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)
When I Turn Off The Living Room Light
The Kinks Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And your nose is a shiny red light
To me you are gorgeous and everything's right
When I turn off the living room light
Your clothes are old-fashioned, your knuckles are bony
Your hair looks a terrible sight
But I don't have to see you, the way that you are
When I turn off the living room light
I don't have to see you, the way that you are
When I turn off the living room light
Well it's not that you are ugly and I'm not being cruel
It helps me to relax, dear, it helps to keep me cool
Now I am not intending to make you feel ashamed
What's wrong in me pretending? 'Cause you can't help being plain
Your nose may be bulbous, your face may be spotty
Your skin may be wrinkled and tight
But I don't want to see you, the way that you are
So I turn off the living room light
We don't feel so ugly, we don't feel so draggy
We don't feel so twisted up tight
And we don't feel as ugly as we really are
When we turn off the living room light
When we turn off the living room light
We don't feel as ugly as we really are
When we turn off the living room light
The Kinks' "When I Turn Off the Living Room Light" is a song about the power of imagination and how it can transform the way we see the world and ourselves. The singer describes a person with many physical flaws, who might be considered unattractive, yet to him, none of that matters when he turns off the living room light. In the dark, he can imagine the person in a different way, without being distracted by their appearance, and appreciate them for who they are.
The lyrics use exaggerated descriptions such as "shiny red light" and "terrible sight" to highlight the contrast between the way the person looks and how the singer imagines them. The chorus further emphasizes the transformative power of the darkness, as the singer doesn't have to see the person's flaws and can appreciate them for who they are. The song highlights the importance of looking beyond appearances and appreciating people for who they are, rather than being blinded by physical traits.
Line by Line Meaning
Who cares if you're Jewish and your breath smells of garlic
Your ethnicity and hygiene don't matter to me
And your nose is a shiny red light
Even if you have a red nose
To me you are gorgeous and everything's right
You're beautiful to me regardless
When I turn off the living room light
As long as I can't see you
Your clothes are old-fashioned, your knuckles are bony
Even if you're dressed unfashionably or have bony hands
Your hair looks a terrible sight
Even if your hair looks bad
But I don't have to see you, the way that you are
I can ignore your appearance
When I turn off the living room light
As long as it's dark enough
When I turn off the living room light
As long as I can't see you
I don't have to see you, the way that you are
I can avoid seeing your appearance
Well it's not that you are ugly and I'm not being cruel
I don't think you're ugly
It helps me to relax, dear, it helps to keep me cool
It's just easier for me to relax and be comfortable when it's dark
Now I am not intending to make you feel ashamed
I don't want to hurt your feelings
What's wrong in me pretending? 'Cause you can't help being plain
There's nothing wrong in pretending, and you shouldn't feel bad for being plain-looking
Your nose may be bulbous, your face may be spotty
Even if you have a big nose or acne
Your skin may be wrinkled and tight
Even if your skin is wrinkled or tight
But I don't want to see you, the way that you are
I prefer not to look at you
So I turn off the living room light
I just turn off the light
We don't feel so ugly, we don't feel so draggy
We feel better about ourselves
We don't feel so twisted up tight
We don't feel as self-conscious
And we don't feel as ugly as we really are
We feel less unattractive
When we turn off the living room light
As long as there's no light
When we turn off the living room light
As long as we can't see ourselves
We don't feel as ugly as we really are
We feel more comfortable with ourselves
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: RAYMOND DOUGLAS DAVIES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
ROGER2095
I sang this to a girl on our first date. She laughed but I didn't get a second date.
Jeremy Strain
its not because of the song
Molly from 55
@ROGER2095 Lincoln said a lot of wise things. In his grief, he also had the body of his young son dug up so that he could see him one more time. Did you not understand why I called it pop psychology in the face of losing a child, or being a Jew in Hitler's Germany? Your use of the word snowflake in the year 2021 is also hard to read without making assumptions about you that aren't flattering. If those are true, then there can be no logical conversation.
ROGER2095
@Molly from 55 Molly, Abraham Lincoln once said, "Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be."
I don't characterize that as condescending, nor as pop psychology. I believe it to be words to live by.
ROGER2095
@Molly from 55 Molly, Dear, what makes you think her feelings were hurt? They weren't. (She and I are still friends after 40 years!)
I'm a strong person, emotionally. I can take a joke. Call me a name (bald, fat, stupid, ugly, whatever), and if the joke is funny, I'll laugh. I'm no snowflake. I'm 68 and have been happy all my life. (I tried it the other way once - didn't care for it.)
I happen to be attracted to women who are also strong emotionally. Most are. And those that are, probably like me for the same reason. I can absolutely, 100% guarantee you that when I die, at my funeral, not one single person there will remember me as being mean.
If you're unhappy, Molly, that's on you. You and only you are in control of how happy or unhappy you are.
Herbert Wells
Can’t imagine why not.
Nora Stancanelli
Perfecta y sincera. Jajajaja! Son geniales, los Kinks. Siempre vieron más allá que sus pares músicos. No sólo los admiro; los quiero!!!!
Susan Baron
I had this on a sampler album and absolutely loved it!
Dan K
@Susan Baron Hello to you, Susan & Mr. Davis (& everyone else out there 😁.) I got my hands on this in '81 when I happened upon a used copy of 1973's "The Great Lost Kinks Album." If memory serves, that is where it 1st appears. I'll Google it & we'll see.
Jeffry Phillips Burns
@Billy Davis The Big Ball was great. It was $2.00 for a double-record set. We were so poor that I had to pitch in with my sister to afford it. She got official custody of one disc, and I got the other.