Ray Davies - Second-Hand Car Spiv lyrics

Sung by Spiv, Flash and Floosies Spiv: I was born a slum gutter infantile Brute-force educated, delinquent juvenile I am a product of ma** 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 s**ers go to hell Bank the profits, count the change Another s**er comes your way Life is a crooked game And slum kids never change