Lyrics from the 1983 Kinks album State of Confusion

[LiberalArkie]

I was listening to some of my retro LP's as I am a retro type of person today and I ran across this song:

Have you heard the word?
The revolution's over.
Now the anger's disappeared
And the rebels are much older.
And the schools and universities
Are turning out a brand new breed of young conservatives.

Get yourself a brand new scene,
Keep your collars white and clean,
It's time to come and join the young conservatives.

Revolution used to be cool,
But now it's out of fashion.
Politeness is the rule,
And not an angry young man's passion.
And they've used up all the alternatives,
And they're rushing down the street to join
The young conservatives.
Conservatives.

Ban the bomb, oh how contemporary,
In your parents' car.
Another chip off the block, is that all that you are?
Look at all the young conservatives
Hanging out in the bars.
It's got to stop before it goes to fa-fa-fa-fa-far.

Get yourself some new attire,
Set your sights a little higher,
You're going to join the young conservatives.

The establishment is winning,
Now the battle's nearly won.
The rebels are conforming,
See the father, now the sons.
All the urgency and energy
Have turned into complacency,
Now the schools and universities are turning out a
Brand new breed of young conservatives.
Conservatives.

Rebel, rebel found a cause,
Now it's Hampstead not East End
And now he's such a well respected man.
The only action that you see
Is in the Sunday Times.
Content to sit in bed and read between the lines.

Rebel, rebel join the young conservatives.
Be a devil join the new conservatives.

It's a victory for order
Now they've beaten everyone.
The rebels are too old now,
And the young just want to be young.
All the urgency and energy
Have turned into complacency.
Now the schools and universities are turning out a
Brand new breed of young conservatives.
Conservatives.

Look at all the young conservatives.
Look at all the young conservatives.


link http://www.oldielyrics.com/lyrics/the_kinks/young_conservatives.html

[jeff30997]

1. Weird!

[madrchsod]

2. the boys are/were great social commentators

i own all but a few of thier album,tapes,and cds. i got a 4-f during the war for quoting lyrics from "rainy day in june"!


'

[JanMichael]

3. "be a devil"

Thank you Kinks.

I really did love them when I was a kid.

[mikita]

4. Thanks for this one...

I don't remember this one, but "Don't forget to dance" is one of my lifetime favorites.

:toast: Mikita

[Neil Lisst]

5. Reminds me of another one from then - Middle of the Road

About that same time, Chrissie Hynde and the Pretenders had another song, similarly themed, and appropriate. And now, one of my all time favorite female rockers ...

The middle of the road,
Is trying to find me.
I'm standing in the middle of life with my plans behind me.


But, I got a smile
For everyone I meet.
Long as you don't try dragging my bay,
Or dropping a bomb on the street.


Come on baby,
Get in the road.
Come on now,
In the middle of the road, yeah.


In the middle of the road,
You see the darnest things.
Like fat cats driving around in jeeps through the city,
Wearing big diamond rings and silk suits.
Past corrugated tin shacks holed up with kids and
Man I don't mean a Hampstead nursery.
But when you own a big chunk of the bloody third world,
The babies just come with the scenery.


Come on baby,
Get in the road.
Come on now,
In the middle of the road, yeah.


One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six.


In the middle of the road,
Is my private cul de sac.
I can't get from the cab to the curb,
Without some little jerk on my back,
Don't harass me kid,
Can't you tell I'm going home, I'm tired as hell,
I'm not the cat I used to be,
I've got a kid, I'm thirty-three baby.
Get in the road.
Come on now,
In the middle of the road.

[Neil Lisst]

6. And I'll throw in something from way back when

But what retrospective would be complete without reference to this soul group's social commentary of nearly 40 years ago, Mo Town's finest:

1, 2... 1, 2, 3, 4, Ow!

Eddie:
People moving out, people moving in.
Why? because of the color of their skin.
Run, run, run but you sure can't hide.

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
Vote for me and I'll set you free.
Rap on, brother, rap on.

Dennis:
Well, the only person talking about love thy brother is the...(preacher.)
And it seems nobody's interested in learning but the...(teacher.)
Segregation, determination, demonstration, intergration,
Aggravation, humiliation, obligation to our nation.

Ball of confusion.
Oh yeah, that's what the world is today.
Woo, hey, hey.

Paul:
The sale of pills are at an all time high.
Young folks walking round with their heads in the sky.
The cities ablaze in the summer time.

And oh, the beat goes on.

Dennis:
Evolution, revolution, gun control, sound of soul.
Shooting rockets to the moon, kids growing up too soon.
Politicians say more taxes will solve everything.

Melvin:
And the band played on.

So, round and around and around we go.
Where the world's headed, nobody knows.



Oh, great googalooga, can't you hear me talking to you.
Just a ball of confusion.
Oh yeah, that's what the world is today.
Woo, hey, hey.

Eddie:
Fear in the air, tension everywhere.
Unemployment rising fast, the Beatles new record's a gas.

Dennis:
And the only safe place to live is on an indian reservation.

Melvin:
And the band played on.

Eve of destruction, tax deduction, city inspectors, bill collectors,
Mod clothes in demand, population out of hand, suicide, too many bills,
Hippies moving to the hills. People all over the world are shouting, 'End the war.'

Melvin:
And the band played on.



Great googalooga, can't you hear me talking to you.
Sayin'... ball of confusion.
That's what the world is today, hey, hey.

Let me hear ya, let me hear ya, let me hear ya.
Sayin'... ball of confusion.
That's what the world is today, hey, hey.
Let me hear ya, let me hear ya, let me hear ya, let me hear ya, let me hear ya.
Sayin'... ball of confusion.

[cureautismnow]

7. Better Things - The Optimist's Anthem

The Kinks are one of my all-time favorite bands. I saw them play live in '85. I wished I could have seen their set in the '60s. Ray Davies was/is a prolific songwriter. He wrote "Better Things" circa '81. It's the perfect anthem for an eternally idealistic optimist.

Better Things

Here’s wishing you the bluest sky,
And hoping something better comes tomorrow.
Hoping all the verses rhyme,
And the very best of choruses to
Follow all the doubt and sadness.
I know that better things are on the way.

Here’s hoping all the days ahead
Won’t be as bitter as the ones behind you.
Be an optimist instead,
And somehow happiness will find you.
Forget what happened yesterday,
I know that better things are on the way.

It’s really good to see you rocking out
And having fun,
Living like you just begun.
Accept your life and what it brings.
I hope tomorrow you’ll find better things.
I know tomorrow you’ll find better things.

Here’s wishing you the bluest sky,
And hoping something better comes tomorrow.
Hoping all the verses rhyme,
And the very best of choruses to
Follow all the drudge and sadness.
I know that better things are on the way.

I know you’ve got a lot of good things happening up ahead.
The past is gone it’s all been said.
So here’s to what the future brings,
I know tomorrow you’ll find better things.
I know tomorrow you’ll find better things.

:D

[Neil Lisst]

8. how about paranoia for a timely Kinks song?

[cureautismnow]

10. True, and don't forget the most prophetic Kinks song...

...as it refers to the current occupant of the WH!

Apeman

I think I’m sophisticated
’cos I’m living my life like a good homosapien
But all around me everybody’s multiplying
Till 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
I’m an ape man I’m a king kong man I’m ape ape man
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 has created the cities 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, I’m an ape ape man, I’m an ape man
I’m a king kong man, I’m a voo-doo man
I’m an ape man
I look out my window, but I can’t see the sky
’cos the air pollution is fogging up my eyes
I want to get out of this city alive
And make like an ape man
Come and love me, be my ape man girl
And we will be so happy in my ape man world
I’m an ape man, I’m an ape ape man, I’m an ape man
I’m a king kong man, I’m a voo-doo man
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
And 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, I’m an ape man
I’m a king kong man, I’m a voo-doo man
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.

[MH1]

11. Love that song, love the album, love the Kinks! k&r

And I know the words to "Young Conservatives" all too well.

[vickitulsa]

9. Yep, Weird and way more! Prescient, among other things...

I remember this song vaguely -- The Kinks were one of the best of a good crop of bands in those good years for bands.

And I remember well the trend that was growing then, the surge in young Republicans clubs and young conservatives groups that sparked this songwriting effort from The Kinks. WHY do I recall it? Because I was seeing the same thing, thinking the same thing, fearing the same thing as The Kinks were pointing to in this song. I was viewing the changes taking hold across the country as the nightmare of Vietnam began to fall behind us -- far enough behind, at least, so that the babies being born, the little ones growing up after that point, wouldn't be able to remember a time of serious war that America was hip-deep in. Wouldn't be able to imagine what it was like when citizens in the good ole U.S. of A. were angry enough to take to the streets in HUGE numbers to protest that "bloody little war in Viet-Nam."

Angry and determined enough to protest and march and even hold sit-ins to shut down businesses and university buildings -- especially ROTC offices. And some of the angriest ones even resorted to dangerous and illegal activities, deadly ones on rare occasion, because it was SO important that we find a way to compel our own government to end our war in Southeast Asia. We knew we had to sacrifice, to get out there ourselves, take our own bodies and voices out to protest loudly and long, demanding attention from our government and everyone else across the country and even the world.

We recognized that we must even take big risks ourselves in order to wake up the rest of the country and remind them of our real power as citizens of a democratic republic, remind others that it still remains within our power to STOP an insane "leadership" from using our military as it damn well pleases, right or wrong!

To this day I don't think it was cowardice that caused so many to move to Canada or burn their draft cards right here in American streets -- it was the conscience of thinking people who objected to the insanity that was American involvement in the war in Vietnam. I see a lot of outrage now among the most enlightened of the younger people here on DU; but I'm not sure there is enough desperation and anger yet among the general public and particularly among the younger members of our society, in part because those who cannot remember Vietnam can't remember the protests that finally DID END THAT WAR. In school they don't get to learn enough about the whole period to realize that we citizens DO have the power to end bad policy in our government as we did during Vietnam.

And what other reasons keep the average American from understanding both the danger of the Bush Cabal and our own power to STOP them? I know we all wonder that sometimes here at DU where a lot of sharp and observant people dwell.... Surely there are some powerful good reasons complacency still seems to reign among us!

Well, one of them is what The Kinks were drawing attention to in that song -- the complacency of those "young Republicans" in what was in those days a "brave new world" of greed and selfishness, of capitalist DRIVE to own the world's wealth, not better and improve ourselves! Those who were "young" then GREW UP to be the "old" (or at least middle aged) Republicans NOW -- many of whom can be found in political office, driving this ship of state into the ground at breakneck speed.

But suffice it to say for now (and to shorten this rant) that if we don't see a rekindling of that same spirit that caused regular American citizens to turn activist and DEMAND decent behavior from the politicians who purportedly work for US, I'm afraid we might just end up watching for real the unfolding of the Third World War we were so afraid of back then....

[LiberalArkie]

12. I wish I could express myself like you can. I have to feel something

through the music. I guess that is what caused a lot of the boomers to do some of the things we did. We have a radio station in Little Rock called KKPT that has always played the music of the 70's and 80's. But within the last year of so, I have been catching "Fortunate Son" a lot. I never heard it on the radio last year. Things are changing, just like they did in the 70's and 80's.