The Kinks Album

Instrumental

[Sung by Chorus]

Daylight over the Village Green early in the morning.
Daylight over the hills and valleys heralding the morning.
Daylight over the mountains, daylight on the Village Green,
Daylight over the field and the factories.
Another night has gone away and here comes yet another day.

See the early morning risers walking round with bleary eyes.
Worn out housewives grit their teeth ignoring new born babies' cries.
Look at all the busy people this way, that way, everywhere
Biting toast and swallowing tea and breakfast specials on the air.
Feel that daylight.

Feel the sunlight on my pillow and it stops my yawing.
I thank God that I'm still around to see another dawn in.
Daylight over the valleys, daylight lighting up the trees,
Daylight over the hillside,
Smile a smile and sing a song, another night has been and gone.

Middle-aged bankers crack their backs and wish they were young and in their teens,
Lonely spinsters dream of dating Roger Moore or Steve McQueen.
Health fanatics in their attics training for the Empire Games,
School boys dream of Captain Scarlet, battle ships and aeroplanes.

Feel that daylight, Daylight.
Daylight on the Village Green,
Daylight,
Field and the valleys,
Daylight

[Sung by The Tramp]

Once under a scarlet sky I told you never ending lies,
But they were the words of a drunken vagabond
Who knew very well he would break your heart before long
Oh forgive me Genevieve.

Now I've come back to see Sweet Lady Genevieve,
This time I'll give you some security
And I will make promises I can keep
So will you come back to me Sweet Lady Genevieve.

Let me rock you, hold you,
Take you in my arms.
Forgive me, please,
Smile away all your sadness, put your trust in me.

Oh if you come back to me Sweet Lady Genevieve,
I'm not the impetuous fool you used to know
I know that I used you and I hurt you so,
But that was so long ago Sweet Lady Genevieve.

Oh, love me,
Take me in your arms.
Let me rock you, hold you,
Smile away all your sadness, put your trust in me.

Once under a starry sky I led you on and told you lies
Drank too much whiskey on that hot summer night.
I acted so slyly because you were acting so shy,
Oh forgive me Genevieve.

If you come back to me Sweet Lady Genevieve,
You're not the child who smiled so innocently
And I'm not the rogue that I used to be,
So will you come back to me Sweet Lady Genevieve.

Oh Genevieve, Oh Genevieve

[Sung by Working Class Man, Middle Class Man and Upper Class Man]

I'm just a simple working man
Gettin' by the best I can
In this crazy mixed-up muddled-up world that I live in.

I'm a middle class sort of a guy
I'm not rich but I get by
Pretending that I know just what I'm doin'.

I'm a well bred upper class sort of chap,
I don't care much about this and that
Even when I know there's trouble brewin'.

We think there's a change in the weather
We've got to learn to stick together.
We've seen the thunder clouds in the sky,
I wanna live, I don't wanna die.

I think the weather's changing, I hope the weather is gonna change.
I hope it's a change for the better and it will brighten up my day.
I think there's a change in the weather, I hope good weather is here to stay,
I hope it's a change for the better and it will brighten up my day.

See the holocaust risin' over the horizon,
Gonna see a manifestation, total chaos, devastation,
Anticyclone and tornados brewin',
Gonna feel the lightnin' strikin',
Thunder clap smoke a frightnin',

There's gonna be evil doin',
There's trouble brewin',
Everybody scared,
Too much thunder, too much fightin'.

Heavy storm clouds comin',
Gonna cover up the sun
And gonna terrify everyone,
Better pack up your bags and run.

I think there's a change in the weather, I think the weather is going to change.
I hope it's a change for the better and it will brighten up my day.
I think there's a change in the weather, I hope good weather is here to stay.
I hope it's a change for the better and it will brighten up my day

[Sung by The Tramp]

I'll sing a song about some people you might know
They made front pages in the news not long ago
But now they're just part of a crowd
And I wonder where they all are now.

Where have all the Swinging Londoners gone?
Ossie Clark and Mary Quant
And what of Christine Keeler,
John Stephen and Alvaro,
Where on earth did they all go?
Mr. Fish and Mr. Chow,
Yeah, I wonder where they all are now.

Where are all the Teddy Boys now?
Where are all the Teddy Boys now?
The Brill Cream boys with D.A.s,
Drainpipes and blue suedes,
Beatniks with long pullovers on,
And coffee bars and Ban the Bomb,
Yeah, where have all the Teddy Boys gone?
I hope that Arthur Seaton is alright.
I hope that Charlie Bubbles had a very pleasant flight,
And Jimmy Porter's learned to laugh and smile,
And Joe Lampton's learned to live a life of style.

Where are all the angry young men now?
Where are all the angry young men now?
Barstow and Osborne, Waterhouse and Sillitoe,
Where on earth did they all go?
And where are all the protest songs?
Yes, where have all the angry young men gone.

I wonder what became of all the Rockers and the Mods.
I hope they are making it and they've all got stead jobs,
Oh but rock and roll still lives on,
Yeah, rock and roll still lives on

[Sung by Johnny Thunder and Chorus]

See Johnny Thunder sitting on his motorbike
Riding along the highway,
Rock and Roll songs from the nineteen-fifties
Buzzing around in his brain.
Johnny Thunder he's one of the original bebop generation
And he's got no time for complicated music or too much sophistication.

He's one of the survivors,
The motorbike riders.
You ought to see Johnny Thunder riding down the highway
One of the rock and roll survivors,
Twelve bars flowing through his brain.
He digs Jerry Lee Lewis, Dion and The Belmonts,
And Johnny & The Hurricanes.

He plays Hound Dog, Oh Boy, and Great Balls of Fire
And Boppin' At The High School Hop.
And he's got no time for phonies or posers
'Cos they don't know how to reel and rock.
And he plays Little Egypt and Ooh Poo Pah Doo,
And he plays Poison Ivy and Blue Suede Shoes,
The Hollywood Argyles, Danny & The Juniors,
Dion & The Belmonts, Johnny & The Hurricanes.

He's one of the survivors,
The boppers and the jivers,
Yeah and he rocks all day.
Johnny & The Hurricanes, Johnny & The Hurricanes.

Got my freedom riding along the freeway.
I ride a hundred miles an hour but I don't mess up my D.A.
Rock, rock, rock, rock, rock 'n' roll.
You can't stop rock 'n' rollin' music play.
([Repeat] last two lines)

Feel those vibrations flow in my brain.
Got my freedom riding down the highway,
Keeps me sane, feel alive,
I'm one of the survivors.

Feel all right.
First gear, second gear, third gear, fourth gear, all right.
Old Johnny Thunder looks a little overweight,
And his sideburns are turning grey.
But he still likes to bebop, boogie and jive
To his worn out seventy-eights.
Johnny Thunder.
He's alright.
He's one of the survivors,
Twelve bars flowing through his brain,
Jerry Lee Lewis, Dion & The Belmonts,
Johnny & The Hurricanes, Johnny & The Hurricanes

[Sung by The Vicar]

Some people say that life is a game, well if this is so
I'd like to know the rules on which this game of life is based.
I know of no game more fitting than the age old game of cricket
It has honour, it has character and it's British.
Now God laid down the rules of life when he wrote those Ten Commandments
And to cricket those ten same rules shall apply.
Show compassion and self-righteousness and be honest above all
And come to God's call with bat and ball.

Now the Devil has a player and he's called the Demon Bowler,
He's shrewd, he's rude and he's wicked.
He is sent by Sinful Satan and he's out to take your wicket
And you know that that's not cricket.
He'll baffle you with googlies with leg breaks and offspin
But keep a level head and don't let that demon in.
So keep a straight bat at all times, let the Bible be your guide
And you'll get by, yes you'll get by.

All through your life he'll try to bowl you out
Beware the Demon bowler.
He's crafty and deceitful and he'll try to L.B.W.,
And bowl a maiden over.
The Devil takes the weak in spirit and so we must always be courageous
And remember that God is on your side.
So keep old Satan in your sights and play the straight and narrow line
And you'll get by, yes you'll get by

We are sick and tired
Of being promised this and that.
We work all day, we sweat and slave
To keep the wealthy fat.
They fill our heads with promises
And bamboozle us with facts,
Then they put on false sincerity
Then they laugh behind our backs.

[Chorus:]
Money and Corruption
Are ruining the land
Crooked politicians
Betray the working man,
Pocketing the profits
And treating us like sheep,
And we're tired of hearing promises
That we know they'll never keep.

[Chorus]

Promises, promises, all we get are promises.
Show us a man who'll understand us, guide us and lead us.

We are sick and tired
Of having to ask them cap in hand
We crawl on the floor
We beg for more,
But still we are ignored.
We're tired of being herded
Like a mindless flock of sheep
And we're tired of hearing promises
That we know they'll never keep.

[Chorus]

We've got to stand together
Every woman, every man,
Because money and corruption are ruining the land.
Show us a man who'll be our Saviour and will lead us.
Show us a man who'll understand us, guide us and lead us.
Show us a man.
Workers of the nation unite.
Workers of the nation unite.

I visualise a day when people will be free
And we'll be living in a new society.
No class distinction, no slums or poverty
I have a vision of a new society.
And every home will have a stereo and TV,
A deep freeze, quadrasonic and a washing machine.
So workers of the nation unite.

I am your man
I'll work out a five-year plan
So vote for me brothers
And I will save this land
And we will nationalise the wealthy companies
And all the directors will be answerable to me,
There'll be no shirking of responsibilities
So people of the nation unite.

Union Man I'll work with you hand in hand
For we're all brothers to our Union Man.
I am your man,
Oh God how I love this land,
So join together save the Fatherland.

I visualize a day when people will be free
And we'll be living in a new society.
No class distinction, no slums or poverty,
So workers of the nation unite,
Workers of the nation unite,
People of the nation unite

[Sung by Chorus and Scared Housewives]

You'd better run, you'd better fly.
Hide your daughters, hide your wives.
Lock your doors and stay inside
Here comes Flash.

There's no way that you can win,
You must obey his every whim,
Or else he's going to do you in.
Here comes Flash.

He will smile at you, be a friend to you,
Then he's gonna screw you just like that.
He is going to use you, his heavies will abuse you,
And then he's gonna lean on you,
Here comes Flash.

He is gonna rough you up,
Duff you up and touch you up,
And then he's gonna screw you up.
Even though he's mean on you,
There's nothing else that you can do
Just sit back and take his abuse.
He will smile at you, be so sweet to you.
Then he's gonna cheat on you.

You'd better run, you'd better fly.
Hide your daughters, hide your wives.
Lock your doors and stay inside.
Here comes Flash.

Once we loved and trusted him,
Now his thugs and bullies make us live in sin.
They suppress us, oppress us, molest us, possess us.

You'd better run, you'd better fly.
Hide your daughters, hide your wives.
And lock your doors and stay inside.

He will smile at you, be a friend to you,
Then he's gonna screw you just like that.

You'd better run, you'd better fly.
Hide your daughters, hide your wives.
And lock your doors and stay inside.
Here comes Flash.

There's no way that you can win,
You must obey his every whim
Or else he's going to do you in.
Here Comes Flash.
Here Comes Flash

[Sung by The Tramp]

I'm sitting by the side of a river
Underneath the pale blue sky
I've got no need to worry, I'm in no hurry
I'm looking at the world go by.

Just sitting in the midday sun,
Just soaking up that currant bun,
With no particular purpose or reason
Sitting in the midday sun.

Everybody say I'm lazy
They all tell me get a job you slob,
I'd rather be a hobo walking round with nothing
Than a rich man scared of losing all he's got.

So I'm just sitting in the midday sun
Just soaking up that currant bun,
Why should I have to give my reasons
For sitting in the midday sun

Oh look at all the ladies
Looking their best in their summer dresses,
Oh sitting in the sun.
I've got no home,
I've got no money
But who needs a job when it's sunny. Wah Wah.

I haven't got a steady occupation
And I can't afford a telephone.
I haven't got a stereo, radio or video
A mortgage, overdraft, a bank loan.

The only way that I can get my fun
Is by sitting in the midday sun
With no particular purpose or reason
Sitting in the midday sun.

Oh listen to the people,
Say I'm a failure and I've got nothing,
Ah but if they would only see
I've got my pride,
I've got no money,
But who needs a job when it's sunny. Wah Wah.

Everybody thinks I'm crazy,
And everybody says I'm dumb,
But when I see the people shouting at each other
I'd rather be an out of work bum.

So I'm just sitting in the midday sun
Just soaking up that currant bun,
With no particular purpose or reason
Sitting in the midday sun

[Sung by Flash and his Cronies in their Den]

I spy with my little eye
Anything here that I can buy.
I see a little thatched cottage
Looking so neat
With compulsory purchase we can buy it up cheap.
Then we'll pull up the floor boards,
Knock down the walls,
Rock the foundations,
Until the house falls.
Like a pack of cards,
Crashing to the ground.
Then we'll build a row
Of identical boxes
And sell them all off at treble the profits.
Demolition.

The deeds are in my pocket,
I've got a contract in my hand.
An opportunity for luxury living.
I'll arrange the mortgage
To be repaid a hundred percent.
I can't wait around so make your decision.
We'll buy up all the cottages
And every house and every street,
Until we've got everything we need.
Every town in the vicinity,
Every farm and village green.
We're gonna buy up everything,
Then it's Demolition.
Demolition. Demolition.

Two up, two down,
It hasn't got a garden,
But it's got a lovely patio.
Stainless steel kitchen sink,
Gas fired central heating,
Whaaa - specifically designed for modern-day living,
Nothing's permanent and nothing lasts,
We've sold all the houses so put 'em up fast.
We're gonna buy up this town
And pull it all down.
How I love to hear the demolition sound
Of concrete crashing to the ground.
Demolition.

It's time to make some money,
It's time to get rich quick.
It's the wonderful world of capitalism.
I've got to make a profit,
I've got to satisfy my greed,
It's my faith and my religion,
Demolition. Demolition. Demolition.
And we'll buy up the towns,
And we'll knock 'em all down
Build a brand new world of our own.
[Repeat]