The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society

We are the Village Green Preservation Society
God save Donald Duck, Vaudeville and Variety
We are the Desperate Dan Appreciation Society
God save strawberry jam and all the different varieties

Preserving the old ways from being abused
Protecting the new ways for me and for you
What more can we do

We are the Draught Beer Preservation Society
God save Mrs. Mopp and good Old Mother Riley
We are the Custard Pie Appreciation Consortium
God save the George Cross and all those who were awarded them

We are the Sherlock Holmes English Speaking Vernacular
Help save Fu Manchu, Moriarty and Dracula
We are the Office Block Persecution Affinity
God save little shops, china cups and virginity
We are the Skyscraper condemnation Affiliate
God save tudor houses, antique tables and billiards

Preserving the old ways from being abused
Protecting the new ways for me and for you
What more can we do

We are the Village Green Preservation Society
God save Donald Duck, Vaudeville and Variety
God save the Village Green.

Do You Remember Walter?

Walter, remember when the world was young
And all the girls knew Walter's name?
Walter, isn't it a shame the way our little world has changed?
Do you remember, Walter, playing cricket in the thunder and the rain?
Do you remember, Walter, smoking cigarettes behind your garden gate?
Yes, Walter was my mate,
But Walter, my old friend, where are you now?

Walter's name.
Walter, isn't it a shame the way our little world has changed?
Do you remember, Walter, how we said we'd fight the world so we'd be free.
We'd save up all our money and we'd buy a boat and sail away to sea.
But it was not to be.
I knew you then but do I know you now?

Walter, you are just an echo of a world I knew so long ago
If you saw me now you wouldn't even know my name.
I bet you're fat and married and you're always home in bed by half-past eight.
And if I talked about the old times you'd get bored and you'll have nothing more to say.
Yes people often change, but memories of people can remain.

Picture Book

Picture yourself when you're getting old,
Sat by the fireside a-pondering on[?].
Picture book, pictures of your mama, taken by your papa a long time ago.
Picture book, of people with each other, to prove they love each other a long ago.
Na, na, na, na, na na.
Na, na, na, na, na na.
Picture book.
Picture book.

A picture of you in your birthday suit,
You sat in the sun on a hot afternoon.
Picture book, your mama and your papa, and fat old Uncle Charlie out cruising with their friends.
Picture book, a holiday in August, outside a bed and breakfast in sunny Southend.
Picture book, when you were just a baby, those days when you were happy, a long time ago.
Na, na, na, na, na na.
Na, na, na, na, na na.
Picture book.
Picture book.
Picture book.
Picture book.

Picture book,
Na, na, na, na na,
Na, na, na, na na,
A-scooby-dooby-doo.
Picture book,
Na, na, na, na na,
Na, na, na, na na,
A-scooby-dooby-doo.

Picture book, pictures of your mama, taken by your papa a long time ago.
Long time ago,
Long time ago,
Long time ago,
Long time ago,
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Johnny Thunder

Johnny Thunder lives on water, feeds on lightning.
Johnny Thunder don't need no one, don't want money.
And all the people of the town,
They can't get through to Johnny, they will never, ever break him down.
Johnny Thunder speaks for no one, goes on fighting.
And sweet Helena in bed[?] prays for Johnny.

Ba ba-ba ba ba-ba ba,
Ba ba-ba ba ba-ba ba,
Thunder and lightning.
Ba ba-ba ba ba-ba ba,
Ba ba-ba ba ba-ba ba,
Thunder and lightning.

Though everybody tried their best,
Old Johnny vowed that he would never, ever end up like the rest.
Johnny Thunder rides the highway, moves like lightning.
But sweet Helena just says, "God bless Johnny."

Ba ba-ba ba ba-ba ba,
Ba ba-ba ba ba-ba ba,
Thunder and lightning.
Ba ba-ba ba ba-ba ba,
Ba ba-ba ba ba-ba ba,
Thunder and lightning.

Last of the Steam-Powered Trains

Like the last of the good ol' puffer trains,
I'm the last of the blood and sweat brigade,
And I don't know where I'm going, or why I came.
I'm the last of the good old fashioned steam-powered trains.

I'm the last of the good old renegades.
All my friends are all middle class and grey,
But I live in a museum, so I'm okay.
I'm the last of the good old fashioned steam-powered trains.

Like the last of the good ol' choo-choo trains,
Huff and puff 'till I blow this world away,
And I'm gonna keep on rollin' till my dying day.
I'm the last of the good old fashioned steam-powered trains.

Like the last of the good ol' puffer trains,
I'm the last of the soot and scum[?] brigade,
And all this peaceful living is drivin' me insane.
I'm the last of the good old fashioned steam-powered trains.
I'm the last of the good old fashioned steam-powered trains.

Big Sky

Big Sky looked down on all the people looking up at the Big Sky.
Everybody pushing one another around
Big Sky feels sad when he sees the children scream and cry
But the Big Sky's too big to let it get him down.

Big Sky too big to cry
Big Sky too high to see
People like you and me

One day we'll be free, we won't care, just you see
'Til that day can be, don't let it get you down
When I feel that the world is too much for me
I think of the Big Sky, and nothing matters much to me.

Big Sky looked down on all the people who think they got problems
They get depressed and they hold their head in their hands and cry.
People lift up their hands and they look up to the Big Sky
But Big Sky is too big to sympathize

Big Sky's too occupied
Though he would like to try
And he feels bad inside
Big Sky's too big to cry

One day we'll be free, we won't care, just you wait and see
'Til that day can be, don't let it get you down.
When I feel that the world is too much for me
I think of the Big Sky, and nothing matters much to me.

Sitting By The Riverside

Just sitting down by the riverside,
Spreading my arms to the open wide.
Now I am free and the world's at my feet.
I can close my eyes.

Oh Love, keep me warm, keep me satisfied.
Please keep me calm, keep me pacified.
Now I'm content and my life is complete.
I can close my eyes.

Sitting by the riverside with you.

I love sitting down by the riverside,
Watching the water go flowing by.
Oh, golly gee, it is heaven to be
Like a willow tree.

Spend my time just drinking wine while looking at the view.

Animal Farm

This world is big and wild and half insane
Take me where real animals are playing
Just a dirty old shack
Where the hound dogs bark
That we called our home
I want to be back there
Among the cats and dogs
And the pigs and the goats
On Animal Farm
My animal home
On Animal Farm
My animal home

While I lay my head upon my pillow
Little girl, come play beneath my window
Though she's far from home
She is free from harm
And she need not fear
She is by my side
And the sky is wide
So let the sun shine bright
On Animal Farm
My animal home
On Animal Farm
My animal home

Girl, It's a hard, hard world, if it gets you down
Dreams often fade and die in a bad, bad world
I'll take you where real animals are playing
And people are real people not just playing
It's a quiet, quiet life
By a dirty old shack
That we called our home
I want to be back there
Among the cats and dogs
And the pigs and the goats
On Animal Farm
My animal home
On Animal Farm
My animal home
On Animal Farm
Animal Farm

Village Green

Out in the country,
Far from all the soot and noise of the city,
There's a village green.
It's been a long time
Since I last set eyes on the church with the steeple
Down by the village green.
'Twas there I met a girl called Daisy
And kissed her by the old oak tree.
Although I loved my Daisy, I saw fame,
And so I left the village green.

I miss the village green,
And all the simple people.
I miss the village green,
The church, the clock, the steeple.
I miss the morning dew, fresh air and Sunday school.

And now all the houses
Are rare antiquities.
American tourists flock to see the village green.
They snap their photographs and say "Gawd darn it,
Isn't it a pretty scene?"
And Daisy's married Tom the grocer boy,
And now he owns a grocery.

I miss the village green,
And all the simple people.
I miss the village green,
The church, the clock, the steeple.
I miss the morning dew, fresh air and Sunday school.

And I will return there,
And I'll and Daisy,
And we'll sip tea, laugh,
And talk about the village green.
We will laugh and talk about the village green.

Starstruck

Baby, you don't know what you're saying,
Because you're a victim of bright city lights,
And your mind is not right.
You think the world's at your feet.

'Cause you're starstruck, baby, starstruck.
Taken in by the lights,
Think you'll never look back,
You know you're starstruck on me.

Baby, you're running around like you're crazy.
You go to a party and dance through the night,
And you'll drink 'till you're tight,
And then you're out on your feet.

'Cause you're starstruck, baby, starstruck.
Taken in by the lights,
Think you'll never look back,
You know you're starstruck on me.

Baby, watch out or else you'll be ruined,
'Cause once you're addicted to wine and champagne,
It's gonna drive you insane,
Because the world's not so tame.

And you're starstruck, baby, starstruck.
You're taken in by the lights,
Think you'll never look back,
You know you're starstruck on me.
Don't you know that you are,
Starstruck on me.
And you always will be,
Starstruck on me.
Starstruck on me.

Phenomenal Cat

A long, long time ago,
In the land of idiot boys,
There live a cat, a phenomenal cat,
Who loved to wallow all day.

No one bothered him
As he sat, content in his tree.
He just lived to eat 'cause it kept him fat,
And that's how he wanted to stay.

Though he was big and fat,
All the world was good to him,
And he pointed out on the map
All the places he had been.
Cathage, India, Kathmandu,
The Scilley Isles and Sahara, too

Fum, fum, diddle-um di
La la la la, la-la la la
La la la la, la-la la la la
La la la la-la la la

Once when he was thin
He had flown to old Hong Kong,
And had learned the secret of life,
And the sea and the sky beyond.
So he gave up his diet and sat in a tree,
And ate himself through eternity.

Fum, fum, diddle-um di
La la la la la-la la la
La la la la, la-la la la la
La la la la-la la la
Fum, fum, diddle-um di
Fum, fum, diddle-um di

Wicked Annabella

In a dark and misty house,
Where no Christian man has been,
Wicked Annabella mixes a brew
That no one's ever seen.

Relatives have passed her by,
Too scared to even say hello.
She's in perpetual midnight,
She shuts out the day,
And goes about her sinful ways.

I, I've seen her hair, I've seen her face,
Look towards mine.
I, I've felt her eyes burning my sole,
Twisting my mind.

Little children who are good
Should always go to sleep at night,
'Cause Wicked Annabella is up in the sky
Hopin' they will open their eyes.

Don't go into woods tonight,
'Cause underneath the sticks and stones
Are lots of little demons enslaved by Annabella
Waiting just to carry you home

Monica

Under a lamp light
Monica stands at midnight,
And every guy think he can buy her love,
But money can't buy sweet lovin' from Monica.

Morning to moonshine,
Monica knows every line.
Don't ever propose 'cause Monica knows, you know.
She'll turn up her nose and say what a fool you are.

I, I shall die,
I, I shall die if I should lose Monica.
(Oh Monica my love.)
People can try,
People can try, but they can't buy Monica, my love.

You take the sunshine,
I'll take the nightly shadows.
'Cause everyone knows that Monica glows at night.
She'll do something wrong and prove to you she is right.

I, I shall die,
I, I shall die if I should lose Monica.
(Oh Monica my love.)
People may try,
People may try, but they can't buy Monica, my love.

Morning to moonshine,
Monica knows every line.
Don't ever propose 'cause Monica knows, you know.
She'll turn up her nose and say what a fool you are.
Monica.

People Take Pictures Of Each Other

People take pictures of the Summer,
Just in case someone thought they had missed it,
And to proved that it really existed.
Fathers take pictures of the mothers,
And the sisters take pictures of brothers,
Just to show that they love one another.

You can't picture love that you took from me,
When we were young and the world was free.
Pictures of things as they used to be,
Don't show me no more, please.

People take pictures of each other,
Just to prove that they really existed,
Just to prove that they really existed.
People take pictures of each other,
And the moment to last them for ever,
Of the time when they mattered to someone.

People take pictures of the Summer,
Just in case someone thought they had missed it,
Just to proved that it really existed.
People take pictures of each other,
And the moment to last them for ever,
Of the time when they mattered to someone.
Picture of me when I was just three,
Sucking my thumb by the old oak tree.
Oh how I love things as they used to be,
Don't show me no more, please.