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Plastic Man Lyrics
A man lives at the corner of the street
And his neighbors think he’s helpful and he’s sweet
Cause he never swears and he always shakes you by the hand
But no one knows he really is a plastic man
He’s got plastic heart, plastic teeth and toes
(Yeah, he’s plastic man)
He’s got plastic knees and a perfect plastic nose
(Yeah, he’s plastic man)
He’s got plastic lips that hide his plastic teeth and gums
And plastic legs that reach up to his plastic bum
(Plastic bum)
Plastic man got no brain
Plastic man don’t feel no pain
Plastic people look the same
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Kick his shin or tread on his face
Pull his nose all over the place
He can’t disfigure, or disgrace
Plastic man (plastic man)
He’s got plastic flowers growing up the walls
He eats plastic food with a plastic knife and fork
He likes plastic cups and saucers ’cause they never break
And he likes to lick his gravy off a plastic plate
Plastic man got no brain
Plastic man don’t feel no pain
Plastic people look the same
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Kick his shin or tread on his face
Pull his nose all over the place
He can’t disfigure, or disgrace
Plastic man (plastic man)
He’s got a plastic wife who wears a plastic mac
(Yeah, he’s plastic man)
And his children want to be plastic like their dad
(Yeah, he’s plastic man)
He’s got a phony smile that makes you think he understands
But no one ever gets the truth from plastic man (plastic man)
Plastic man (plastic man)
And his neighbors think he’s helpful and he’s sweet
Cause he never swears and he always shakes you by the hand
But no one knows he really is a plastic man
(Yeah, he’s plastic man)
He’s got plastic knees and a perfect plastic nose
(Yeah, he’s plastic man)
He’s got plastic lips that hide his plastic teeth and gums
And plastic legs that reach up to his plastic bum
(Plastic bum)
Plastic man don’t feel no pain
Plastic people look the same
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Pull his nose all over the place
He can’t disfigure, or disgrace
Plastic man (plastic man)
He eats plastic food with a plastic knife and fork
He likes plastic cups and saucers ’cause they never break
And he likes to lick his gravy off a plastic plate
Plastic man don’t feel no pain
Plastic people look the same
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Pull his nose all over the place
He can’t disfigure, or disgrace
Plastic man (plastic man)
(Yeah, he’s plastic man)
And his children want to be plastic like their dad
(Yeah, he’s plastic man)
He’s got a phony smile that makes you think he understands
But no one ever gets the truth from plastic man (plastic man)
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Love this song... great beat and vibe.
Absolutely fanastic commentary on how fake people really are. how on the surface they seem so genuine but they are really phony, "plastic" people that you really never know for sure. Nothing is really what you see, is it?
This song is great, it always gets me dancing when I'm driving to work in the morning. I never really thought about the meaning I just liked the song, but yeah you'r right Lolabat.
It's funny that now this song has a literal meaning with plastic surgery being so popular. People are actually plastic.
Kinks songs are so timeless because, even though they were written in the '60s, I find myself thinking about the same things now.
Why was the song banned by the BBC on its first release, is it to do with homoerotic undertones that the Kinks were famous with including in their songs? I always thought it was about the gay stereotype because of 'plastic people look the same'.
@Phantas It was apparently because the BBC objected to the use of the word “bum”, meaning “bottom” in the lyric.
@Phantas It was apparently because the BBC objected to the use of the word “bum”, meaning “bottom” in the lyric.
Around the time the song was being written, plastics were becoming more and more popular as cheap substitutes for all kinds of traditional products. Plastic was the new faux material, like pleather and most of the things Wal Mart, K-Mart and other big box stores sell. Cheap junk. Plastic people don't think they just follow the lead of others and buy stupid junk because they feel like they have to not because they really need it. Davies is making fun of people like that, perhaps in an attempt to get people to wake up and change their habits. Doesn't seem to have worked... There are more of these bozos around today than in the 60s it seems.
this song really makes me realise how fake people are, ' he cant disfigure or disgrace' they are so thickskinned and narrow minded they wont ever change thier views or opinions. But this is a great song, and really lively.
this song really makes me realise how fake people are, ' he cant disfigure or disgrace' they are so thickskinned and narrow minded they wont ever change thier views or opinions. But this is a great song, and really lively.
'Plastic Man' was - when the song was wrote - a trendy description of an 'artificial and often inferior' person. I think the song is about a man who is physically plastic, - He’s got plastic heart, plastic teeth and toes He’s got plastic knees and a perfect plastic nose He’s got plastic lips that hide his plastic teeth and gums And plastic legs that reach up to his plastic bum -
but also has a plastic personality. - He’s got a phony smile that makes you think he understands But no one ever gets the truth from plastic man.
This song has not dated at all... in this day of mobile phones and texting, ipods and downloading, second life and... well second lives... it seems to be a very current social commentary.