The Kinks (1963–1996; 2018-present) is an English pop-rock group that came … Read Full Bio ↴The Kinks (1963–1996; 2018-present) is an English pop-rock group that came out of the British R&B scene of the early 1960s. Formed in Muswell Hill, North London, by brothers Ray Davies and Dave Davies in 1964 and categorised in the United States as a "British Invasion" band, the Kinks are recognised as one of the most important and influential rock groups of the era. In 1990, their first year of eligibility, the original four members were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Later, in November 2005, they were inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame. Among numerous other honours, they received the Ivor Novello Award for "Outstanding Service to British Music" in 2006. The Kinks reunited in June 2018, with the Davies brothers and drummer Mick Avory.

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)

Here Comes Flash
The Kinks Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

You'd better run, you'd better fly.
Hide your daughters, hide your wives.
Lock your doors and stay inside
Here comes Flash.

There's no way that you can win,
You must obey his every whim,
Or else he's going to do you in.

Here comes Flash.

He will smile at you, be a friend to you,
Then he's gonna screw you just like that.
He is going to use you, his heavies will abuse you,
And then he's gonna lean on you,
Here comes Flash.

He is gonna rough you up,
Duff you up and touch you up,
And then he's gonna screw you up.
Even though he's mean on you,
There's nothing else that you can do
Just sit back and take his abuse.
He will smile at you, be so sweet to you.
Then he's gonna cheat on you.

You'd better run, you'd better fly.
Hide your daughters, hide your wives.
Lock your doors and stay inside.
Here comes Flash.

Once we loved and trusted him,
Now his thugs and bullies make us live in sin.
They suppress us, oppress us, molest us, possess us.

You'd better run, you'd better fly.
Hide your daughters, hide your wives.
And lock your doors and stay inside.

He will smile at you, be a friend to you,
Then he's gonna screw you just like that.

You'd better run, you'd better fly.
Hide your daughters, hide your wives.
And lock your doors and stay inside.
Here comes Flash.

There's no way that you can win,
You must obey his every whim
Or else he's going to do you in.

Here comes Flash.
Here comes Flash.

Overall Meaning

The Kinks' song "Here Comes Flash" unveils a story of a powerful, violent, and dangerous figure called Flash who terrorizes and controls a community. The lyrics explicitly warn people to hide their wives and daughters, lock their doors, and stay inside because Flash is coming. The song speaks of a frightening individual, who is ruthless and unstoppable, and whose every whim must be obeyed, or one will suffer the consequences, such as abuse and oppression. The song also mentions how Flash seems to be friendly at first, but eventually betrays peoples' trust, cheats them, and causes harm without remorse.

The story of Flash is not specific to one individual but is representative of any person or group who holds excessive power, oppresses, suppresses, or inflicts harm on those vulnerable to them. The theme of the song is on the abuse of power and how it can be destructive to people's lives, causing them to live in fear, mistrust, and oppression. The Kinks, through the song, were shedding light on the societal problem of power abuse and calling for a need for change and justice for those who are oppressed.

Line by Line Meaning

You'd better run, you'd better fly.
The presence of Flash is a major threat to everyone he comes across.

Hide your daughters, hide your wives.
Flash's intentions towards women are unpredictable, and he may not treat them respectfully.

Lock your doors and stay inside
Staying indoors and avoiding Flash is the best way to guarantee personal safety.

There's no way that you can win,
It's impossible to defeat Flash or go against his wishes and come out unscathed.

You must obey his every whim,
To avoid being hurt, one must obey Flash's every command.

Or else he's going to do you in.
Prompt and complete obedience is required to avoid punishment, which could be fatal.

He will smile at you, be a friend to you,
At first, Flash seems friendly enough, but this is just a facade to deceive others into trusting him.

Then he's gonna screw you just like that.
After luring others into a false sense of security, Flash shows his true colors and inflicts harm on them.

He is going to use you, his heavies will abuse you,
Flash is also willing to let others abuse his victims for his own benefit.

And then he's gonna lean on you,
Even after others have caused harm to someone, Flash will still demand loyalty from them.

He is gonna rough you up,
Flash's methods of extracting loyalty are violent and brutal.

Duff you up and touch you up,
Flash does not care about personal boundaries and will hurt others in ways beyond physical violence.

And then he's gonna screw you up.
Finally, after all is said and done, Flash will ruin the lives of his victims.

Even though he's mean on you,
Despite his negative behavior, there's no choice but to take his abuse.

There's nothing else that you can do
With the power dynamics being what they are, trying to fight back against Flash will only make the situation worse.

Just sit back and take his abuse.
The only option left is to suffer through Flash's abuse silently and hope that he will eventually lose interest.

He will smile at you, be so sweet to you.
In an endless cycle of abuse, Flash continuously toys with the emotions of his victims.

Then he's gonna cheat on you.
After he's done inflicting harm, Flash will move on to another target and leave his victims behind.

Once we loved and trusted him,
Flash was once trusted by many, and betrayed them all.

Now his thugs and bullies make us live in sin.
After gaining power, Flash uses it to surround himself with violent people willing to do his bidding.

They suppress us, oppress us, molest us, possess us.
Flash and his followers exert complete control over their victims.

Here comes Flash.
This is the ominous warning that Flash is approaching and that danger is imminent.

Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: DAVIES

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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