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Rating: Another rare gem from this group led by Ray Davies. And to say it's a half-copy of the previous one, the formula hasn’t changed: short songs, dreamy arrangement, subtle and sharp lyrics. Perhaps not as perfect, because 1-2 songs slightly deviate from the rest; not due to the difference in arrangement or lyrics, but simply due to the different sensations they convey. Yet it remains one of the peaks of pop music, and not only.
Every melody seems interrupted and then resumed by the song's lyrics, as if it were a dialogue between the two parts, which do not blend but integrate. And it's incredible how little has been said about a group that deserves laurels for the ease of composition, the variety of themes, the soft voice of Davies. Every song on this album is an anthem unto itself, despite each being connected to another. Every song creates an intimate world, with a style that will characterize Ray in (almost) every composition. Davies scrutinizes within each song seeking something magical that characterizes and makes it unique.
And it's fortunate that Davies managed to find a place for each song, even if only in his mind, I think, because listening to this album transports you to a world halfway between physical and metaphysical, leaving you suspended between the voice and the arrangement, holding you there, sure of having reached your paradise.
As you float mid-air in this strange, ironic, and dreamy world, made of servants dressing up as princesses and feeling well that way, of old glories of the British Empire and statesmen, of distant lands of happiness, you realize what you are seeing: the melancholy of an unrealisable world, where there is no place for metropolises, crowded restaurants, gray cities. A world that is not built for man, that is not his business. Man has managed to touch it only for an instant, but then it escaped, lost in the parabola of consumerism and the American dream. And man followed it blindly.
The record opens with the splendid "Victoria", a fierce critique against rigid Victorian morality, where sex was taboo and there was no social justice; it feels like diving into a bittersweet Hardy story, for the delicacy of touch and the anger of the lyrics, contrasting with the apparent lightheartedness of the melody. Then "Yes Sir, No Sir" appears out of nowhere, an overture worthy of White Rabbit, a sort of march towards freedom, denied by the prevailing orders of the authorities. A freedom unattainable, as "Some Mother's Son", which tells of an ordinary son of an ordinary mother, who goes to war and dies there, stands as proof. And only flowers remain of him, and a mother to remember him.
Then comes "Drivin'", another attack on war, but viewed as genocide, mass extermination in the world, which gives way to "Brainwashed", a symptom of the individual's alienation, seemingly moving the mouth to say his first words, as if he only just learned to speak. Now it's the turn of "Australia", an overpowering chorus, ranging from the rhythmic tones at the start of the song to an ending that surprises the listener, pseudo-psychedelic with blues chimes.
After concluding side A, the listener can finally hear the masterpiece of the album, to be listened to quietly, because the parabola against consumerism and all identical streets (we are in 1969, let’s remember) has more meaning. As this song quietly fades away, "Mr Churchill Says" begins, a ridiculing portrait of the Prime Minister, and then "She Bought A Hat Like Princess Marina" follows, narrating a poor woman pretending to be a rich lady. Then comes the second peak of the album, "Young And Innocent Days", where adolescent memories condense like clouds of sugar, where along with the regret for those days, a veiled critique of those magnificent innocent years appears. It’s now the moment of "Nothing To Say", a classic Davies ballad, and the album closes with "Arthur", the common man, already sung in "Do You Remember Walter", for whom the happy days have passed.
This is an album that leaves a bittersweet aftertaste, leaving the eyes veiled by a very light mist, to be listened to on one of those cold, sunny afternoons, when the sky still smiles at you and you wait for summer. Or winter, depending on your preference.
Tracklist Lyrics and Samples
01 Victoria (03:41)
Long ago, life was clean
Sex was bad, called obscene
And the rich were so mean
Stately homes for the Lords
Croquet lawns, village greens
Victoria was my queen
Victoria
Victoria
Victoria, 'toria
I was born, lucky me
In a land that I love
Though I'm poor, I am free
When I grow I shall fight
For this land I shall die
Let her sun never set
Victoria
Victoria
Victoria, 'toria
Victoria
Victoria
Victoria, 'toria
Land of hope and gloria
Land of my Victoria
Land of hope and gloria
Land of my Victoria
Victoria, 'toria
Victoria
Victoria
Victoria, 'toria
Canada to India
Australia to Cornwall
Singapore to Hong Kong
From the west to the east
From the rich to the poor
Victoria loved them all
Victoria
Victoria
Victoria, 'toria
Victoria
Victoria
Victoria
02 Yes Sir, No Sir (03:47)
Yes Sir, no Sir
Where do I go Sir
What do I do Sir
What do I say
Yes Sir, no Sir
Where do I go Sir
What do I do Sir
How do I behave
Yes Sir, no Sir
Permission to speak Sir
Permission to breathe Sir
What do I say, how do I behave, what do I say
So you think that you've got ambition
Stop your dreaming and your idle wishing
You're outside and there ain't no admission
To our play
Pack up your ambition in your old kit bag
Soon you'll be happy with a packet of fags
Chest out stomach in
Do what I say, do what I say
Yes right away
Yes Sir, no Sir
Where do I go Sir
What do I do Sir
What do I say
Yes Sir, no Sir
Permission to speak Sir
Permission to breathe Sir
What do I say, how do I behave, what do I say
Doesn't matter who you are
You're there and there you are
Everything Is in its place
Authority must be maintained
And then we know exactly where we are
Let them feel that they're important to the cause
But let them know that they are fighting for their homes
Just be sure that they're contributing their all
Give the scum a gun and make the bugger fight
And be sure to have deserters shot on sight
If he dies we'll send a medal to his wife
Yes Sir, no Sir
Please let me die Sir
I think this life is affecting my brain
Yes Sir, no Sir
Three bags full Sir
What do I do Sir, what do I say
What do I say, how do I behave, what do I say
03 Some Mother's Son (03:27)
Some mother's son lies in a field
Someone has killed some mother's son today
Head blown up by some soldier's gun
While all the mothers stand and wait
Some mother's son ain't coming home today
Some mothers son ain't got no grave
Two soldiers fighting in a trench
One soldier glances up to see the sun
And dreams of games he played when he was young
And then his friend calls out his name
It stops his dream and as he turns his head
A second later he is dead
Some mother's son lies in a field
Back home they put his picture in a frame
But all dead soldiers look the same
While all the parents stand and wait
To meet their children coming home from school
Some mother's son is lying dead
Somewhere someone is crying
Someone is trying to be so brave
But still the world keeps turning
Though all the children have gone away
Some mother's son lies in a field
But in his mother's eyes he looks the same
As on the day he went away
They put his picture on the wall
They put flowers in the picture frame
Some mothers memory remains
04 Drivin' (03:22)
It seems like all the world is fighting
They're even talking of a war
Let all the Russians and the Chinese
And the Spanish do their fighting
The sun is shining
We're going drivin', drivin'
Drop all your work
Leave it behind
Forget all your problems
And get in my car
And take a drive with me
The sandwiches are packed
The tea is in the flask
We've plenty of beer
And gooseberry tarts
So take a drive with me
We'll take your mother if you want to
We'll have a picnic on the grass
Forget your nephews
And your cousins and your brothers and your sisters
They'll never miss us
'Cos we'll be drivin', drivin'. drivin'. drivin'
Thousands of trees
Hundreds of fields
Millions of birds
So why don't you come
And take a drive with me
We'll talk to the cows
And laugh at the sheep
We'll lie in a field
And we'll have a sleep
So take a drive with me
And all the troubled world around us
Seems an eternity away
And all the debt collectors
Rent collectors
All will be behind us
But they'll never find us
'Cos we'll be drivin', drivin', drivin', drivin'
Passed Barnet Church
Up to Potters Bar
We won't be home late
It's not very far
So take a drive with me, take a drive with me
Drivin', drivin', drivin', drivin'
05 Brainwashed (02:36)
You look like a real human being
But you don't have a mind of your own
Yeah, you can talk, you can breathe
You can work, you can stitch, you can sew
But you're brainwashed
Yes you are, yes you are
Get down on your knees
You've got a job and a house
And a wife, and your kids and a car
Yeah, you're conditioned to be
What they want you to be
And be happy to be where you are
Yes you are
Get down on your knees
Get down on your knees
The aristocrats and bureaucrats
Are dirty rats
For making you what you are
They're up there and you re down here
You're on the ground and they're up with the stars
All your life they've kicked you around and pushed you around
Till you can't take any more
To them you're just a speck of dirt
But you don't want to get up off the floor
Mister you're just brainwashed
They give you social security
Tax saving benefits that grow at maturity
Yeah, you're conditioned to be
What they want you to be
And to do what they want you to
Yes you are, yes you are
Get down on your knees
06 Australia (06:48)
Opportunities are available in all walks of life in australia
So if you're young and if you're healthy
Why not get a boat and come to australia
Australia, the chance of a lifetime
Australia, you get what you work for
Nobody has to be any better than what they want to be
Australia, no class distinction
Australia, no drug addiction
Nobody's got a chip on their shoulder
We'll surf like they do in the u.s.a.
We'll fly down to sydney for our holiday
On sunny christmas day
Australia, australia
No one hesitates at life or beats around the bush in australia
So if you're young and if you're healthy
Why not get a boat and come to australia
Australia sha-la-la-la sha-la-la-la
Australia sha-la-la-la sha-la-la-la
Everyone walks around with a perpetual smile across their face
Australia sha-la-la-la sha-la-la-la
Australia sha-la-la-la sha-la-la-la
Everyone gets around and nobody can ever get you down
We'll surf like they do in the u.s.a.
We'll fly down to sydney for our holiday
On sunny christmas day
Australia, australia
07 Shangri-La (05:21)
Now that you've found your paradise
This is your kingdom to command
You can go outside and polish your car
Or sit by the fire in your shangri-la
Here is your reward for working so hard
Gone are the lavatories in the back yard
Gone are the days when you dreamed of that car
You just want to sit in your shangri-la
Put on your slippers and sit by the fire
You've reached your top and you just can't get any higher
You're in your place and you know where you are
In your shangri-la
Sit back in your old rocking chair
You need not worry, you need not care
You can't go anywhere
Shangri-la, shangri-la, shangri-la
The little man who gets the train
Got a mortgage hanging over his head
But he's too scared to complain
cos he's conditioned that way
Time goes by and he pays off his debts
Got a tv set and a radio
For seven shillings a week
Shangri-la, shangri-la, shangri-la, shangri-la, shangri-la, shangri-la
And all the houses in the street have got a name
cos all the houses in the street they look the same
Same chimney pots, same little cars, same window panes
The neighbours call to tell you things that you should know
They say their lines, they drink their tea, and then they go
They tell your business in another shangri-la
The gas bills and the water rates, and payments on the car
Too scared to think about how insecure you are
Life ain't so happy in your little shangri-la
Shangri-la, shangri-la la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la
Put on your slippers and sit by the fire
You've reached your top and you just can't get any higher
You're in your place and you know where you are
In your shangri-la
Sit back in your old rocking chair
You need not worry, you need not care
You can't go anywhere
Shangri-la, shangri-la, shangri-la, shangri-la, shangri-la, shangri-la
09 She's Bought a Hat Like Princess Marina (03:09)
She's bought a hat like Princess Marina's
To wear at all her social affairs
She wears it when she's cleaning the windows
She wears it when she's scrubbing the stairs
But you will never see her at Ascot
She can't afford the time or the fare
But she's bought a hat like Princess Marina's
So she don't care
He's bought a hat like Anthony Eden's
Because it makes him feel like a Lord
But he can't afford a Rolls or a Bentley
He has to buy a secondhand Ford
He tries to feed his wife and his family
And buy them clothes and shoes they can wear
But he's bought a hat like Anthony Eden's
So he don t care
Buddy can you spare me a dime
My wife is getting hungry
And the kids are crying
This poverty is hurting my pride
Buddy can you spare me, buddy can you spare me a dime
She's bought a hat like Princess Marina's
And her neighbors think it suits her a treat
But she hasn't any food in the larder
Nor has anybody else in the street
But to look at her you'd think she was wealthy
'Cos she smiles just like a real millionaire
'Cos she's bought a hat like Princess Marina's
So she don't care, she don't care, she don't care, she don't care
12 Arthur (05:25)
Arthur was born just a plain simple man
In a plain simple working class position
Though the world was hard and its ways were set
He was young and he had so much ambition
All the way he was overtaken
By the people who make the big decisions
But he tried and he tried for a better life
And a way to improve his own condition
If only life were easy it would be such fun
Things would be more equal and be plenty for everyone
Arthur the world's gone and passed you by
Don't you know it, don't you know it
You can cry, cry all night but it won't make it right
Don't ya know it, don't ya know it
Arthur we know and we sympathize
Don't ya know it, don't ya know it
Arthur we like you and want to help you
Somebody loves you don't you know it
How is your life and your Shangri-la
And your long lost land of Hallelujah
And your hope and glory has passed you by
Can't you see what the world is doing to ya
And now we see your children
Sailing off in the setting sun
To a new horizon
Where there's plenty for everyone
Arthur, could be
That the world was wrong
Don't ya know it, don't ya know it
Arthur, could be
You were right all along
Don't ya know it, I hope ya know it
Now we know and we sympathize
We'd like to help you and understand you
Don't ya know it, don't ya know it
Somebody loves you, don't ya know it
Don't ya know it, don't ya know it
Arthur the world's gone and passed you by
Don't ya know it, don't ya know it
You can cry, cry all night
But it won't make it right
Don't ya know it, don't ya know it
Arthur we read you and understand you
Arthur we like you and want to help you
Oh! we love you and want to help you
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