Ray Davies is the Best Songwriter Ever. Exhibit B - Thanksgiving Day

Sure, Ray and The Kinks recorded arguably the greatest Christmas song ever but is that enough for Ray? Surely not. He just had to go ahead and write a Thanksgiving song. Who does that? Nobody except Ray Davies. Happy Thanksgiving!  Lyrics and video below

                          Click here view Ray Davies is the best songwriter Exhibit A

                               

                               Thanksgiving Day by Ray Davies

Are you going on Thanksgiving Day
To those family celebrations?
Passing on knowledge down through the years
At the gathering of generations

Every year it's the same routine
All over, all over
Come on over, it's Thanksgiving Day

Papa looks over at the small gathering
Remembering days gone by
Smiles at the children as he watches them play
And wishes his wife was still by his side

She would always cook dinner on Thanksgiving Day
It's all over, it's all over
It's all over the American way
But sometimes the children are so far away

And in a dark apartment on the wrong side of town
A lonely spinster prays
For a handsome lover and a passionate embrace
And kisses all over, all over
All over her American face

It's all over, it's all over, it's all over

'Cause today she feels so far away
From the friends in her hometown
So she runs for the Greyhound
She'll spend hours on the bus but she'll reach town
For Thanksgiving Day

Come on over, come on over
Come on over, it's Thanksgiving Day
Come on over, come on over
Come on over, come on over
Come on over, it's Thanksgiving Day

At a truck stop a man sits alone at the bar
Estranged in isolation
It's been a while now and he seems so far
From those distant celebrations

He thinks back to all the mistakes that he made
To a time when he was so young and green
Innocent days when they both looked forward to that
Great American dream

Now it's all over, it's all over, all over
And all over America people are going home
On Thanksgiving Day

Now Papa looks out of the window
The sight brings a smile to his face
He sees all his children coming back home
Together on this special day

Come on over, come on over
Come on over, it's Thanksgiving Day

2005, promoting his EP 'Thanksgiving Day' and LP 'Other People's Lives'

Ray Davies is the Best Songwriter Exhibit K - Colin G.

Click here for previous Ray Davies is the best story 

Life After Breakfast - Ray Davies

It's been a while since we checked in with our sporadic Sunday morning Ray Davies series, so let's jump back in with "Is There Life After Breakfast?" from Ray's first solo record, Other People's Lives.

In my opinion, one of the factors that sets the great songwriters apart is being able to write songs that can make you laugh out loud. Writing ballads is easy.  In fact, it is so easy that in the history of rock and roll, only three bands have never written a decent "sad song." The first two are The Hives and AC/DC, who have avoided ballads by design. The third band is the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, who have somehow managed to avoid writing good songs in any tempo, mood or genre. Other than that, chances are that even the bar band around the corner can break out a decent tear- jerker written by their bass player sometime after his second divorce.

But to be funny, that is the next level. Or "The Chuck Berry Level" as those in the business call it. Reasonable people can disagree on whether Ray Davies is truly the best songwriter ever (he is) but I would suggest he is truly the funniest songwriter ever. Unless Weird Al counts.

I might be biased towards the song Life After Breakfast because I own a coffee shop and it has been my observation that as humans near the age of 70, meals become the primary source of pleasure. In fact, we become so excited for meal time, we just can't wait and start rushing everything. Breakfast is at 6:30 am, lunch at 11:15 am and dinner at 4:30 pm. After that I suppose it's just FOX News until bed with a bowl of ice cream around 8 pm. In the words of Mick 'n' Keith: what a drag it is getting old.

Song and lyrics below.

Uploaded by Giokebox on 2013-12-18.

Lift yourself out of the doldrums
Make yourself a cuppa tea
Drag your emotions out of the gutter
Don't wallow in self pity

When you wake up, all of a fluster
Thinking life has passed you by
Give yourself a kick up the backside
Jump out of bed and punch the sky

Is there life after breakfast
Full of possibilities
Is there life after breakfast?
Yes there is, after breakfast
So don't live in agony
Is there life after breakfast?
Yes there is, after breakfast

Cheer up son, put on the kettle
There's no point in being glum
Make your mind up, try to forget her
Boil the tea and I'll be mum

Is there life after breakfast?
Yes there is, after breakfast
So don't live in agony
Is there life after breakfast?
Yes there is, after breakfast

After breakfast
Life after breakfast
After breakfast

Just because all of the plumbing
Isn't all it used to be
Turn the tap, see, a little bit's coming
That must make you feel relieved

Don't turn into a total embarrassment
To your friends and family
Get out of bed, the whole day's ahead
So take the pills and drink your tea

Is there life after breakfast
Full of possibilities
Is there life after breakfast?
Yes there is, after breakfast
So don't be so depressive
Is there life after breakfast?
Yes there is, after breakfast



Read more: Ray Davies - Is There Life After Breakfast? Lyrics | MetroLyrics 

 

 

 

Ray Davies is the Best Songwriter: Exhibit J

Click here for previous Ray Davies is the best..  

Ray Davies is the Best Songwriter: "Days"

A couple of winter's back, I was lucky enough to spend a pleasant day walking around Sarasota, FLA doing nothing but soaking up the warmth and listening to random tunes on my Ipod. I was standing on the John Ringling bridge staring at the water when "Days" by The Kinks suddenly came on. Now, by this point in my life I had probably listened to this song over a hundred times but at that moment I was struck by its power and blurted out to a couple of seagulls standing on the rail near me, "That might be the most beautiful song ever written. If something happens to me, tell somebody to play that at my wake. And all of Dream Police, with the bonus live tracks. "

But seriously, you can play this when I go.

Uploaded by Kassandra Rackham on 2009-12-06.

(a little Ricki C. interjection here: Since there are precious few Kinks Kovers floating around in rock & roll land - and even fewer successful ones - I wanted to throw in this version of "Days" by Flo & Eddie.  Flo & Eddie were Mark Volman & Howard Kaylan, first of The Turtles in the 1960's, later the front-men of the early 70's version of Frank Zappa's Mothers Of Invention.  I can't really say Flo & Eddie ever made a great album - they were singles guys - but this Bob Ezrin-produced track is "super-pop" of the highest order, as is their cover of The Small Faces "Afterglow."  Check 'em out.)

"Days"

Thank you for the days,
Those endless days, those sacred days you gave me.
I'm thinking of the days,
I won't forget a single day, believe me.

I bless the light,
I bless the light that lights on you believe me.
And though you're gone,
You're with me every single day, believe me.

Days I'll remember all my life,
Days when you can't see wrong from right.
You took my life,
But then I knew that very soon you'd leave me,
But it's all right,
Now I'm not frightened of this world, believe me.

I wish today could be tomorrow,
The night is dark,
It just brings sorrow anyway.

Thank you for the days,
Those endless days, those sacred days you gave me.
I'm thinking of the days,
I won't forget a single day, believe me.

Days I'll remember all my life,
Days when you can't see wrong from right.
You took my life,
But then I knew that very soon you'd leave me,
But it's all right,
Now I'm not frightened of this world, believe me.
Days.

Thank you for the days,
Those endless days, those sacred days you gave me.
I'm thinking of the days,
I won't forget a single day, believe me.

- Ray Davies, 1968

 

 

 

Ray Davies is the Best Songwriter Exhibit C (Father Christmas)

It's Christmas Eve, take one huge guess which song we shall be featuring today?  There have been many great Christmas songs, but in all seriousness, I think reasonable people can agree "Father Christmas" is right near the top of the list.  We can also all probably agree that "Still Love Christmas" by me is near the top as well. (Ha.) Happy Holidays from all of us at Pencilstorm. Thanks for reading! Lyrics and video below.

To read Ray Davies is the greatest songwriter exhibit B click here 

 

 

 "Father Christmas" Songwriter: Ray Davies

When I was small I believed in santa claus
Though I knew it was my dad
And I would hang up my stocking at christmas
Open my presents and I'd be glad

But the last time I played father christmas
I stood outside a department store
A gang of kids came over and mugged me
And knocked my reindeer to the floor

Father christmas, give us some money
Don't mess around with those silly toys.
Well beat you up if you don't hand it over
We want your bread so don't make us annoyed
Give all the toys to the little rich boys

Don't give my brother a steve austin outfit
Don't give my sister a cuddly toy
We don't want a jigsaw or monopoly money
We only want the real mccoy

Father christmas, give us some money
Well beat you up if you make us annoyed
Father christmas, give us some money
Don't mess around with those silly toys

But give my daddy a job cause he needs one
Hes got lots of mouths to feed
But if youve got one, I'll have a machine gun
So I can scare all the kids down the street

Have yourself a merry merry christmas
Have yourself a good time
But remember the kids who got nothin
While you're drinkin down your wine
 

The Kinks (Ray Davies) on German TV in 1977 "father Christmas"....Father Christmas, give us some money Don't mess around with those silly toys.

The title song to Colin Gawel and the Lonely Bones' December 2010 release. We shot the video at the "Still Love Christmas" release party at Rumba Cafe in Columbus, OH. COLINGAWEL.com