Kinks
The Kinks are one of my favorite bands from the 60’s. Ray Davies’ songs are topical, thought-provoking, and even controversial. Some of my favorites include: “You Really Got Me”, “Stop Sobbing”, “Sunny Afternoon”, “Waterloo Sunset”, and of course, “Celluloid Heroes”. I could go on…
One Ray Davies song in particular hits home with me-“I’m Not Like Everybody Else“:
I’m Not Like Everybody Else © 1966 Ray Davies
I won’t take all that they hand me down
Make out a smile, though I wear a frown
And I’m not gonna take it all lying down
Cause once I get started, I go to town
Cause I’m not like everybody else
I’m not like everybody else
I’m not like everybody else
I’m not like everybody else
And I don’t want to ball about like everybody else
And I don’t want to live my life like everybody else
And I won’t say that I feel fine like everybody else
Cause I’m not like everybody else
I’m not like everybody else
But darling, you know that I love you true
Do anything that you want me to
Confess all my sins like you want me to
There’s one thing that I will say to you
I’m not like everybody else
I’m not like everybody else
I’m not like everybody else
I’m not like everybody else
If you all want me to settle down
Then slow up and stop all my running ’round
Do everything like you want me to
There’s one thing that I will say to you
I’m not like everybody else
I’m not like everybody else
I’m not like everybody else
I’m not like everybody else
And I don’t want to ball about like everybody else
And I don’t want to live my life like everybody else
And I don’t want to stay fine like everybody else
Cause I’m not like everybody else
I’m not like everybody else
So, What Do I Do?
So, what do I do? Well, let’s see… I write lyrics and music. I play guitar and sing. I engineer and produce the music and edit the videos added to it.
While I’m not the best guitarist, singer, etc., I’m not like everybody else. I have no interest in “show biz”. There’s no point in the redundant, endless life on the road, chasing instant-gratification highs with mind-numbing social schedules. I don’t want to be shoe-horned into a specific genre where I’ll languish hoping for some crumbs. Nope.
I’m not like everybody else. I approach each composition in a different way. That helps keep it fresh for me. After hundreds of thousands of hours spent locked away recording, I know how best to exploit both my strengths and weaknesses. I also want to keep learning. I work on scores sometimes, or improvise, or whatever seems right at the time. Above all, I want to actually say something.
What I do is communicate, not needing permission or approval. Listen, or not. I don’t care anymore.
© 2019 J. Mark Witters Skyypilot.com