Kinks - Preservation lyrics

Once upon a time In a faraway land Lived a villain called flash He was such a wicked man He terrorized the people He broke arms and crushed hands He ruled with a fist and he purchased all the land Then he plowed up the fields and cut down the trees For property speculation And he did it all for a pot of gold And for his own preservation The people were scared They didn't know where to turn They couldn't see any salvation From the hoods and the spivs And the crooked politicians Who were cheating and lying to the nation Save the fields and the trees And give them back to the nation Bring the government down A new leader must be found For the sake of preservation He said he did it to help us all And did it for the good of the nation But he did it for a pot of gold And for his own preservation When money is evil And power is corrupt The devil moves in and takes over Mr. flash broke his word And now he's got to pay For his crimes and his lies and his evil ways And it's gonna get rough And it's gonna get rough It's a crime and a sin that no one can win In a story of self preservation