The Kinks: Get Back In Line

From 1965 until 1969, a union, the American Federation of Musicians, kept the Kinks from performing in the United States. That period, 1965-1968, just happened to be the group's most creative era.

In 1970, the group released Lola versus Powerman and the Money-Go-Round, the first of what turned out to be several comeback albums for the men from North London. "Get Back In Line," a song about the oppressiveness of organized labor, is from that effort.

Facing the world ain't easy when there isn't anything going
Standing at the corner waiting watching time go by
Will I go to work today or shall I bide my time.

'Cos when I see that union man walking down the street
He's the man who decides if I live or I die, if I starve, or I eat
Then he walks up to me and the sun begins to shine
Then he walks right past and I know that I've got to get back in the line.

Watch the band perform the mournful tune in 1977.



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