A Well Respected Man

Album: Kinkdom (1965)
Charted: 13
Play Video
  • 'Cause he gets up in the morning
    And he goes to work at nine
    And he comes back home at five-thirty
    Gets the same train every time
    'Cause his world is built 'round punctuality
    It never fails

    And he's oh, so good
    And he's oh, so fine
    And he's oh, so healthy
    In his body and his mind
    He's a well respected man about town
    Doing the best things so conservatively

    And his mother goes to meetings
    While his father pulls the maid
    And she stirs the tea with councilors
    While discussing foreign trade
    And she passes looks, as well as bills
    At every suave young man

    'Cause he's oh, so good
    And he's oh, so fine
    And he's oh, so healthy
    In his body and his mind
    He's a well respected man about town
    Doing the best things so conservatively

    And he likes his own backyard
    And he likes his fags the best
    'Cause he's better than the rest
    And his own sweat smells the best
    And he hopes to grab his father's loot
    When pater passes on

    'Cause he's oh, so good
    And he's oh, so fine
    And he's oh, so healthy
    In his body and his mind
    He's a well respected man about town
    Doing the best things so conservatively

    And he plays the stocks and shares
    And he goes to the regatta
    He adores the girl next door
    'Cause he's dying to get at her
    But his mother knows the best about
    The matrimonial stakes

    'Cause he's oh, so good
    And he's oh, so fine
    And he's oh, so healthy
    In his body and his mind
    He's a well respected man about town
    Doing the best things so conservatively Writer/s: Ray Davies
    Publisher: BROADWAY MUSIC CORPORATION, Kassner Associated Publishers Ltd
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 2

  • Marty from Cleveland, OhOne small quibble about the published lyrics. I think the line is, "And his arm sweat smells the best."

    This is one of my favorite A+ songs.
  • Jim Castro from Rowland Heights. CaLove that banjo intro - marvelous - The Kinks awesome protest song about the rich - the conservative - My fav from them.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

The Untold Story Of Fiona Apple's Extraordinary Machine

The Untold Story Of Fiona Apple's Extraordinary MachineSong Writing

Fiona's highly-anticipated third album almost didn't make it. Here's how it finally came together after two years and a leak.

Brian Kehew: The Man Behind The Remasters

Brian Kehew: The Man Behind The RemastersSong Writing

Brian has unearthed outtakes by Fleetwood Mac, Aretha Franklin, Elvis Costello and hundreds of other artists for reissues. Here's how he does it.

Glen Phillips of Toad the Wet Sprocket

Glen Phillips of Toad the Wet SprocketSongwriter Interviews

The "All I Want" singer went through a long depression, playing some shows when he didn't want to be alive.

Marvin Gaye

Marvin GayeFact or Fiction

Did Marvin try out with the Detroit Lions? Did he fake crazy to get out of military service? And what about the cross-dressing?

Steve Morse of Deep Purple

Steve Morse of Deep PurpleSongwriter Interviews

Deep Purple's guitarist since 1994, Steve talks about writing songs with the band and how he puts his own spin on "Smoke On The Water."

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: '80s Edition

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: '80s EditionMusic Quiz

You know the scenes - Tom Cruise in his own pants-off dance off, Molly Ringwald celebrating her birthday - but do you remember what song is playing?