Destroyer

"Destroyer" is a song by British rock band The Kinks, written by Ray Davies. It was released as a track on the group's nineteenth album, Give the People What They Want, in August 1981, and was the album's lead single in the US. It was not released as a single in the UK. This song borrows the main riff from The Kinks' song "All Day and All of the Night". The lyrics are based on The Kinks' song "Lola" which is about a transvestite. In this song, the guy becomes paranoid after taking Lola back to his place. The track was chosen as the lead single from the album in the US ("Better Things" was the lead single in the UK), although it was released after the album in September. The single reached #3 on the Billboard Rock Top Tracks chart and #85 on the Billboard Hot 100. In the UK, the track was only available when the album was released there in January 1982.

Met a girl called Lola, and I took her back to my place Feelin' guilty, feelin' scared, hidden cameras everywhere Stop! Hold on, stay in control Girl, I want you here with me But I'm really not as cool as I'd like to be 'Cause there's a red under my bed And there's a little yellow man in my head And there's a true blue inside of me That keeps stoppin' me, touchin' ya, watchin' ya, lovin' ya Paranoia, the destroyer Paranoia, the destroyer Well, I fell asleep, then I woke, feelin' kinda queer Lola looked at me and said, "Ooh, you look so weird" She said, "Man, there's really something wrong with you One day you're gonna self-destruct You're up, you're down, I can't work you out You get a good thing goin' then you blow yourself out Silly boy, you self-destroyer Silly boy, you self-destroyer Silly boy, you got so much to live for So much to aim for, so much to try for You're blowing it all with paranoia You're so insecure, you self-destroyer" (And it goes like this, here it goes) Paranoia, the destroyer (Here it goes again) Paranoia, the destroyer Doctor, doctor help me please, I know you will understand There's a time device inside of me, I'm a self-destructin' man There's a red under my bed And there's a little green man in my head And he said, "You're not goin' crazy, you're just a bit sad 'Cause there's a man in ya, gnawin' ya, tearin' ya into two" Silly boy, you self-destroyer Paranoia, the destroyer Self-destroyer, wreck your health Destroy your friends, destroy yourself The time device of self-destruction Light the fuse and start eruption, yeah (Yeah, it goes like this, here it goes) Paranoia, the destroyer (Here's to paranoia) Paranoia, the destroyer (Hey hey, here it goes) Paranoia, the destroyer (And it goes like this) Paranoia, the destroyer (And it goes like this)