The Anti-Neocon theme song by Ray Davies

[Number9Dream]

Written more than 30 years ago, this could be the anti-neocon theme song. Ray Davies of The Kinks was called "the poet laureate of rock" by Pete Townshend. I'll bet you clever folks can come up with a few others.

Money & Corruption / I Am Your Man - Raymond Douglas Davies

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.

1st 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.

Money and Corruption
(Etc. repeat 1st Chorus above)

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.

1st 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
We know they'll never keep.

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.
(Mr. Black sings)

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.

[SkiGuy]

1. Rolling Stones

has a new song called Sweet Neocon.

[sendero]

2. Sounds like Davies..

... is getting pretty cynical. I suppose I can't blame him.

[Tom Rinaldo]

3. That's from 1973 though n/t

[Tom Rinaldo]

4. Ah, I've always loved the Kinks.

Back in 1966, that's Beach Boys Days, they were writing songs like this:


Dead End Street

There’s a crack up in the ceiling,
And the kitchen sink is leaking.
Out of work and got no money,
A sunday joint of bread and honey.

What are we living for?
Two-roomed apartment on the second floor.
No money coming in,
The rent collector’s knocking, trying to get in.

We are strictly second class,
We don’t understand,
(dead end!)
Why we should be on dead end street.
(dead end!)
People are living on dead end street.
(dead end!)
Gonna die on dead end street.

Dead end street (yeah)
Dead end street (yeah)

On a cold and frosty morning,
Wipe my eyes and stop me yawning.
And my feet are nearly frozen,
Boil the tea and put some toast on.

What are we living for?
Two-roomed apartment on the second floor.
No chance to emigrate,
I’m deep in debt and now it’s much too late.

We both want to work so hard,
We can’t get the chance,
(dead end!)
People live on dead end street.
(dead end!)
People are dying on dead end street.
(dead end!)
Gonna die on dead end street.

Dead end street (yeah)
Dead end street (yeah)

(dead end!)
People live on dead end street.
(dead end!)
People are dying on dead end street.
(dead end!)
Gonna die on dead end street.

Dead end street (yeah)
Dead end street (yeah)
Dead end street (yeah)
Head to my feet (yeah)
Dead end street (yeah)
Dead end street (yeah)
Dead end street (yeah)
How’s it feel? (yeah)
How’s it feel? (yeah)
Dead end street (yeah)
Dead end street (yeah)

[sendero]

8. Thanks..

.... I did not know that :)

[Zensea]

5. You're taking that song out of context ---

I'm quite familiar with Preservation Act 1 and 2 that comes from and love it.
Just the same these words
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.

are sung by the character who is actually a right wing fascist and tricks the people into supporting him - a second hand car spiv, an opportunist. If I'm remembering the whole thing correctly.
Later his followers sing this song --- (notice the repetition of the motif of visualizing a day when people will be free)

Down with sex and sin,
Down with pot, heroin.
Down with pornography,
Down with lust.
Down with vice, lechery, and debauchery.

We are the new centurians.
Shepherds of the Nations.
We'll keep on our guard
For sin and degradation.
We are the national guard
Against filth and depravity,
Perversion and vulgarity,
Homosexuality.
Keep it clean.

Down with nudity,
Breasts that are bare and pubic hair.
We are here to cleanse humanity
From the man in the raincoat's
Pale faced glare.
So sodomites beware.

We are the new centurians,
Shepherds of the Nation.
We'll keep on our guard
For sin and degradation.
We are the national guard
Against filth and depravity,
Perversion and vulgarity,
Homosexuality.
Keep it clean.

I visualise a day when people will be free
From evils like perversion and pornography.
We'll cast out Satan and we'll set the sinners free,
So people of the nation unite.

Put all the pervs in jail,
Bring back the birch, and the cat of nine tails.
Bring back corporal punishment
Bring back the stocks
And the axeman's block.
Let righteousness prevail.

[Tom Rinaldo]

6. Yes. It's Mr. Flash!

"Preservation Act II, the Kinks latest album, raises the curtain again on Davies' funny-sad rock musical. Widening his vision of the human comedy, Davies peoples the album with some new and some familiar characters, both low lifers and saints. More musically powerful than Preservation Act I, Preservation Act II sharpens the struggle between the forces of "the People's Mr. Black" and Flash, the rape-artist land developer. In a fake nasty voice Davies sings "I'm the scum of the earth" while an Oom Pah bounces along in a music hall background. The "Second hand car spiv" (up from the slums) snarls, "don't double-cross me or my hoods will dissect you!"

Davies' lyrics haven't been this clever since Everybody's In Showbiz. John Gosling's keyboard work is snazzy and eccentric with whistling notes and devices hurtling through the air. The tuba and horn section is fully integrated into the Kinks now, and the girl chorus croons artfully in pseudo-soul.

The "He's Evil" opens with a sizzling guitar line by Dave Davies. Then Ray's throaty voice cuts in outrageously with "his skin is soft, but his mind is hard," while the chorus whispers "Look out! He's evil." The chorus builds to a kind of scat incantation, rising in intense repetition through the use of subtle echoes and distortion. By the end it's a kind of kinky Gregorian chant - perverse and hilarious."

Here's a nice interview with Ray that follows the full review I copied from above:
http://kinks.it.rit.edu/misc/articles/circus2.html

[Number9Dream]

9. Guilty... taken out of context

Just heard it again yesterday, and it struck me how excellent lyrics/songs are timeless and can fit many situations. I'm glad there are other Kinks fans in our little DU family. You people are great!

[400Years]

7. The Kinks are the reason I frist started listening to rock and roll

first band I ever got into

[No Exit]

10. Wow, you know, I think the Kinks also wrote Dumbya's pre-politics

personal theme song, too!

"My girlfriend's run off with my car,
And gone back to her ma and pa,
Tellin' tales of drunkenness and cruelty,
And now I'm sittin' here,
Sippin' on my ice-cold beer,
Blazin' on a sunny afternoon!"