There are three proven ways to relieve pressure:
Sex
Drugs
Rock’n’Roll
And when the other two go to shit you can always count on the savage-breast-soothing charms of music.
I don’t have a lot of soft spots left but I’ve got one for The Kinks. This song, from their 1981 collection Low Budget, packs just enough of a punch to fight off the pressure that builds and breeds these days like swarms of biblical locusts.
Kicking off with a riff that is unmistakably Chuck Berry’s, and following up with lyrics that are just as characteristic of Ray Davies, parceled out in equal measures of frustration and empathy, this is another in a long line of Kinks songs that hits that soft spot just right.
Pressure pressure I got pressure,
oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah
Pressure pressure I got pressure
Pressure pressure I got pressure
I don’t really want to give it to you
Because it’s really contagious
You can pick it up anywhere
And it can be quite dangerous
You can spread it mouth to mouth
You can even get it when you’re alone
But I can always live with it
Whenever I am close to you
Because it’s really contagious
You can pick it up anywhere
And it can be quite dangerous
You can spread it mouth to mouth
You can even get it when you’re alone
But I can always live with it
Whenever I am close to you
Pressure pressure I got pressure,
oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah
Pressure pressure I got pressure
Pressure pressure I got pressure
I get it driving in my motor car
I get it when I’m drinking in a bar
I get it riding on the subway
I get it regular every day
And anyone who never had it yet
And doesn’t know what I’m going through
But I forget the pressure
Whenever I am close to you
I get it when I’m drinking in a bar
I get it riding on the subway
I get it regular every day
And anyone who never had it yet
And doesn’t know what I’m going through
But I forget the pressure
Whenever I am close to you
Pressure pressure I got pressure
Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah
Pressure pressure feel the pressure
Pressure pressure feel the pressure
You got the pressure and that’s a fact
I can tell by the way you act
And I can tell that you’re pressurized
By the look that’s in your eyes
I know the pressure ’cause I’ve got it too
So I know what you’re going through
But I forget the pressure
Whenever I am close to you
I can tell by the way you act
And I can tell that you’re pressurized
By the look that’s in your eyes
I know the pressure ’cause I’ve got it too
So I know what you’re going through
But I forget the pressure
Whenever I am close to you
Words & Music by Mike Power 