20th Century Man

Written by: Ray Davies

Published by: Davray Music Ltd.

Chord file

Lyrics:

This is the age of machinery,
A mechanical nightmare,
The wonderful world of technology,
Napalm, hydrogen bombs, biological warfare,

This is the twentieth century,
But too much aggravation
It's the age of insanity,
What has become of the green pleasant fields of Jerusalem.

Ain't got no ambition, I'm just disillusioned
I'm a twentieth century man but I don't wanna be here.
My mama said she can't understand me
She can't see my motivation
Just give me some security,
I'm a paranoid schizoid product of the twentieth century.

You keep all your smart modern writers
Give me William Shakespeare
You keep all your smart modern painters
I'll take Rembrandt, Titian, Da Vinci and Gainsborough,

Girl we gotta get out of here
We gotta find a solution
I'm a twentieth century man but I don't want
I don't want to die here

Girl we gotta get out of here
We gotta find a solution
I'm a twentieth century man but I don't want
I don't want to be here

I was born in a welfare state
Ruled by bureaucracy
Controlled by civil servants
And people dressed in grey
Got no privacy, got no liberty
Cos the twentieth century people
Took it all away from me.

Don't wanna get myself shot down
By some trigger happy policeman,
Gotta keep a hold on my sanity
I'm a twentieth century man but I don't wanna die here.

My mama says she can't understand me
She can't see my motivation
Ain't got no security,
I'm a twentieth century man but I don't wanna be here.

This is the twentieth century
But too much aggravation
This is the edge of insanity
I'm a twentieth century man but I don't wanna be here.

This song can be found on the following releases:

stereo mix (5:53), recorded Aug-Sep 1971 at Morgan Studios, Willesden, London

stereo mix, edit, nearly 2 minutes shorter (3:59), recorded Aug-Sep 1971 at Morgan Studios, Willesden, London

stereo mix, edit, about 1 minute shorter (5:02), recorded Aug-Sep 1971 at Morgan Studios, Willesden, London

stereo mix, shorter edit (3:52), recorded Aug-Sep 1971 at Morgan Studios, Willesden, London

stereo mix, alternate instrumental take (3:02), recorded 6 Oct 1971 at Morgan Studio 1, Willesden, London

live, stereo mix, recorded 3 Mar, 1979 at The Barn, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey

live, stereo mix, shorter edit (3:17), recorded 3 Mar, 1979 at The Barn, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey

live, stereo mix (3:49), recorded 1997 at unknown venue, overdubs at Konk Studios, Hornsey, London

stereo mix, by John Banta, recorded 2000

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