Ray Davies: London Song

There's a room in a house in a street in a manor in a borough
That's part of a city that is generally referred to as London
It's a dark place, a mysterious place
And it is said that if you're born within the sound of Bow-Bells
You have the necessary qualifications to be christened a Londoner
[It's a cruel place, it's a hard place]
But when you think back to all the great Londoners
William Blake, Charles Dickens, Dick Whittington,
Pearly kings, barrow boys, Arthur Daley, Max Wall
And don't forget the Kray twins

But if you're ever up on Highgate Hill on a clear day
You can see right down to Leicester Square [London, London]
Crystal Palace, Clapham Common, right down to Streatham Hill
North and South, I feel that I'm a Londoner still [London, London]

Chiswick Bridge to Newham and East Ham
Churchbells ring out through the land
You were born in London, England
[London, London, through the dark alley-ways and passages of London]

And there's a tap by a reservoir, leading to a stream,
That turns into a river estuary that eventually opens to the sea
[London, London]
And there's a docker by a wharf, sending cargo overseas,
Unloading foreign trade from a large ocean vessel
In the mighty metropolitan port of London
[London, London, through the dark alley-ways and passages of London]

When I think of all the Londoners still unsung
East-enders, West-enders, Oriental-enders
Fu Manchu, Sherlock Holmes, Jack Spock, Henry Cooper,
Thomas A'Becket, Thomas Moore, and don't forget the Kray twins

There's a part of me that says "Get out"
Then one day I'll hear somebody shout
"Sounds to me like you come from London Town"

But if you're ever up on Highgate Hill on a clear day,
I'll be there [I'll be there]
Yes I will be there [there]
Through the dark alley-ways and passages of London, London
London, London, through the dark alley-ways and passages of London, London
London, London, through the dark alley-ways and passages of London, London