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Muswell Hillbilly Lyrics
Well I said goodbye to Rosie Rooke this morning
I'm gonna miss her bloodshot alcoholic eyes
She wore her Sunday hat so she'd impress me
I'm gonna carry her memory 'til the day I die
They'll move me up to Muswell Hill tomorrow
Photographs and souvenirs are all I've got
They're gonna try and make me change my way of living
But they'll never make me something that I'm not
Cos I'm a Muswell Hillbilly boy
but my heart lies in old West Virginia
Never seen New Orleans, Oklahoma, Tennessee
Still I dream of the Black Hills that I ain't never seen
They're putting us in little boxes
No character just uniformity
They're trying to build a computerised community
But they'll never make a zombie out of me
They'll try and make me study elocution
Because they say my accent isn't right
They can clear the slums as part of their solution
But they're never gonna kill my cockney pride
Cos I'm a Muswell Hillbilly boy
But my heart lies in Old West Virginia
Though my hills are not green
I have seen them in my dreams
Take me back to those Black Hills
That I have never seen
I'm gonna miss her bloodshot alcoholic eyes
She wore her Sunday hat so she'd impress me
I'm gonna carry her memory 'til the day I die
Photographs and souvenirs are all I've got
They're gonna try and make me change my way of living
But they'll never make me something that I'm not
but my heart lies in old West Virginia
Never seen New Orleans, Oklahoma, Tennessee
Still I dream of the Black Hills that I ain't never seen
No character just uniformity
They're trying to build a computerised community
But they'll never make a zombie out of me
Because they say my accent isn't right
They can clear the slums as part of their solution
But they're never gonna kill my cockney pride
But my heart lies in Old West Virginia
Though my hills are not green
I have seen them in my dreams
Take me back to those Black Hills
That I have never seen
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"Well I said goodbye to Rosie Rooke this morning" Is most probably Ray referring to saying goodbye to his sister, Rosie, before she moved to Australia. To me, this song is obviously about Ray and Dave growing up in Muswell Hill in London, "But they're never gonna kill my cockney pride" I'm not sure why its 'Hillbilly', maybe it because Muswell Hill wasn't as nice of a place in the '60s as it is today, or maybe it's because of the references to America. I think maybe Ray dreamed of living in America as a boy, "I have seen them in my dreams Take me back to those Black Hills That I have never seen" and he dreamed of what his life would be like there. ("They'll try and make me study elocution Because they say my accent isn't right") And maybe when he spoke about Rosie at the beginning, he dreamed it was him saying goodbye to her, and moving on, not the other way round.
East Ender being moved to North London. Though how/why "they"'d move him and who "they" are I can only guess. Maybe society? Perhaps a statement on acceptability? Obviously conformity. Why the American references?? Anybody?
I can't believe the lack of comments for the kinks. It makes me sad. And a little angry.
For the American references, see: http://www.allmusic.com/album/muswell-hillbillies-mw0000202891 The Kinks are only for people who can understand them (a little)!
For the American references, see: http://www.allmusic.com/album/muswell-hillbillies-mw0000202891 The Kinks are only for people who can understand them (a little)!
The majority of the album is about urban renual. How the government (the people in grey) forced them out of their old neighborhoods with there family history and friends and moved them to the soulless suburbs "there putting us into identical little boxes, no character just uniformity". He was referencing the Beverly Hillbillys because of that same fish out of water feel of there family in this new 'suburb'. He imagined living in the parts of America that he referenced because he felt there he would be free to do what he wanted without this type of Government intrusion. The Song "Here Come The People In Grey" explains what its all about.
'I got a letter this morning with some serious news thats going to ruin my day. The borough surveyor's used compulsory purchase to aquire my domain.... There gonna take me away to Lord knows only where....'
Much of the albumn follows this theme. Awsome albumn!!