The Road
The Kinks

Sitting alone on my hotel
Looking in the mirror wondering, well,
After all this time you never thought you'd still be out on the road?
Like a gypsy I was born to roam
Like a wanderer with no fixed abode
I think about the friends I've left behind on the road

Well, the road's been rocky along the way
It's been a long, hard haul on the motorway
But if it gets too smooth it's time to call it a day

(On the road)
The bed and breakfasts and the greasy spoons
(The road)
The loser bars and the noisy rooms
(The road)
The casualties who did too many lines
(The road)
Wasted talent on women and wine

I think of all the friends I've left behind
Whenever it's time to get back out on the road

Started playing blues in a coffee bar
I took a trip down Charing Cross Road
With my imitation Gretsch guitar
And my head full of songs and my eyes full of stars
I saw a band called the Rolling Stones
I thought, that's it, I'll get a band,
I'm leaving home, I'm out on the road.

The motorways all over this land
(The road)
Far away places like Wigan and Birmingham
(The road)
Didn't have no name, didn't have any fans
(The road)
Didn't have no money so we slept in the van

All those early gigs we ever played
Sometimes we were lucky if we even got paid
On the road
Pete played on the bass guitar
Liked to get around, mixing with all the stars
But Mrs. Avory's child was all fingers and thumbs
But solid as a rock, setting time on the drums
While Dave the Rave hit the rock 'n' roll riffs
Yours truly strummed away with a slightly limp wrist
On the road

Everyday is when I can't get used to it
Everyday is when I can't get away
Another day, another freeway to face
That's the road

Well, life is a road, it's a motorway
And the road gets rocky along the way
But if it gets too smooth it's time to call it a day

(On the road)
Jimi Hendrix, The Who, the Led Zeppelin and Free
They took the road so it's alright by me
Some are survivors, some are debris
If you play in a band that's the road that you take
Living in it, eating in it, sleeping in it
You wake up in the morning, what do you see?
The road

Life is a road, it's a motorway
Lost a lot of good friends along the way
All the families and homes that I've left behind
To the wives and the lovers and friends who had their time
I say, you take your road and I'll take mine.
(You take your road and I'll take mine)
You take your road and I'll take mine
(You take your road and I'll take mine)

Life is a road, it's a motorway
And the road gets rocky along the way
But if it gets too smooth it's time to call it a day

(On the road)
Observed all the various phases from
Flower power, heavy metal and acid rock
And still all the critics keep saying
Are they still around? When they gonna stop?
It's just the dedicated followers of fashion who like putting down
All the well respected men who came dancing and are still on the road

Sometime I get suicidal
Now everyone is a rival
Different cars, different bars and hotels
Corporations, big business and egos
When it all gets too bad I think back
When we were all each other had
When we started out on the road

And there's gas in my tank and I've still got a way to go
Another hotel, it's time to check out soon
As I look around the room
I think of all the friends I've left behind
On the road


  Purchase "The Road"   Purchase Entire Album   Email Video to Friends   Play Youtube "The Road" Video   Play Spotify "The Road" Song   View Wikipedia "The Road" Entry   Receive Emails for Future The Kinks Lyrics

Email:

  Link to "The Road"   Share on Facebook, Twitter, and more
  See Recommended Lyrics For You

Loading...

Lyrics by The Kinks

  (Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman [Live]   A Face In The Crowd   A Face In The Crowd   A Face In The Crowd   A Gallon Of Gas   A Gallon of Gas [US Single Extended Edit][#][*]   A House in the Country   A Little Bit of Sunlight   Acute Schizophrenia Paranoia Blues [Live]   Alcohol [Live]   All Day and All of the Night [DVD]   All Day and All of the Night [Live]   All Night Stand   All Of My Friends Were There   Animal   Animal Farm   Animals In The Zoo   Apeman [Live]   Artificial Light   Artificial Man   Attitude   Attitude [DVD]   Attitude [Live]   Autumn Almanac [Mono Version][*]   Babies   Baby Face   Baby Face [Live]   Bald Headed Woman   Banana Boat Song   Bernadette   Big Black Smoke [LA Gran Humoreda]   Black Messiah   Black Messiah [Single Remix][*]   Brainwashed [Live]   Bright Lights   Bright Lights [*]   Cadillac   Celluloid Heroes [DVD]   Celluloid Heroes [Live]   Cliches of the World (B Movie)   Cliches of the World (B Movie)   Close To The Wire   Come on Now   Come on Now [*]   Completely   Dancing in the Street   David Watts [Live]   Daylight   Dead End Street   Dead End Street [Callejón Sin Salida]   Dear Margaret   Death of a Clown [Mono Version]   Definite Maybe   Demolition   Dias (Days)   Did Ya   Did You See His Name?   Do It Again   Do It Again [Acoustic]   Do You Remember Walter?   Do You Wish to Be a Man?   Don't You Fret   Down All The Days (Till 1992)   Dreams   Drift Away   Ducks On The Wall   Easy Come, There You Went   Education   Entertainment   Everybody's A Star (Starmaker)   Father Christmas   Father Christmas [*]   Finale   Full Moon   Get Back In Line   Get Up   Give the People What They Want [Live]   Going Solo   Good Day   Good Day [Extended Edit][#][*]   Good Luck Charm   Got My Feet On The Ground   Gotta Get The First Plane Home   Groovy Movies   Guilty   Hatred (A Duet)   Have Another Drink   Hay Fever   Headmaster   Helga   Here Comes Flash   Here Comes Yet Another Day   Hold My Hand   Holiday [Live]   Holiday In Waikiki   Holiday Romance   How Are You?   How Do I Get Close?   I Don't Need You Anymore   I Go To Sleep   I Gotta Go Now   I Gotta Move   I Need You   I Took My Baby Home   I Took My Baby Home [*]   I'm A Lover Not A Fighter   I've Been Driving On Bald Mountain   I've Got That Feeling   In A Foreign Land   In A Space   In Disgrace   Introduction to Solution   It's Alright   Johnny Thunder   Johnny Thunder   Juke Box Music   Just Friends   Kentucky Moon   Kentucky Moon [#][*][Demo Version]   Killing Time   Labour of Love   Last Of The Steam-Powered Trains   Lavender Hill   Life Goes On   Life On The Road   Lincoln County   Little Women   Live Life   Live Life [UK Album Version]   Live Life [US Single Mix][*]   Living on a Thin Line [Live]   Lola (Live) [Live]   Lola [DVD]   Lola [Instrumental]   Lola [Live]   Long Distance [#][*]   Long Tall Sally   Long Tall Shorty   Look A Little On The Sunny Side   Look for Me Baby   Look Through Any Doorway   Loony Balloon   Lost And Found   Love Me Till the Sun Shines [Mono Version]   Low Budget   Low Budget [DVD]   Low Budget [Live]   Massive Reductions   Maximum Consumption   Mirror of Love   Mirror of Love [Alternate mix][#][*][Version]   Misery   Misfits [Live]   Missing Persons   Missing Persons   Misty Water   Moments   Money Talks   Monica   Morning Song   Motorway   Mountain Woman   Mountain Woman [#][*]   Moving Pictures   Moving Pictures   Mr. Big Man   Mr. Reporter   Mr. Songbird   Mr. Wonderful [Live]   My Diary   National Health [Live]   Natural Gift   Nine to Five   No More Looking Back   Nobody Gives   Noise   Nothing Lasts Forever   Now and Then   Oh Where Oh Where Is Love?   On The Outside   On the Outside [Demo 1976]   Once a Thief   One of the Survivors [Single Edit][*]   Only a Dream   Opening   Opening [Live]   Ordinary People   Over the Edge   People Take Pictures of Each Other   Perfect Strangers   Perfect Strangers [*]   Permanent Waves   Phenomenal Cat   Phobia   Pictures in the Sand [Instrumental]   Polly   Preservation (Single) [*][Mix]   Pressure   Pressure [DVD]   Pressure [Live]   Prince of the Punks   Prince of the Punks [Live]   Property   Repetition   Revenge   Revenge [*]   Rosemary Rose   Running Round Town   Rush Hour Blues   Salvation Road   Scattered   Schooldays   Scrapheap City   Scum of the Earth   Second-Hand Car Spiv   See My Friends   See My Friends   She Bought A Hat Like Princess Marina   She's Got Everything   Shepherds of the Nation   Sitting By the Riverside   Sitting In My Hotel   Sitting in the Midday Sun   Situation Vacant   Skin & Bone [Live]   Sleepless Nights   Sleepwalker   Slum Kids   Slum Kids [Take 1][Live][#][*]   So Long   So Mystifying   Sold Me Out   Somebody, Stole My Car   Something Better Beginning   Spotty Grotty Anna   Starstruck   State of Confusion   Still Searching   Stop Your Sobbing   Stop Your Sobbing   Stop Your Sobbing [Live]   Stormy Sky   Superman   Superman [DVD]   Supersonic Rocket Ship   Surviving   Sweet Lady Genevieve   Tell Me Now So I'll Know   The Contenders   The First Time We Fall In Love   The Hard Way   The Hard Way [DVD]   The Hard Way [Live]   The Informer   The Last Assembly   The Million-Pound-Semi-Detached   The Poseur   The Video Shop   The Village Green Preservation Society   The Way Love Used To Be   Think Visual   This Strange Effect   Til Death Do Us Part   Till the End of the Day [Live]   Till the End of the Day [Live][#][*]   Time Will Tell   To the Bone   Too Hot   Top of the Pops [Live]   Trust Your Heart   UK Jive   Underneath the Neon Sign   Unreal Reality   Victoria [DVD]   Victoria [Live]   Voices in the Dark   Wait Till the Summer Comes Along   Wall of Fire   War Is Over   Waterloo Sunset [Mono Version]   Welcome to Sleazy Town   What Are We Doing?   When a Solution Comes   When I See That Girl of Mine [Unreleased Demo Reco...   When I Turn Off The Living Room Light   When Work Is Over   When You Were a Child   Where Are They Now?   Where Did My Spring Go?   Where Did My Spring Go?   Where Have All the Good Times Gone [Live]   Whip Lady   Wicked Annabella   Willesden Green   Wonder Where My Baby Is Tonight   Wonder Where My Baby Is Tonight   Wonderboy   Wonderboy [*]   Wonderboy [Mono Version][*]   Word of Mouth   Working at the Factory   You Do Something to Me   You Really Got Me   You Really Got Me (Live) [Live]   You Really Got Me [DVD]   You Really Got Me [Live]   You Really Got Me [Live][#]   You Shouldn't be Sad   You Still Want Me   Young Conservatives

Related Songs

  Still - Road  The road - Christian Kjellvander  The Road - Moe.  The Road - Z  The Road - Brother Cane  The Road - Best Coast  The Road - G. Love and Special Sauce  The Road - Mirel Wagner  The Road - Patty Larkin  The Road [*] - Turin Brakes  The Road - Matt Costa  The Road - Asik Veysal  The Road - Hednoize  The Road - Years To Come  The Road - Old Man Canyon  The Road - All There  The Road - Zero 7  The Road - Hurts  The Road - Cam Meekins  The Road - Aaron Watson  The Road - Aaron Lewis  The Road - Waylon Jennings  The Road - Tom Jones  The Road - Turin Breaks  The Road - Donovan  The Road - Frank Turner  The Road - Canon  The Road - G. Love  The Road - Chicago  The Road - Aaron Lewis  The Road - Aaron Watson  The Road - UB40  The Road - Jon & Vangelis  The Road - Asking Alexandria  The Road - Various Artists  The Road - Tenacious D  The Road - In This Moment  The Road - Jackson Browne  The Road - Levellers  The Road - Armani of York  The Road - Covenant  The Road - Conquest  The Road - Turin Brakes  The Road - Eric Burdon  The Road - Chaos Beyond  The Road - Clazziquai  The Road - Van Susans  The Road - Illum Sphere  The Road - Framing Hanley  The Road - Jon And Vangelis  The Road - Cardigans  The Road - Emmylou Harris  The Road - Chemical Vocation  The Road - John Denver  Hurdy Gurdy Monkey Shine - Road Kings  Breathe - Stellar Road  Before We Dance - Stellar Road  Save the Hour - Stellar Road  Goddamakaway - Stellar Road  The Way We Were - King's Road  Stringtown Road [Instrumental] - Stringtown Road  Melts Away - Gotham Road  Breathe You In - Addison Road  Superhuman - Cinder Road  Drift Away (Just Move On) - Cinder Road  I'm So Sorry - Cinder Road  Learning to Love - Cinder Road  It Just Takes One - Addison Road  Start Over Again - Addison Road  This Could Be Our Day - Addison Road  Back Home to you - Cinder Road  Feels So Good - Cinder Road  Sidewalk Ends - Gotham Road  You Awful Me - Gotham Road  Say Something - Gotham Road  Creo Burn - Gotham Road  Get In Get Out - Cinder Road  Cage of Mirrors - Manilla Road  When Giants Fall - Manilla Road  One - Cinder Road  Should've Known Better - Cinder Road  Back When My Hair Was Short (1973 Version)...  Time - Jericho Road  For the Love of a Woman - Jericho Road  Epilogue - Manilla Road  Sands of Time - Manilla Road  Shadow - Manilla Road  Rest In Pieces [Instrumental] - Manilla Road  Morbid Tabernacle [Instrumental] - Manilla Road  Selah [Instramental] [Instrumental]...  [Untitled] [Instrumental] - Turkestan Road  Drift Away - Cinder Road  Bad Excuse - Cinder Road  Bits Of Skin - Gotham Road  Seasons Of The Witch - Gotham Road  Avatar - Manilla Road  One Is a Lonely Number - Open Road  Deaf Will Hear - Adam's Road  New Creation - Adam's Road  Fruits Of True Faith - Adam's Road  Passion Song - Adam's Road  Great Commission - Adam's Road  Believe And Confess - Adam's Road  Wait For The Lord - Adam's Road  Serpent Lifted Up - Adam's Road  Justified By Faith - Adam's Road  Bread Of Life - Adam's Road  The Church - Adam's Road  Lose Your Life - Adam's Road  Don't Wait - Addison Road  This Little Light Of Mine - Addison Road  This Could Be Our Day - Addison Road  Start Over Again - Addison Road  Be Near - Addison Road  Won't Let Me Go - Addison Road  It Just Takes One - Addison Road  The Only Thing - Addison Road  Heaven And Earth - Adams Road  Danny Boy - Foley Road  Blanko - Session Road  Eager Angels - Session Road  Cool Off - Session Road  Hiram - Session Road  Gusto Na Kitang Makita - Session Road  Suntok Sa Buwan - Session Road  Sana Naman - Session Road  Leaving You - Session Road  Leave Away - Desert Road  Your Love - Emmaus Road  On a Clear Night (Antenna) - Emmaus Road  Knees to the Earth - Emmaus Road  Glorify Your Name - Emmaus Road  Don't Be Scared - Cinder Road  Fight Another Day - Addison Road  My Story - Addison Road  Fight Another Day - Addison Road  My Story - Addison Road  Change In The Making - Addison Road  Where It All Begins - Addison Road  Don't Wait - Addison Road  Who I Am In You - Addison Road  Where It All Begins - Addison Road  Change In The Making - Addison Road  Won't Let Me Go - Addison Road  This Little Light - Addison Road  Show Me Life - Addison Road  Need You Now - Addison Road  Show Me Life - Addison Road  Need You Now - Addison Road  Casualties - Addison Road  What Do I Know Of Holy? - Addison Road  Casualties - Addison Road  What Do I Know Of Holy - Addison Road  Run - Addison Road  Always Love - Addison Road  Sticking With You - Addison Road  All That Matters - Addison Road  Hope Now - Addison Road  Road - Don Johnson Big Band  Road - Hearts Grow  Road - Paul McCartney  Road - Nick Drake  Road - g.o.d.  Road - UB40  Road - Waylon Jennings  Road - Danny O'Keefe  Road - No-Man  The Long Road - Chris Merritt  On the Road - Royce da 5'9  On The Road - Kurt Nilsen  The Swan Road - Nomans Land  Down The Road - Steve Earle  The Coldharbour Road - Stornoway  The Long Road - Flat Foot 56  The Dirt Road - Sawyer Brown  The Curra Road - Karan Casey  The Silk Road - Tigers on Trains  The Folding Road - Genghis Tron  The Open Road - Causa Sui  The Other Road - Nicole Reynolds  The Lonesome Road - Anita O'Day  Along the Road - Doc Watson  The Road Home - Travis Tritt  Down the Road - Marty Stuart  The Lonesome Road - Bob Brozman  The Forked Road - Foals  The Lonesome Road - Paul Robeson  On The Road - Lee Roy Parnell  Hit The Road - Rebel Riot  Down the Road - Flatt & Scruggs  The Lonesome Road - Nat King Cole  The Lonesome Road - Dave Brubeck Quartet  Down the Road - Mac McAnally  The Lonesome Road - Bing Crosby  The Lonesome Road - Gene Austin  Sugar the Road - Ten Years After  The Road Home - Naked  Along the Road - Susan Ashton  Down the Road - Manassas  The Iron Road - Widowmaker