1) Wild Silk was a German band … Read Full Bio ↴More than one artist used this name:
1) Wild Silk was a German band playing mainly celtic music. They were founded in 1994 and consisted of the 4 musicians: Berk Demiray, Rainer Burgmer, Matthias Kohlmann and Simone Freimueller. They divided at the end of 2001.
Simone, Berk and Rainer went on to play in the band Dhalia's Lane (formerly known as Dhalia), which can be seen as a "follow-up" to Wild Silk.
2) Wild Silk released a single in January 1969 in the UK featuring a song "Toymaker", credited to Ray Davies of the Kinks. The song is popsyke in style and was issued under the group name "Basil" in the US.
Toymaker
Wild Silk Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Then I would wind it, to see how it goes
We'll keep working, painting and binding
Right til the morning, til he starts to close
Toymaker, toymaker, how do you know
Where all the pieces in your jigsaw puzzle go?
Toymaker, toymaker, don't you work fast
Toymaker
Now I will hammer, and then I will screw it
Then I would wind it, to see how it goes
We'll keep working, painting and binding
Right til the morning, til he starts to close
Toymaker, toymaker, why do you sing?
Does it make you feel happy when you wind up the spring?
Toymaker, toymaker, don't fall asleep
The children are waking and are getting on their feet
Toymaker
Now I will hammer, and then I will screw it
Then I would wind it, to see how it goes
We'll keep working, painting and binding
Right til the morning, til he starts to close
Toymaker, toymaker, how do you know
Where all the pieces in your jigsaw puzzle go?
Toymaker, toymaker, don't you work fast
Lighting up you candles till the night has gone past
Toymaker
The lyrics of Wild Silk’s song Toymaker appear to be from the viewpoint of a toymaker who is tirelessly working on his craft late into the night. The repetition of the lyrics “Now I will hammer, and then I will screw it, Then I would wind it, to see how it goes. We'll keep working, painting and binding, Right til the morning, until he starts to close” depicts the dedicated and persistent work of the toymaker. It is clear that he is passionate about his work and takes pride in creating quality toys for children to enjoy.
The chorus, “Toymaker, toymaker, how do you know where all the pieces in your jigsaw puzzle go? Toymaker, toymaker, don't you work fast, lighting up your candles till the night has gone past” asks the crucial question of how the toymaker knows what he’s doing and how he works so fast. The lyrics suggest that the toymaker has a deep understanding of his craft and his jigsaw puzzles, which allows him to work quickly and efficiently. The toymaker’s burning candles are his sole source of light, emphasizing the diligence and focus he has for his work.
Line by Line Meaning
Now I will hammer, and then I will screw it
I am going to use tools to construct this toy
Then I would wind it, to see how it goes
I will test the toy to see if it works properly
We'll keep working, painting and binding
We will continue to work on the toy by painting and putting it together
Right til the morning, til he starts to close
We will work all night until the toymaker is tired and wants to go to bed
Toymaker, toymaker, how do you know
The person is asking how the toymaker knows how to put all the pieces of the toy together
Where all the pieces in your jigsaw puzzle go?
The person is questioning how the toymaker knows where all the toy pieces fit together
Toymaker, toymaker, don't you work fast
The person is asking the toymaker if he works quickly to create the toys
Lighting up you candles till the night has gone past
The toymaker works by candlelight until it becomes morning
Toymaker, toymaker, why do you sing?
The person is asking why the toymaker sings while making toys
Does it make you feel happy when you wind up the spring?
The person is wondering if winding up the spring makes the toymaker feel happy
Toymaker, toymaker, don't fall asleep
The person is warning the toymaker not to fall asleep while making toys
The children are waking and are getting on their feet
The children are waking up and getting ready to play with the toys the toymaker has made
Contributed by Gabriella Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Talcarnan
Produced by: Shel Talmy, Release date: 31 Jan, 1969, Record label & catalog #: Columbia DB 8534. Same recording released in US with group name "Basil"
Written by: Allan Davies (often erroneously attributed to Ray Davies)
Christopher Syn
"Toymaker" was actually written by Wild Silk member Allan Davies, not Ray Davies.
Kiwi
THATS MY GRANDAD
elofan567
Love this thanks.
SEVFEST
This was actually included on a Kinks Bootleg CD called Krininally Rare and I was always confused why they would stick this in the middle of a totally Kinks Songs CD..... Great to have but confusing to be where it is on this CD.....
familydogg1234
I used to contribute to Kinks fanzines 1983 - 91 or so and this song was always in lists of Ray Davies songs - i had a cassette copy even, it pissed me off to learn this year ("kinked" cd booklet ) thats its no Ray!!!!!
American Born Patriot.
Yep. Groovee.
Kiwi
YKNOW ALAN DAVIES IS MY GRANDAD BROOOO
ruth slater
wasn't written by Ray Davies at all. In fact it was written and sung by Allan Davies who wrote a lot of songs for Wild Silk and sung on every single record. People get confused because they and the kinks were under the same management and label and the names are spelt the same. Allan is my Dad !!!!!! I have copies of all the contracts if you need proof, getting very bored with correcting all these sites. ha ha . Cheers Please check out 'Stop Crying' on youtube by wild silk as you will actually see the 'A' that comes before Davies standing for Allan not RAY. best wishes Ruth DAVIES
laineycrusoe
I'm not sure if you've seen this, but your dad is listed as the song's writer in the Catalog of Copyright Entries Jan-June 1969 (though they spell his first name slightly wrong), so the proof is right there online as to who wrote it: https://archive.org/stream/catalogofco1969323512lib#page/676/mode/2up (and just to further prove it's the right person, if you look through the same edition you'll also see him listed as the writer of 'Stop Crying', which of course is another Wild Silk track).
From the looks of things, the confusion over the song's writer seems to stem from the North American release of this single, where they outright list Ray Davies on the label (the British and German releases don't do this however). I'm assuming the staff at GRT saw the writer's surname and who the producer and publisher were and mistakingly got mixed up and assumed it was a Kinks cover, but it obviously stuck.