there
Falling into the great big nowhere

Mama, I know that once upon a time
You and Papa were rich
When you were both in your prime
Mama, now you got the pains
And I know it's nearly time
But I don't want to join the crowd
I see standing in line
Baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby

Babies being induced, no excuse, what's the use
So they're always popping out there
Babies didn't wanna be born
Ill equipped, running loose
But they're innocent and unprepared

Mama, now you are showing all the signs
But is your world upside-down
On its head just like mine
Mama, now your ambition is mine
Don't make me over
Achieve too much in my time
Oh Mama, please don't make me climb
Mama

Everybody is a victim of society
Comedy, tragedy, vaudeville and variety
Pantomime players in the grand tradition
Winners and losers till the intermission

Girl, I know the world's a stage
That's what the poet said
But I think our weird relationship
Is way above my head
I'll be your Casanova whipping by
If that's what you desire
But once I start performing
I can't easily retire

I'll swing on a trapeze
I'll jump through hoops
And I'll eat fire
Be a human cannon ball
And walk on the high wire
Put on make-up, wear a wig
I'll be your tragic clown
But once you've got me up there
I can't easily come down

Don't drive me over the edge of it
Can't you see I've got mixed-up emotions
Joined the crowd just to be part of it
That was the start of it
Oh, now I'm over the edge
(Don't drive me over the edge of it)
Oh, over the edge

The world is turning upside-down
Civilization's dead, over the edge
Economic turmoil, now the world is in the red
Democracy's a shadow of its former glory
Law and orders broken-down
End of story

My next door neighbour's totally snapped
He's gone over the edge
He's putting up barbed wire barricades
Around the garden hedge
And planting land mines on the lawn
He's gone barmy
According to his wife, he's formed a secret army
Ever since he got laid off
Something inside snapped
His wife says he's gone 'round the twist
Now there's no turning back
All night he waits in the garden shed
For the enemy to attack
A suburban vigilante
Dressed up in a union jack
He's over the edge, oh, over the edge

Don't drive me over the edge of it
Woman, you are gonna drive me
Totally over the edge
Is it yes or is it no
Are you gonna take the pledge
The pressures of society are getting to your brain
And forced you to act weird
And put me under all this strain
But don't drive me over the edge of it
Stop while I've still got emotions
Joined the crowd, just to be part of it
That was the start of it
Oh, over the edge
Don't drive me over the edge of it

Everybody is a victim of society
Comedy, tragedy
Vaudeville, variety
Pantomime players in the grand tradition
Forced into roles that leave them totally driven
Right over the edge

Look at us here today
Lots of talking with nothing to say
And if I seem somewhat vague
It's because I'm somewhat afraid
I'm surviving, that's all I am
I'm surviving to be a better man
I'm surviving, that's my plan
Just surviving

Yesterday, I was sure
But today I don't know anymore
Thought I was brave till I saw
My frightened reflection in a dark corridor
Now I'm surviving to be a better man
I'm surviving with an emotional plan
I'm surviving, so please understand
I'm surviving, surviving

There are millions of people out there
Trying to get by in a world that don't care
People smiling through clouds of despair
Protecting the wounds until they repair
They're surviving the best way they can
They are surviving every woman and man
Just surviving with an emotion plan
So keep surviving

Maybe it's my shattered pride
That's why I get scared of emotional ties
Don't let them in, otherwise
You'll smile like a fool
But you'll be hurting inside
So I'm surviving through the insecurity
I am surviving, I got hope inside of me
So I'm smiling through all the insanity
I'm surviving, surviving

I was moved by the way that you said
Don't be afraid, I won't leave you for dead
You took my soul and mixed up my head
You left me alive
You should have killed me instead
Now I'm surviving, that's all I am
I'm surviving to be a better man
I'm surviving, that's my plan
I'm surviving, surviving
Surviving

They want your mind and your body
But they don't understand
And don't care much about it
Gotta work for your country
Society's built on concrete and money
If this room was to vanish
And the toys of man turned to civilized dust
There'd still be you and me, honey
With our history gone
But the spirit lives on

Build those highways, build those cars
On a planet full of scrap metal
There'd better be life on Mars

[Chorus:]
It's alright, it's alright
If you don't think about it
It's alright
If you don't look at it, it's alright

How time slips away
Live by the Good Book
That's what the wise men say
But where does it leave us
Were they right or were they wrong
Gotta have hope, gotta carry on

It's alright, it's alright
It's alright, it's alright

They want your soul and your spirit
Make them understand
These things they never can have
Gotta work for your family
A community built on trust, not money
If this town was to vanish
And the office blocks were just turned into ashes
They'd be you and me, honey
With the will to survive
And the spirit lives on

Build those factories
Plants and cars
On a planet so desecrated
There'd better be life on Mars

[Chorus]

How time slips away
Live by the Good Book
That's what the wise men say
But where does it leave us
Were they right or were they wrong
Gotta have hope
Gotta carry on

It's alright, it's alright

Isn't it strange meeting you here
Two old friends
Just sitting down quietly drinking a beer
But knowing your past the way that I do
After all this time I'm surprised
You'd even come to this rendezvous

They say you went and moved across the border
So it's hard to believe
That you're sitting here with me tonight
I know you're on the run, you shouldn't be here
But do you feel the fear
When you meet an old friend and the enemy's near

It's strange we always go to church on Sundays
After getting right out of it on a Saturday night
And if we stay here too long, I know that we'll quarrel
And end up having a fight
Just a couple of losers putting the world to right

Just two people having a beer
But on either side there is so much anger
And so much fear
Just two people trying to get by
But we're torn apart
Because of different pressures
From different sides

I hear you're on the run from law and order
But you had to show up
'Cos you knew it was a matter of pride
But beliefs aside, religion apart
Did you ever think about all the suffering you caused
And all the broken hearts?

The word is out that you are the informer
Who gave me away without so much as a fight
So be a good friend
And let me take you quietly without a fight
I'll be the one who's
Gonna take you home tonight
I'll be the one who's
Gonna take you home tonight

You keep on accusing me
Of making your life misery
But if that's not abusing me, what isn't
You wanna be my friend, well it's too late
My love for you has turned to hate
And I think that it's a permanent condition
You say you wanna make the peace
Smile and turn the other cheek
I can't put myself in such a weak position
Now I'm willing to accept this fate
You and me just can't cohabitate
We agree to hate and that's our fast decision

Hatred, hatred
Is the only thing that keeps us together
Hatred, hatred
Is the only thing that lasts forever

Driven by hate, driven by hate
Driven by hate, driven by hate
ON the surface I'm a mild-mannered person
That's until you scratch the animal inside
Then you bring out all my animal aggression
I gotta hatred for you that is never gonna die
Driven to hate, driven to hate
Driven to hate, driven to hate

[Chorus:]
Hatred, hatred
Is the only thing that lasts forever
Hatred, hatred
Is the only thing that keeps us together

While races try to integrate
Nations try to gravitate
Towards equal rights, regardless of religion
Politicians might decree
For the sake of humanity
Love and peace instead of a collision
You and me accept reality
There's no way that we can agree
The world can't make us alter this position
At least you and I know where we stand
We can't be friends, walk hand in hand
My hostility for you defies description

Hatred, hatred
Is the only thing that keeps us together
Hatred, hatred
Is the only thing that lasts forever

Driven by hate, driven by hate
Driven by hate, driven by hate
Hate's the only thing we have in common
There's no escape, we'll always be this way
So we might as well just learn to live together
'Cos we're gonna be this way till our dying day
Driven by hate, driven by hate
Driven by hate, driven by hate

[Chorus]

If you keep on putting me down
Rub my name into the ground
I'll drag the dirt all over town about you
And if you spread the filth on me
I'll only have one remedy
I'll spill the beans, you'll see I've got a mouth, too

[Chorus 2x]

Yeah, hatred
Your attitude is downright rude
Your jokes appall me, they're so crude
Why don't you just drop dead and don't recover
I'm the mirror to your mood
You hate me and I hate you
So at least we understand each other
Hatred, hatred is the only thing that lasts, what is it?
Hatred, hatred

Hatred, hatred
Is the only thing that lasts forever
Hatred, hatred
Is the only thing that lasts forever

That's life in the big city
You beg for mercy but you got no pity
Low-life zero mentality
Vandalized victims of depravity
Fast food, take-out mentality
Where the dogs eat the dogs
And the innocent bleed
The city can't cope and the cops don't care
There's fear in the streets
It's a jungle out there
I don't want it, don't want it
Don't want it, don't want it

[Chorus:]
Somebody stole my car
Somebody stole my automobile
They ripped off the radio and sold the wheels
And if it's happened to you
Then you know how I feel
Somebody stole my car

Somebody stole my car
I left it parked outside of my home
It had a new A/C and a cellular phone
And I'm as sick as a dog
'Cos I'm still paying off the loan
Somebody stole my car

That's life in the metropolis
Living on credit and overdrawn interest
Craving commercialized commodities
Everything advertised, stirring up greed
Everyday I wonder why
Everyday I can't get away
The city's in debt, up past its ears
Yet we still borrow more
And pay it back next year
Now I'm paying for a car that I no longer own
And the next time anybody offers me a loan
I'll say I don't want it, don't want it
Don't want it, don't want it

Somebody stole my car
It's just been cleaned and I've just had it taxed
It had brand-new stereo speakers in the back
And I call up the cops
With a panic attack
Somebody stole my car

Somebody stole my car
I bet they're riding around and running red lights
Got chicks in the back and ballin' all night
While I sit at home
Getting more uptight
Somebody stole my car

[Chorus]

Don't want it, don't want it
Don't want it, don't want it
Somebody stole my car
Somebody stole my car
Somebody stole my car

That life in the metropolis
Possessions mean nothing in a world like this
Some punks wanna ride and they see my car
So they take it, shake it
Burn it up and break it
Hey, that's my car
Somebody stole my car

A hopeful adventure
Got missionary ways
Could start in the jungle
Feel this way
Search for an answer
Over land and over sea
All the mountains
Of promised opportunities

I cried out but you were lost
In a corporate position
So money's the solution
Curing all that ails the nation
But what about the hearts of man
The spiritual needs
I'm staring at the starlight
And I just can't quite believe
That I'm

[Chorus:]
Lost in the fire
So close to the wire
Got to survive
So close to the wire

The soul needs attention
Like the body needs to breath
But banks want investment
So who are we
Cultures are dying
But gold reserves are safe
Can't live in this jungle
But can't escape

Whatever happened
To the dreams we shared together
A taste of wine
A moonlight song that lasts forever

[Chorus]

Feel the expectation
Written in the ways
Each move of a man give away

You look good to me
Sat in your ministry position
An image for the masses
Making serious decisions
Talk about, sham about
For all the world to see
Your rhetoric's a quiz game
And a mystery to me

[Chorus]

So close to the wire

This song is dedicated to the memory of
Annie Florence Davies and Carol Bryans.

Like a seed that is sewn
All the children are scattered
By a breeze that is blown
Now the crops are all scattered
We are torn, we are shattered
Now some of us are barmy and battered
And the fields where we gathered
Are overgrown in weeds and in tatters
Through it all we were scattered

To the fields we are scattered
From the day we are born
To grow wild and sleep rough
Till from the earth we are torn
And a soul that is free
Can live on eternally
And the spirit can live on
Though it's scattered in the world beyond
And I've been out of my mind
Ever since she's been gone

I look around that empty room
No sight nor sound
She's left so soon
She's out of view
But the I find
Those scattered clues she left behind
A photograph with a smiling face
A cigarette stubbed out on the fireplace
A coffee cup with her lipstick stains
I guess I'll never see her again

Now my life is all scattered
Ever since she's been gone
I feel older, I feel fatter
I feel the blues coming on
We get bruised
We get battered
But we'll pick up the pieces that scattered
And with emotional glue
We're gonna stick together, body and mind

Ever since she went away
I've been alone to contemplate
Time and space and why world's move
While sitting in my solitude
I've watched the stars and wondered why
They're scattered up there in the sky
And is she up there out of view
On some higher platitude

I wish I knew
Wish I could prove
The reason why this life on earth
Is scattered like the universe
I'm scattered here and scattered there
Bits of me scattered everywhere

To the fields we are scattered
Then from the dust we are born
We survive somewhat battered
To a new life, a new dawn
IN the end what will it matter
There'll only be my ashes to scatter
And all the logical answers
To a worrying mind
Will be scattered in time
Beaten and battered
To the earth you are scattered
You're going home so what does it matter
To an atomic mind
Scattered here while you travel time