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Shangri-La

The Kinks released “Shangri-La” on their album Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) from 1969.

Josh Clayton-Felt put this song on a mix tape he gave me for my birthday in 1993.

I played this version of the song solo at a house concert in 1999 around the same time as the WTO protests.

Lyrics

SHANGRI-LA

Now that you’ve found your paradise
This is your kingdom to command
You can go outside and polish your car
Or sit by the fire in your Shangri-la
Here’s your reward for working so hard
Gone on the lavatories in the back yard
Gone all the days when you dreamed of that car
You just want to sit in your shangri-la
Put on your slippers and sit by the fire
You’ve reached your top and you just can’t get any higher
You’re in your place and you know where you are
In your Shangri-la
Sit back in your old rocking chair
You need not worry, you need not care
You can’t go anywhere
Shangri-la
Shangri-la
Shangri-la
The little man who gets the train
Has got a mortgage hanging over his head
But he’s too scared to complain
‘Cause he’s conditioned that way
Time goes by and he pays off his debts
Got a T.V set and a radio
For seven Shillings a week
Shangri-la
Shangri-la
Shangri-la
Shangri-la
Shangri-la
Shangri-la
All the houses on the street have got a name
‘Cause all the houses in the street they look the same
Same chimney pots, same little cars, same window panes
The neighbors call to tell you things that you should know
They say their lines, they drink their tea, and then they go
They tell your business in another Shangri-la
The gas bills and the water rates, and payments on the car
Too scared to think about how insecure you are
Life ain’t so happy in your little Shangri-la
Shangri-la
Shangri-la la la la la la la la la
Put on your slippers and sit by the fire
You’ve reached your top and you just can’t get any higher
You’re in your place and you know where you are
In your Shangri-la
Sit back in your old rocking chair
You need not worry, you need not care
You can’t go anywhere
Shangri-la
Shangri-la
Shangri-la
Shangri-la
Shangri-la
Shangri-la

Credits

Written by Raymond Douglas Davies
Performed live by Andras Jones
Seattle 1999

Purchase

$1.50