Second-hand Car Spiv Lyrics by Kinks

Second-hand Car Spiv Lyrics

    Sung by spiv, flash & floosies

    Spiv: i was born a slum gutter infantile,
    Brute-force educated, delinquent juvenile.
    I am a product of mass produced factory fodder,
    Streets full of tenement blocks, rat infested filth and squalor.
    I left school, went straight on the dole
    And unemployment's no enjoyment,
    Welfare state owned my mind and my body and my soul.
    So i worked my way up to be a second-hand car spiv,
    But don't judge me harshly because i'm just a slum kid.
    I built up my business with a quick wit and fist,
    So don't double-cross me or my hoods will dissect you
    With their black jacks and shiv.
    Slum kids never get a break, they've got to fight their way up.
    Wheel and deal, beg and steal,
    Sweat blood to earn a buck.
    I didn't want to work on the factory floor,
    I wasn't content, i wanted more
    Than to be a slave of a lathe,
    Work all day and go home bored.
    So a second- hand car spiv was what i became.
    I built an empire because i used my brains.

    Chorus: he was a second-hand car spiv up from the slums,
    So don't judge him harshly because he's just a slum kid.
    Then he moved into property, stocks and shares,

    Spiv: and into high finance and you've got to agree
    That running a multi-million corporation
    Sure beats selling cars second-hand.

    Chorus: once he sold old worn out heaps to the punters on the street,

    Spiv: now i'm in control of the country as a whole,
    And the world is at my feet.

    Chorus: the world is at his feet.

    Spiv: power, power, i've got power oozing out of me,
    And when you think of all the things i've done
    It says a lot for one
    Who worked his way up from the streets.
    Yes i'm a second-hand car spiv.
    Do a deal, buy and sell,
    It's my trade, i know it well.
    Make a sale, ring the bell
    And let the suckers go to hell.
    Bank the profits, count the change
    Another sucker comes your way.
    Life is a crooked game,
    And slum kids never change.

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