Ray Davies's
Lyrics
Working Man's Café cover

Shangri-La

Ray Davies, released on Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire), © Hill & Range Songs BMI 1969

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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 is your reward for working so hard

Gone are the lavatories in the back yard

Gone are 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

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The little man who gets the train

Got a mortgage hanging over his head

But he's too scared to complain

'Cos he's conditioned that way

Time goes by and he pays off his debts

Got a TV set and a radio

For seven shillings a week

Shangri-la, Shangri-la, Shangri-la, Shangri-la, Shangri-la, Shangri-la

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And all the houses in the street have got a name

'Cos 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

.