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)
Sleepless Night
The Kinks Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Livin' next to me.
Oh, she sure loves someone,
But it ain't me.
Ev'ry night at twelve o'clock,
They start to rock with all they got.
They keep it up all night.
It just ain't right.
They O.K. by me, I'm not.
He and she, they all right.
Once they start, they never stop
Through this sleepless night.
Once I was her lover.
It was so good to be.
Now she's got somebody else and I can't sleep.
Ooh, nothin' hurts people more than other people do.
But what can you do?
Meanwhile, upstairs, they O.K.
Ev'rythin' is all right.
I wish that I could find a way
Through this sleepless night.
Ooh, this sleepless night.
Ooh, this sleepless night.
Ooh, that wicked lady,
She's got a hold on me.
Ooh, she doesn't want me,
But she won't let me be.
They play that music ev'ry night.
It rocks my bed; it shakes my light.
They ball with all their might.
It just ain't right.
Ooh, this sleepless night.
Ooh, this sleepless night.
The Kinks's song Sleepless Night is about the frustration and desperation of a man who is plagued by the loud lovemaking of his neighbor and her new lover. The lyrics speak to the pain of unrequited love as the man reveals that he was once the object of the woman's affections, but now he's been replaced. He is forced to listen to their amorous activities all night long and can't sleep because of the constant noise. The song explores the idea of how people can hurt others without even realizing it, simply by pursuing their own desires.
The lyrics also touch on the theme of envy and desire, as the man is clearly jealous of his neighbor's new lover and longs to be with her himself. He describes the woman as wicked and admits that she has a hold on him despite not returning his feelings. The repeated refrain of "Ooh, this sleepless night" underscores the singer's torment and desperation as he struggles to cope with his feelings of rejection and loneliness.
In sum, Sleepless Night is an emotional song that delves into the complex themes of unrequited love, jealousy, and the pain that people can inflict on each other without even realizing it.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh, there's a rude little lady
The singer's neighbor is a rude woman
Livin' next to me.
The neighbor lives in the same building as the singer
Oh, she sure loves someone,
The neighbor is in love with someone
But it ain't me.
The neighbor is not in love with the singer
Ev'ry night at twelve o'clock,
The neighbor starts playing loud music every night at midnight
They start to rock with all they got.
The neighbor and her partner start dancing to the music
They keep it up all night.
They continue dancing and playing music throughout the night
It just ain't right.
The singer thinks that it's not fair for them to make so much noise
They O.K. by me, I'm not.
The singer doesn't have a problem with the neighbors, but he can't sleep because of the noise
He and she, they all right.
The neighbor and her partner are fine, according to the singer
Once they start, they never stop
Once they start playing music and dancing, they don't stop until morning
Through this sleepless night.
The singer is having a hard time sleeping because of the noise
Once I was her lover.
The singer and the neighbor used to be lovers
It was so good to be.
The singer enjoyed being in a relationship with the neighbor
Now she's got somebody else and I can't sleep.
The neighbor is now with someone else and the singer can't sleep because of the noise
Ooh, nothin' hurts people more than other people do.
The singer believes that people can hurt each other more than anything else can hurt them
But what can you do?
The singer doesn't know what to do about the situation
Meanwhile, upstairs, they O.K.
The neighbor and her partner are doing fine upstairs
Ev'rythin' is all right.
Everything is fine according to the neighbor and her partner
I wish that I could find a way
The singer wishes he could find a solution to his problem
Ooh, this sleepless night.
The singer is having a hard time sleeping because of the noise
Ooh, that wicked lady,
The singer thinks the neighbor is wicked
She's got a hold on me.
The neighbor is causing the singer to have a hard time sleeping
Ooh, she doesn't want me,
The neighbor is not interested in the singer
But she won't let me be.
The neighbor is causing noise that is disturbing the singer's peace
They play that music ev'ry night.
The neighbor and her partner play music every night
It rocks my bed; it shakes my light.
The noise is so loud that it's shaking the singer's bed and light fixtures
They ball with all their might.
The neighbor and her partner dance energetically
Ooh, this sleepless night.
The singer is having a hard time sleeping because of the noise
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
matthew stetson
You go Dave. The Exquisite One sounds great as well in tandem with The Rave.
Lucifer Sam
Favorite track on the album, by far.
Shallnot
So much care goes into each Sonic creation
SK
The great Dave Davies -- one of the great talents of Rock n Roll with a new solo album out in 2017 Open Road.