You cannot find a more heartfelt and emotionally direct song from Davies than Oklahoma USA. As I am going over a couple cover songs for my new music with Lisa Nemetz as BLUE * WAGON, I look to Davies (always) to steer me to real, vulnerable characters. The sad wistful woman in OKLAHOMA USA carries the same wanderlust we are trying to portray in our set and new album. It is the emotional center of Muswell Hillbillies, which, in turn, is a heck of a template for a new album. Please listen to as many Kinks songs a day as is necessary… Chris
OKLAHOMA USA
(RAY DAVIES)
All life we work but work is bore,
If life’s for livin’ what’s livin’ for,
She lives in a house that’s near decay,
Built for the industrial revolution,
But in her dreams she is far away,
In Oklahoma U.S.A.
With Shirley Jones and Gordon McRea,
As she buys her paper at the corner shop,
She’s walkin’ on the surrey with the fringe on top,
Cos in her dreams she is far away,
In Oklahoma U.S.A.,
She walks to work but she’s still in a daze,
She’s Rita Hayworth or Doris Day,
And Errol Flynn’s gonna take her away,
To Oklahoma U.S.A.,
All life we work but work is a bore,
If life’s for livin’ then what’s livin’ for.
And if you want to buy a great Kinks album start here…
