Ray Davies is the Best Songwriter. Exhibit F.

Hey Hipsters. Get a load of this. "Give The People What They Want" might be the best Kinks album of them all. Yup, you heard me. Better than "Face to Face" or "Village Green" or "Muswell Hillbillies". Chew on that. This is our sorta-weekly example of why Ray Davies is the greatest songwriter that our planet has ever produced. Lyrics and video below. Enjoy! - Colin G.

Click here for Ray Davies is the best songwriter exhibit D & E

Exhibit F : Give the People What They Want

Hey, hey, hey...
Give the people what they want

Well, it's been said before, the world is a stage
A different performance with every age.
Open the history book to any old page
Bring on the lions and open the cage.

Give the people what they want
You gotta give the people what they want
The more they get, the more they need
And every time they get harder and harder to please

The Roman promoters really did things right.
They needed a show that would clearly excite.
The attendance was sparse so they put on a fight
Threw the Christians to the lions, sold out every night

Give the people what they want
You gotta give the people what they want
The more they get, the more they need
And every time they get harder and harder to please

Give 'em lots of sex, perversion and rape
Give 'em lots of violence, and plenty to hate
Give the people what they want
Give the people what they want

When Oswald shot Kennedy, he was insane
But still we watch the re-runs again and again
We all sit glued while the killer takes aim
"Hey Mom, there goes a piece of the president's brain!"

Give the people what they want
You gotta give the people what they want
Blow out your brains, and do it right
Make sure it's prime time and on a Saturday night.
You gotta give the people what they want

 

Title track from the Kinks album, which was released in August 1981 in the US, but was delayed until January 1982 in Europe. It was delayed because Ray Davies wanted to produce a full length video for the album, but financing fell through. Also scrapped were plans to remix the album for the European market.