Lyrics Second Hand Car Spiv - The Kinks

Second Hand Car Spiv

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 shivs
Slum kids never get a break, they’ve got to fight their way up
Beg and steal, wheel and deal
Sweat blood to earn a buck
I didn’t want to work on the factory floor
I wasn’t content, I wanted more
Than be a slave to 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