Formed in 1963 in Muswell Hill, North London, they first gained prominence on the heels of the well-received and highly influential single "You Really Got Me" (1964). The group originally consisted of lead singer/guitarist Ray Davies, his brother lead guitarist Dave Davies, drummer Mick Avory, and bassist Pete Quaife. Quaife left (twice) in the late 1960s, and Avory finally left in 1984 as the result of a long-running dispute with Dave Davies, leaving only the Davies brothers as the core of the original group.
With Ray Davies' songwriting skills and unabashedly English voices, Dave Davies' impressive guitar work, and Avory's tight and steady drumming, the band became one of the best and most influential groups of British pop and the "British Invasion" of the U.S.A., lasting longer than any of their competitors, apart from the Rolling Stones, as they broke up in 1996. Their catalogue of songs has been covered by Van Halen, The Pretenders, The Black Keys, The Stranglers, Queens of the Stone Age , and many more.
Members:
Ray Davies – vocals, rhythm guitar (1963–1996)
Dave Davies – lead guitar, vocals (1963–1996)
Pete Quaife – bass guitar (1963–1969)
John Dalton – bass guitar (1969–1976)
Andy Pyle – bass guitar (1976–1978)
Jim Rodford – bass guitar (1978–1996)
Mick Avory – drums (1963–1984)
Bob Henrit – drums (1984–1996)
John Gosling – keyboards, piano (1970–1978)
Gordon Edwards – keyboards, piano (1978–1979)
Ian Gibbons – keyboards, piano (1979–1989, 1993–1996)
Mark Haley – keyboards, piano (1989–1993)
Harry Rag
The Kinks Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Tom is as bold as the knights of old
But whenever he gets in a bit of a jam
There's nothing he won't do to get a Harry rag
Harry rag, Harry rag
Do anything just to get a Harry rag
And he curses himself for the life he's led
Ah, Tom's old ma is a dying lass
Soon they all reckon she'll be pushing up the grass
And her bones might ache and her skin might sag
But still she's got the strength to have a Harry rag
Harry rag, Harry rag
Do anything just to get a Harry rag
And she curses herself for the life she's led
And rolls herself a Harry rag and puts herself to bed
Ah, bless you tax man, bless you all
You may take some but you never take it all
But if I give it all, I won't feel sad
As long as I got enough to buy a harry rag
Harry rag, Harry rag
Do anything just to get a harry rag
And I curse myself for the life I've led
And roll myself a Harry rag and put myself to bed
Ah, the smart young ladies of the land
Can't relax without a Harry in their hand
And they light one and they boast and brag
So content because they got a Harry rag
Harry rag, Harry rag
Do anything just to get a Harry rag
And they'll light one and they'll boast and brag
So content because they got a Harry rag
Harry rag, Harry rag
I'll do anything just to get a Harry rag
And I curse myself for the life I've led
And roll myself a Harry rag and put myself to bed
The Kinks's song "Harry Rag" is an ode to the eponymous slang term used in 1950s and 60s England to describe a rolled cigarette, often of poor quality tobacco. The song is a depiction of various characters from different walks of life who all have one thing in common: their addiction to smoking Harry rags. The first verse introduces Tom, a young and fearless person who is always getting into trouble and is willing to do anything to get his hands on a Harry rag. The second verse depicts Tom's dying mother who still has the strength to smoke a Harry rag. The third verse is a sarcastic "thank you" to the taxman who takes some but never all, leaving enough money for the singer to buy a Harry rag. Finally, the fourth verse describes the elite, smart young ladies who also indulge in smoking Harry rags.
The song, while seemingly trivial on the surface, could be interpreted as a commentary on addiction and the lengths people will go to feed it, regardless of their social or economic status. The use of the term "Harry rag" also adds a touch of humor and lightness to the theme of addiction.
Line by Line Meaning
Ah, Tom is young and Tom is bold
Tom is young and brave
Tom is as bold as the knights of old
Tom is as courageous as the knights of old
But whenever he gets in a bit of a jam
But whenever he's in a bit of trouble
There's nothing he won't do to get a Harry rag
He'll do anything to get a Harry rag
Ah, Tom's old ma is a dying lass
Tom's mother is dying
Soon they all reckon she'll be pushing up the grass
Soon she'll be buried
And her bones might ache and her skin might sag
And she might suffer from aches and wrinkles
But still she's got the strength to have a Harry rag
But she still has the will to smoke a Harry rag
Ah, bless you tax man, bless you all
Thank you, tax man, for not taking everything
You may take some but you never take it all
You take some of my money, but not all
But if I give it all, I won't feel sad
But if I give all my money, I won't be sad
As long as I got enough to buy a harry rag
As long as I have enough to buy a Harry rag
Ah, the smart young ladies of the land
The intelligent young ladies
Can't relax without a Harry in their hand
Can't relax without a Harry rag
And they light one and they boast and brag
And they smoke it and show off
So content because they got a Harry rag
Happy because they have a Harry rag
Harry rag, Harry rag
Harry rag, Harry rag
I'll do anything just to get a Harry rag
I'll do anything to get a Harry rag
And I curse myself for the life I've led
And I regret my life choices
And roll myself a Harry rag and put myself to bed
And smoke a Harry rag before going to bed
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: RAYMOND DOUGLAS DAVIES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Brisa Pérez
Ah, Tom is young and Tom is bold
Tom is as bold as the knights of old
But whenever he gets in a bit of a jam
There's nothing he won't do to get a Harry rag
Harry rag, Harry rag
Do anything just to get a Harry rag
And he curses himself for the life he's led
And rolls himself a Harry rag and puts himself to bed
Ah, Tom's old ma is a dying lass
Soon they all reckon she'll be pushing up the grass
And her bones might ache and her skin might sag
But still she's got the strength to have a Harry rag
Harry rag, Harry rag
Do anything just to get a Harry rag
And she curses herself for the life she's led
And rolls herself a Harry rag and puts herself to bed
Ah, bless you tax man, bless you all
You may take some but you never take it all
But if I give it all, I won't feel sad
As long as I got enough to buy a harry rag
Harry rag, Harry rag
Do anything just to get a harry rag
And I curse myself for the life I've led
And roll myself a Harry rag and put myself to bed
Ah, the smart young ladies of the land
Can't relax without a Harry in their hand
And they light one and they boast and brag
So content because they got a Harry rag
Harry rag, Harry rag
Do anything just to get a Harry rag
And they'll light one and they'll boast and brag
So content because they got a Harry rag
Harry rag, Harry rag
I'll do anything just to get a Harry rag
And I curse myself for the life I've led
And roll myself a Harry rag and put myself to bed
Stephen Reed
Ah, Tom is young and Tom is bold
Tom is as bold as the knights of old
But whenever he gets in a bit of a jam
There's nothing he won't do to get a harry rag
Harry rag, harry rag
Do anything just to get a harry rag
And he curses himself for the life he's led
And rolls himself a harry rag and puts himself to bed
Ah, Tom's old ma is a dying lass
Soon they all reckon she'll be pushing up the grass
And her bones might ache and her skin might sag
But still she's got the strength to have a harry rag
Harry rag, harry rag
Do anything just to get a harry rag
And she curses herself for the life she's led
And rolls herself a harry rag and puts herself to bed
Ah, bless you tax man, bless you all
You may take some but you never take it all
But if I give it all, I won't feel sad
As long as I got enough to buy a harry rag
Harry rag, harry rag
Do anything just to get a harry rag
And I curse myself for the life I've led
And roll myself a harry rag and put myself to bed
Ah, the smart young ladies of the land
Can't relax without a harry in their hand
And they light one and they boast and brag
So content because they got a harry rag
Harry rag, harry rag
Do anything just to get a harry rag
And they'll light one and they'll boast and brag
So content because they got a harry rag
Harry rag, harry rag
I'll do anything just to get a harry rag
And I curse myself for the life I've led
And roll myself a harry rag and put myself to bed
비정한세상
Ah, Tom is young and Tom is bold
Tom is as bold as the knights of old
But whenever he gets in a bit of a jam
There's nothing he won't do to get a Harry rag
Harry rag, Harry rag
Do anything just to get a Harry rag
And he curses himself for the life he's led
And rolls himself a Harry rag and puts himself to bed
Ah, Tom's old ma is a dying lass
Soon they all reckon she'll be pushing up the grass
And her bones might ache and her skin might sag
But still she's got the strength to have a Harry rag
Harry rag, Harry rag
Do anything just to get a Harry rag
And she curses herself for the life she's led
And rolls herself a Harry rag and puts herself to bed
Ah, bless you tax man, bless you all
You may take some but you never take it all
But if I give it all, I won't feel sad
As long as I got enough to buy a harry rag
Harry rag, Harry rag
I'll do anything just to get a Harry rag
And I curse myself for the life I've led
And roll myself a Harry rag and put myself to bed
Ah, the smart young ladies of the land
Can't relax without a Harry in their hand
And they light one and they boast and brag
So content because they got a Harry rag
Harry rag, Harry rag
Do anything just to get a Harry rag
And they'll light one and they'll boast and brag
So content because they got a Harry rag
1 of 8 billion
I get the distinct impression that in almost every early kinks song, Ray Davies sings while smiling. It sounds like he's about to laugh and he's having fun. This one, autumn almanac, dedicated follower of fashion, dead end street and more. I love that, it always makes me happy to hear.
Milan
Yeahh so true. The kinks are the best
Svueny
That’s true, and it makes me smiling too while singing to it 😊
Adam Findlay
Well ask him then.
Rebecca McLaren
I love ray's sense of humor in his writing and singing. in the last verse where his voice kind of goes feminine "the smart young ladies of the land, can't relax without a harry in the their hand" he truly wrote and meant and felt all his music. never forgot to have fun either! I love this song and I love the looks on my friends faces when I play this album and this song comes on ("like wtf") and I love when eventually they start to like the song and tap their feet along and bob their heads lol
Chris Gibbings
+Rebecca McLaren Bingo!
Maude Mathilde H
He is a genius!
Lanny Dante
Rebecca check out the kinks song Holiday Romance- ray does it again as he goes feminine again.
Bobby M
Catchy as hell. How could anyone not love it? One of my favorites by The awesome KINKS!!!
Jamie Evans
Oh, it’s certainly catchy alright. Thank you, Sir Raymond. Now it’s stuck in me ‘ead! The funny part is that my name is Harry.