Artist: The Kinks Album: Lola Versus Powerman And The Moneygoround, Part One {1970}

Hush little mammy don't you cry 
I've got to see what it's like on the world outside 
Got to get out of this life somehow 
Got to be free, we got to be free now 

I don't want to be a constructor of highways 
A sweeper of sidewalks, I've got to go my way 
I'm too ill-equipped for a mathematician 
A shrewd politician, a maker of decisions 

We're not the greatest when when we're separated 
But when we're together I think we're going to make it 
I don't want to be like a fascist dictator 
A saint or a sinner, I want to be a winner

Where are you going when I don't mind 
I've killed my world and I've killed my time 
So where do I go, what will I see 
I see many people coming after me 
So where are you going to I don't mind 
If I live too long I'm afraid I'll die 
So I will follow you wherever you go 
If your offered hand is still open to me

Strangers on this road we are on 
We are not two we are one

So you've been where I've just come
From the land that brings losers on
So we will share this road we walk
And mind our mouths and beware our talk
Till peace we find tell you what I'll do
All the things I own I will share with you
And if I feel tomorrow like I feel today
We'll take what we want and give the rest away

Strangers on this road we are on
We are not two we are one

Holy man and holy priest
This love of life makes me weak at my knees
And when we get there make your play
Cos soon I feel you're gonna carry us away
In a promised lie you made us believe
For many men there is so much grief
And my mind is proud but it aches with rage
And if I live too long I'm afraid I'll die

Strangers on this road we are on
We are not two we are one
Strangers on this road we are on
We are not two we are on

Down the way from the Tottenham Court Road 
Just round the corner from old Soho 
There's a place where the publishers go

If you don't know which way to go 
Just open your ears and follow your nose 
Cos the street is shaking from the tapping of toes
 
You can hear that music play 
Anytime of every day 
Every rhythm, every way

You got to a publisher and play him your song 
He says, "I hate your music and you hair is too long 
But I'll sign you up because I'd hate to be wrong."

You've got a tune, it's in your head, you want to get it placed 
So you take it down to a music man just to see what he will say 
He says "I hate the tune, I hate the words, I'll tell you what I'll do 
I'll sign you up and take it round the street and see if it makes the grade."
And you might even hear it played on the rock and roll hit parade

Daytime, night time, every week
You can hear that heavy beat 
Now the walls are shaking from the tapping of feet 
Daytime, night time, any day
You can hear that music play 
Every rhythm, every way

Facing the world ain't easy when there isn't anything going 
Standing at the corner waiting, watching time go by 
Will I go to work today or shall I bide my time

Cos when I see that union man walking down the street 
He's the man who decides if I live or I die, if I starve or I eat
Then he walks up to me, then the sun begins to shine
Then he walks right past and I know that I've got to get back in the line

Now I think of what my mamma told me
She always said that it would never, ever work out
But all I want to do is make some money and bring you home some wine
But I don't ever want you to see me standing in that line

Cos that union man got such a hold over me
He's the man who decides if I live or I die, if I starve or I eat 
Then he walks up to me, then sun begins to shine 
Then he walks right past and I know that I've got to get back in the line

Get back, get back, get right back in the line

I met her in a club down in old Soho 
Where you drink champagne and it tastes just like Coca-Cola
C-O-L-A, cola 
She walked up to me and she asked me to dance 
I asked her her name and in a dark brown voice she said, "Lola." 
L-O-L-A, Lola, la-la-la-la Lola

Well I'm not the world's most physical guy
But when she squeezed me tight she nearly broke my spine
Oh my Lola, la-la-la-la Lola
Well I'm not dumb but I can't understand
Why she walked like a woman and talked like a man
Oh my Lola, la-la-la-la Lola, la-la-la-la Lola

Well we drank champagne and danced all night
Under electric candlelight
She picked me up and sat me on her knee
And said, "Dear boy won't you come home with me."
Well I'm not the world's most passionate guy
But when I looked in her eyes well I almost fell for my Lola
La-la-la-la Lola, la-la-la-la Lola
Lola, la-la-la-la Lola, la-la-la-la Lola

I pushed her away
I walked to the door
I fell to the floor
I got down on my knees
Then I looked at her and she at me

And that's the way that I want it to stay 
And I always want it to be that way for my Lola 
La-la-la-la Lola 
Girls will be boys and boys will be girls 
It's a mixed up, muddled up, shook up world except for Lola 
La-la-la-la Lola 

Well I left home just a week before 
And I'd never, ever kissed a woman before 
But Lola smiled and took me by the hand 
And said, "Dear boy I'm gonna make you a man." 

Well I'm not the world's most masculine man 
But I know what I am and I'm glad I'm a man 
And so is Lola 
La-la-la-la Lola, la-la-la-la Lola 
Lola, la-la-la-la Lola, la-la-la-la Lola
Lola, la-la-la-la Lola, la-la-la-la Lola
Lola, la-la-la-la Lola, la-la-la-la Lola
Lola, la-la-la-la Lola, la-la-la-la Lola
Lola, la-la-la-la Lola, la-la-la-la Lola

Yes, it's number one, it's Top of the Pops

I've just come in at number 25 
I'm oh, so happy, so glad to be alive 
And everybody says it's going to get to the top 
Life is so easy when your record's hot

Go tell my mamma and my sister too
Press my trousers and polish my shoes
I might even end up a rock and roll god
It might turn into a steady job

And my agent said to me, "Son, I always told you so." 
Now my record's number 11 on the BBC 
But number 7 on the N.M.E. 
Now the Melody Maker want to interview me 
And ask my view on politics and theories on religion

Now my record's up to number 3
And a woman recognized me and started to scream
This all seems like a crazy dream
I've been invited to a dinner with a prominent queen
And now I've got friends that thought I'd never have before

It's strange how people want you when you record's high
When it drops down they just pass you by
Now my agent calls me on the telephone
And says, "Son your record's just got to Number One."

And ya know what this means, this means you can earn some real money

Robert owes half to Grenville 
Who in turn gave half to Larry 
Who adored my instrumentals 
And so he gave half to a foreign publisher 
He took half the money that was earned in some far distant land 
Gave back half to Larry and I end up with half of goodness knows what

Can somebody explain why things go on this way 
I thought they were my friends I can't believe it's me
I can't believe that I'm so green

Eyes down, round and round, let's all sit and watch the moneygoround 
Everyone take a little bit here and a little bit there 
Do they all deserve money from a song that they've never heard 
They don't know the tune and they don't know the words 
But they don't give a damn

There's no end to it, I'm in a pit and I'm stuck in it 
The money goes round and around and around
And it comes out here when they've all taken their share

I went to see a solicitor and my story was heard and the writs were served
On the verge of a nervous breakdown I decided to fight right to the end
But if I ever get my money I'll be too old and grey to spend it
Oh, but life goes on and on and no one ever wins
And time goes quickly by just like the moneygoround
I only hope that I'll survive

This time tomorrow where will we be
On a spaceship somewhere sailing across an empty sea
This time tomorrow what will we know
Will we still be here watching an in-flight movie show

I'll leave the sun behind me
And I'll watch the clouds as they sadly pass me by 
Seven miles below me
I can see the world and it ain't so big at all

Well, this time tomorrow what will we see
Field full of houses, endless rows of crowded streets
I don't know where I'm going, I don't want to see
I feel the world below me looking up, up at me

Leave the sun behind me
And I watch the clouds as they sadly pass me by
And I'm in perpetual motion
And the world below doesn't matter much to me

Well, this time tomorrow where will we be
On a spaceship somewhere sailing across an empty sea
Well, this time tomorrow where will we be
Well, this time tomorrow what will we see
This time tommorrow

You've come a long way from the runny-nosed and scruffy kid I knew
You had such good ways
I can remember little things that always made you smile
They made you happy

Now you think you're wiser because you're older
And you think that money buys everything
And you think you that need no one to guide you
But you're still a long way from home

You've come a long way, you're self-assured and dressed in funny clothes
But you don't know me
I hope you find what you are looking for
With your car and your handmade overcoats
But your wealth will never make you stronger
Cos you're still a long way from home
Yeah, you're still a long way from home

I was lost, just wandering round downtown 
Many people were pushing me around 
Hate spreads just like infection

Those rats jumping on and off my back
Fat black rats holding me down
I see rats in every direction

No time to catch your breath
Crazy people lost their heads
Masses trampling on my feet
Inconsiderate in their heat

Those rats breeding angriness and spite
Never have done anything right
For people like you and me

Walk over all the people you can't see
If they die there's more bread for me
Like snakes walking through the grass

No time to catch your breath
Crazy people lost their heads
Masses trampling on my feet
Inconsiderate in their heat

Those rats breeding angriness and spite
Never have done anything right
For people like you and me

See that face man look at me
Now he's much too selfish to see
Once he was warm and was kind
Now all he has got is a pinstripe mind
See that face man look at me
Now he's much too selfish to see
Once he was warm and was kind
Now he's got a pinstripe mind

I think I'm sophisticated 
Cos I'm living my life like a good homosapien 
But all around me everybody's multiplying 
And 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 
Oh, I'm an ape man 
I'm a King Kong man
I'm a voo-doo man
Oh, 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's created the city 
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 man
I'm an ape ape man 
Oh, I'm an ape man 
I'm a King Kong man
I'm a voo-doo man
Oh, I'm an ape man

I look out my window, but I can't see the sky 
The air pollution is fogging up my eyes 
I want to get out of this city alive 
And make like an ape man 

Come on and love me, be my ape man girl 
And we be so happy in my ape man world 

I'm an ape man
I'm an ape ape man 
Oh, I'm an ape man 
I'm a King Kong man
I'm a voo-doo man
Oh, 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 
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 
Oh, I'm an ape man 
I'm a King Kong man
I'm a voo-doo man
Oh, 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

I know a man, he's a powerful man 
Got the people in his power in the palm of his hand
He started at the bottom but he worked his way up 
Now he's never going to stop till he reaches the top

It's the same old story, it's the same old dream
It's powerman, powerman, and all that it can bring

If you want your money better stand in the line
But you'll only end up picking up the nickels and dimes
You call him names and he sits and grins
Cos everybody else is just a sucker to him

And he's got my money, but I've got my faith
Powerman, powerman, I'll never be your slave
It's the same old story, it's the same old game
Powerman, powerman, driving me insane

People tried to conquer the world
Napoleon and Genghis Khan
Hitler tried and Mussolini too
Powerman don't need to fight
Powerman don't need no guns
Powerman got money on his side

Well I'm not rich and I'm not free
But I got my gal and she got me
He's got the money and my publishing rights
But I got my gal and I'm alright

And she's got me going and she keeps me sane
Powerman, powerman, got money on the brain
It's the same old story, it's the same old game
Powerman, powerman driving me insane

Hush little baby, don't you cry 
Soon the sun is going to shine 
We're going to be free like the birds and the bees 
Running wild across the big country

Got to be free to do what I want
Walk if I want, talk if I want
Got to be free to say what I want
Make what I want, play what I want
As free as the birds up in the sky 
As free as the bugs and the spiders and flies 
I don't know how, but I'm gonna try 
I just got to be free

And it won't be long
Cos we're right and they are wrong
Yeah, we got to get out of this world somehow 
We've got to be free, we've got to be free now

Got to be free to laugh when I want
Think what I want and cry if I like
Got to be free to do what I want
Say what I want, swear if I like
As free as the sun and the moon in the sky
As free as a flea or a proud butterfly
I don't know how but I'm gonna try
I just got to be free

Yeah, we got to get out of this world somehow 
Yeah, we got to be free, we got to be free now 
Got to be free to do what I want 
Walk if I want, talk if I want 
Got to be free to say what I want 
Make what I want, play what I want 
Well, I got to be proud and stand up straight 
And let people see I ain't nobody's slave 
Well, I got to be free before it's too late 
I've just got to be free

Got to be free to do what I want 
Walk if I want, talk if I want