XTC - King For A Day Lyrics






Everyone's creeping up to the money god
Putting tongues where they didn't ought to be
On stepping stones of human hearts and souls
Into the land of "nothing for free"

Well the way that we're living
Is all take and no giving
There's nothing to believe in
The loudest mouth will hail the new-found way
To be king for a day

Everyone's licking up to the new King Pin
Trying to get way up with a smile
Sing for your supper boy and jump to a finger click
Ain't my way of living in style

'Cause the ladder gets longer
And ambition gets stronger
I can't satisfy the hunger
That bad old moon has got you in its sway
To be king for a day
(King for a day)

You're only here once so you got to get it right
(No time to fuss and fight)
'Cause life don't mean much if measured out with someone else's plight
(In time you'll see the light)

'Cause the way that we're living
Is all take and no giving
There's not much to believe in
The loudest mouth will hail the new found way
To be king for a day





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XTC King For A Day Comments
  1. R.... R....

    What a geogeous song the melodies sublime and the harmonies spot on. XTC you are music gods

  2. A.... H....

    What a beautifully simplistic/complex song. Oranges & Lemons was my first really dive into XTC (though I loved "Plans for Nigel") and now I have all their albums and listen to them still in 2020, yeah baby. Oranges & Lemons was reviewed by a music critic in Calgary on the CBC and I went right out and bought it based on his rave - and never regretted a single moment of listening. Every cut on the album is outstanding - starts where "Sgt. Pepper's" left off...

  3. C.... H....

    How this great band were as big as some of the shit that's around today. Baffles me...

  4. R.... A....

    This gives me Everybody Wants To Rule The World vibes

  5. A.... B....

    Oranges and lemons. one of the best albums from the time period! #xtc

  6. G.... ....

    Love the vibe of this one..

  7. A.... B....

    I love this band and what a great tune!✌😎👍

  8. D.... R....

    I saw a lot of the great 80's bands in concert....my greatest regret was never seeing XTC live.

  9. R.... P....

    Hammered dulcimer? Wow.

  10. a.... j....

    Lyrics
    Everyone's creeping up to the money God
    Putting tongues where they didn't ought to be
    On stepping stones of human hearts and souls
    Into the land of 'Nothing for free'


    Well, the way that we're living
    Is all take and no giving
    There's nothing to believe in
    The loudest mouth will hail the new found way
    To be king for a day


    Everyone's licking up to the new king pin
    Trying to get a way up with the smile
    Sing for your supper boy and jump to a finger click
    Ain't my way of living in style


    'Cause the ladder gets longer
    And ambition gets stronger
    I can't satisfy the hunger
    That bad old moon has got you in its sway
    To be king for a day, king for a day


    You're only here once, so you got to get it right
    No…

  11. D.... ....

    The way that we’re living is all take and no giving:....the loudest mouth will hail the new found way.....

  12. E.... V....

    Escucharla en Rock 101 bajo el concepto de Idea Musical siempre, siempre fue una delicia para mis oídos e imaginación. Extraño esos años 😍

  13. A.... l....

    I like this song.

  14. M.... ....

    ALL HAIL XTC

  15. H.... d....

    its safe to say, I played this song once a week preferably before the weekend starts. Long live the 80s!!!!!!!!!!!

  16. r.... n....

    Who is the money god satan?

  17. S.... S....

    The 80's what more can I say ?

  18. l.... ....

    Excellent melody

  19. J.... C....

    such a siiiiick song!!

  20. R.... R....

    What talented musicians

  21. M.... A....

    I miss being a teen in the 80's

  22. C.... H....

    Andy Partridge was an absolute genius. XTC's albums were just amazing.

    C.... H....

    what about Colin? This is his song lol

  23. B.... H....

    These guys are geniuses

  24. S.... H....

    horror/thriller author at @t books sez: As is often the case with THE most melodic band since THE BEATLES, a certain tension exists between a sunny melody and dark lyrics, resulting in a strange but intriguing melancholy. A shame this brilliant, deceptively complex band never got the love it deserved.

  25. s.... ....

    Silly brilliant goofs.

  26. J.... F....

    One of my favorite albums of all time.
    There best album.
    Fantastic

  27. k.... ....

    If you don’t like this one, that’s your loss. What a band! They should make a rockumentary about XTC!!

    k.... ....

    🤪😁

  28. a.... ....

    This what they mean when they say an artist "knocked it out of the park".

  29. B.... H....

    The Thompson Twins also had a song called "King for a Day". Totally different songs but both are fantastic.

  30. N.... R....

    My absolute favourite XTC song. How lucky are we to have enjoyed this fine group? Timeless!

  31. D.... R....

    This band is my kryptonite...I am helpless...I cannot resist.....

  32. a.... b....

    Should have been covered by Frank Sinatra.

  33. P.... J....

    Heard this gem of a song while shopping at Big Lots. Asked Siri, “who plays this song?” and up this came. Amazing song and instantly became one of my favorites!

  34. A.... M....

    How does this wonderful song get 60 dislikes?

  35. k.... l....

    Gee I wish they’d got their rightful dues from those who exploited them!

  36. w.... ....

    Fantastic song, but where is Pat Mastelotto, sho is supposed to be the drummer in this album?

  37. N.... M....

    30 years of Oranges & Lemons, one of the best albums ever made!

  38. T.... U....

    Heard this for the first time the other day out in public. Was taken aback by how much it sounds like Everybody Wants to Rule the World. Even the concepts (king for a day...rule the world) are similar. Been looking online all day...had no idea who sung this or what it was called. Only remembered the lyric "king for a day". Shocked to find it's an old song. I thought maybe it was a recent hipsterdouche song, or another Coldplay ripoff. I like this song but come on... it's EWtRtW. Just a worse version.

  39. P.... E....

    Incredible song!!!

  40. R.... 8....

    King for ever

  41. R.... A....

    Every time I hear that lyric "... it satisfies the hunger..." I think of a Snickers commercial.

  42. H.... D....

    una canción que me relaja y me trae recuerdos de los 80' hermosa para escuchar con fidelidad ...

  43. V.... ....

    There is no way this song exists in today's charts.

  44. S.... L....

    XTC is GODS answer to happiness!

  45. M.... -....

    Una Joya invaluable de una de las bandas poco valoradas, pero brillante

  46. M.... L....

    This song makes me think of carefree life at the beach with my first love discovering life together as teenagers....aaaahhh pure bliss❤️

  47. G.... F....

    Men with hats..class

  48. D.... A....

    a geat band...underrated doesnt cover it....

  49. D.... M....

    Everyone's creeping up to the money God
    Putting tongues where they didn't ought to be
    On stepping stones of human hearts and souls
    Into the land of 'Nothing for free'
    Well, the way that we're living
    Is all take and no giving
    There's nothing to believe in
    The loudest mouth will hail the new found way
    To be king for a day
    Everyone's licking up to the new king pin
    Trying to get a way up with the smile
    Sing for your supper boy and jump to a finger click
    Ain't my way of living in style
    'Cause the ladder gets longer
    And ambition gets stronger
    I can't satisfy the hunger
    That bad old moon has got you in its sway
    To be king for a day, king for a day
    You're only here once, so you got to get it right
    No time to fuss and fight
    'Cause life don't mean much
    If measured out with someone else's plight
    'Cause the way that we're living
    Is all take and no giving
    There's nothing much to believe in
    The loudest mouth will hail the new found way
    To be king for a day
    King for a day
    King for a day
    King for a day
    ...

  50. r.... l....

    You're only here once..so you gotta get it right. No time to fuss and fight.Peace.

  51. S.... Y....

    This and Simpleton takes me back to 1989..my final year in the US. Thanks MTV and XTC

  52. N.... R....

    My favourite Xtc song. Great group. Wish those happy days would return again! Today's music is sooo bad!

  53. m.... ....

    I love this song so much. I get to hear this song at work on the soundtrack sometimes. How lucky am I?

  54. r.... ....

    listenable anytime, anywhere, and I do ever since the 80's/early 90's.  Yep, still.

  55. J.... Z....

    Nice song

  56. F.... V....

    I love this group and songs, I saw them in 1978 in nyc supporting the Talking Heads. I just can't stand there stage persona and videos in the later years. They were so much cooler in those first three or four albums. Just my take folks.

  57. M.... A....

    I like to thank 91X FM here in san.diego ca. they always.played xtc back in the days

  58. H.... ....

    Sweet, easy song. Reflection of those simpler, truer (not really better or worse, just more honest, fearless) days. Joyfully confused high school relationships centered around an attempt to balance of my natural needs (widely, wildly driven by unexplained hormonal and social factors) for both acceptance and independence at the same time.

  59. S.... M....

    My favorite XTC song. This tune always puts me in my inner happy 14 year old place...

  60. S.... S....

    This song by Xtc definitely has a level 42 sound and feel to it

  61. H.... W....

    I listened to this song for the first time while I was deployed in Afghanistan. my dad mailed me his ipod and it was preloaded with his music, great song.

  62. G.... F....

    such a great song , to bad the audio sound like it's coming out of tin can , , AAaarrrgghhh ! ! !

  63. P.... M....

    15 years down the line I had largely forgotten XTC suddenly this album appeared + was on constant radio air play that summer, loved this song even if Andy can be a prat at times.

  64. A.... L....

    one of my favorites,,,even now

  65. R.... T....

    Check out the new documentary about them on Showtime!

  66. J.... S....

    Xtc is arguably the most underrated and overlooked band of the late 70s an 80s. Their album, oranges and lemons, is to be totally honest, a masterpiece. Much like the Beatles, Revolver, they didn't know they were in the presence of greatness, but hey, there it is.

  67. S.... F....

    My God I forgot how bad these guys suck truly terrible awful

  68. K.... E....

    People just do not write like this these days. Very interesting group.

  69. K.... H....

    Now I’ve heard of three bands with a song like this xtc Green Day and pierce the veil oml

  70. D.... P....

    Perfection. Such an amazing group.

  71. M.... K....

    Pure unadulterated perfection.

  72. P.... G....

    Love this song♡♡♡♡

  73. s.... ....

    I'm not up on my XTC lore. Who's the empty chair for?

  74. C.... M....

    Brilliant, thank you,

  75. p.... ....

    Does this song set a mood, or what???!!!

  76. M.... E....

    The 90s were the opposite of the 80s guess everyone got tired of hearing good music all the time.

  77. A.... H....

    I damn near wore the tape out of this cassette (Oranges & Lemons) out back in the day... Love these guys.

  78. d.... s....

    This kinda sounds like tears for fears everybody wants to rule the world

    d.... s....

    Because they're the only other band in history that wrote a song in 2/4...

  79. H.... T....

    Few bands as successful as XTC that you can call underrated but they certainly fit the bill. One of the top ten bands of the last 50 years imo.

  80. S.... ....

    I have always maintained that the 3 most under-rated song writers and melodists of the past 40 years are Andy Partridge of XTC, Neil Finn of Crowded House and Paddy McAloon of Prefab Sprout - all 3 deserve so much more credit than what they got.

    S.... ....

    Prefab Sprout 😍😍 de mis favoritos

    S.... ....

    Paddy McAloon is criminally underrated

    S.... ....

    Wow - the same trio as me!! But I'd say best as well as underrated.

    S.... ....

    Many songwriters grave written many great songs, but xtc have composed many great albums...

    S.... ....

    i just recently got into prefab sprout, was a huge fan of split enz for a few years, and am now discovering XTC after hearing so much about them, you are spot on. 3 FAR underrated songwriters. whatever the world is going through, we'll always have this music to keep us sane :)

  81. E.... W....

    One of the most unique songs I' ve heard

  82. T.... G....

    Great song... reminds me of The Go-Betweens - Five Words for some reason!

  83. K.... W....

    My daughter loves this song.

  84. M.... H....

    XTC created such a special sound, lyrically, melodically and vocally- they are a prime example of the sum being even greater than its parts.

  85. M.... H....

    This was my favorite song for a long time.

    M.... H....

    Martin Hyizna I still love this song so good! Clockwork Orange was crazy af lol!

  86. C.... S....

    if these kids kept making music like this they still would be doing it!

  87. V.... a....

    *A question only XTC* have ever asked: _What happens if you cross Tears for Fears with Steely Dan?_ This.

  88. t.... ....

    Love love love.

  89. L.... D....

    This is a great song! I still have the cassette tape.

  90. j.... w....

    Lets focus on how great this song is!!!

  91. J.... A....

    Holy fuck, I thought Andy sung this....

  92. s.... ....

    Colin Moulding (XTC's bass player) wrote this. Andy Partridge is the main songwriter, but Colin's songs are outstanding. The 1-2 punch of "Mayor of Simpleton" and this on Oranges and Lemons is way up there with the Beatles, as is his "I Remember the Sun" then "Train Running Low on Soul Coal" on The Big Express. Go buy 'em!

  93. A.... T....

    "Lyle House" on Whitis

  94. J.... A....

    My favourite song this week, got on my mind for some reason.
    XTC is a band that means a lot to me anyway, so go figure!

  95. J.... S....

    Nice !!!!!

  96. E.... B....

    This song is responsible for me signing my life away for satellite radio. "Wave One" radio plays stuff like this all day long.

  97. M.... C....

    I like this song for no other reason than it's airy melody

  98. C.... M....

    brilliant,t
    thank you,