Day 42 – Total confirmed cases in US: 939,249
There is something ominous about monotony, like waiting for something new and different to come is mixed with fear that the new thing is going to be even worse than the old one. They say that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Is it any better to do the same thing over and over again expecting the same result? It might not be insanity but it is distinctly unpleasant.
On the 1981 Kinks album Give The People What They Want, Ray Davies illuminates the frustration of monotony on his song Predictable. With predictably kinky results…
Don’t know why I’m even bothering.
Predictable
Yeah, that’s the mood I’m in.
Go out for a walk then I come back in.
Predictable
Yeah, the mood that I’m in.
Predictable
Every day of my life
Can’t even communicate with my wife
Predictable
That’s the word of the year
Predictable
All I see, all I hear.
Go to my office, sit at my desk,
Predictably just like all of the rest.
I sit and I dream about far away places,
Away from the people with frowns on their faces.
All of my life is monotony
I’d go out for a walk but I know it would be
Predictable
Sure as the nose on my face
Predictable
Same for the whole human race
Once we had so many options
Once we had dignity and grace
Now we have got nothing but our own time to waste.
Predictable
Yeah, that’s the word of the year
Predictable
All I see, all I hear
Why can’t it be like never before?
Predictable
Yeah, ain’t life a bore
Predictable
Life gets more and more…
Just like I’ve heard it all somewhere before.
Predictable
Sure as the nose on my face
Predictable
Same for the whole human race
One day it’s gonna get better
Some way I wish it would get worse
Any way, what can I lose,
It might turn into something better.
It gets harder and harder the harder I try
Predictable
Feels like a good time to die
I kiss you hello then I kiss you good-bye
Predictable
Just like the stain on my tie
Predictable
Just like the jacket I wear
Predictable
The way that I’m combing my hair
Turn on the TV, just sit and stare
Predictable
There’s nothing happening there
Words & Music by Mike Power 