Kinks Weeks – Low Budget … freefallin.home.blog

This is Ricky and he is my cousin I’ve known since I was a kid. I would go over to his house in the ’70s and ’80s, play baseball, ride bikes, and later on…watch MTV. He has some good posts about some well-known and rare bands. You can find him at https://freefallin.home.blog/

The title cut from their 1979 album. The song did not chart, but the album became their best-selling non-compilation album in the U.S. It was a flop in the U.K. I’m always on a low budget.

From Wikipedia

“Low Budget” was recorded in January 1979. It describes a man giving up his “expensive tastes” in order to save money. Like many of the tracks on Low Budget, it applies to the economic troubles occurring during the time that the album was released, such as strikes in Great Britain. However, AllMusic‘s Richard Gilliam claimed that the track’s theme could “easily apply to just about any modern recession”.

Although “Low Budget” refers to economic problems of the times in general, it also refers to some of Ray Davies’ own personal concerns. In the song, Davies mocks his own fear of not having money and his frugality. The song also references Davies’ vanity. The singer describes himself as once being well dressed and able to afford cigars, but now has to buy discount clothes and chew mints. He describes himself as “a cut-price person in a low-budget land.” But despite being reduced to poverty, the singer expresses pride in his hair and his teeth. Author Thomas Kitts notes that even the title, used in the refrain “I’m on a low budget” could refer to Davies keeping himself on a tight budget.

When asked which guitar performance he was most proud of, The Kinks’ guitarist Dave Davies noted “Low Budget,” as well as “You Really Got Me,” as a favorite. He said of this:

I like “Low Budget” [1979]. It’s wild. I like that kind of, almost country-style playing. It’s like a shape; I don’t even worry about what notes I play as I’m doing it. And if you catch a few open strings, you might get lucky with a weird clunk or a harmonic or something. I think all the best stuff is the stuff that happens before you’ve even realized what you’ve done. So “Low Budget” and, obviously, “You Really Got Me.”

— Dave Davies, Guitar World, 2014

Low Budget

Cheap is small and not too steep
But best of all cheap is cheap
Circumstance has forced my hand
To be a cut price person in a low budget land
Times are hard but we’ll all survive
I just got to learn to economize

I’m on a low budget
I’m on a low budget
I’m not cheap, you understand
I’m just a cut price person in a low budget land
Excuse my shoes they don’t quite fit
They’re a special offer and they hurt me a bit
Even my trousers are giving me pain
They were reduced in a sale so I shouldn’t complain
They squeeze me so tight so I can’t take no more
They’re size 28 but I take 34

I’m on a low budget
What did you say
I’m on a low budget
I thought you said that

I’m on a low budget
I’m a cut price person in a low budget land

I’m shopping at Woolworth and low discount stores
I’m dropping my standards so that I can buy more
Low budget sure keeps me on my toes
I count every penny and I watch where it goes
We’re all on our uppers we’re all going skint
I used to smoke cigars but now I suck polo mints

I’m on a low budget
What did you say
Yea I’m on a low budget
I thought you said that
I’m on a low budget
I’m a cut price person in a low budget land
I’m on a low budget
Low budget
Low budget

Art takes time, time is money
Money’s scarce and that ain’t funny
Millionaires are things of the past
We’re in a low budget film where nothing can last
Money’s rare there’s none to be found
So don’t think I’m tight if I don’t buy a round

I’m on a low budget
What did you say
Yes, I’m on a low budget
I thought you said that
I’m on a low budget
I’m a cut price person in a low budget land
I’m on a low budget
Say it again
Low budget
One more time
Low budget

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Raymond Douglas Davies

Unknown's avatar

Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

22 thoughts on “Kinks Weeks – Low Budget … freefallin.home.blog”

  5. this didn’t show up on my ‘reader feed’ but I figured there would be a Kinks post somewhere today!

    not a song I know, but sounds quite decent first time through and wry, sombre yet fun lyrics you’d expect from Ray. Odd how by then the Kinks world had turned upside down & they did pretty well here but were ignored at home.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  6. A cynically humorous song that I like a lot. A guy that I worked with at a summer camp in 1980 had this album and helped to turn me on to the Kinks. The album cover caught my eye with the lipstick-stained cigarette butts.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    1. In 1979 is when I first started to follow the Kinks (I knew the big 60s hits but not real time by them)…the Misfits album but I went back and and started to listen to the others…this one included.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. I guess I was dimly aware of them, I had heard the name of the band, but didn’t know much about them. The live version of “Lola” that was a single from One For the Road was what got me intrigued enough to explore further. I have 4 older siblings so I knew a lot of 60’s music but I don’t remember them having any Kinks records. I guess in the U.S. if you didn’t get on board with the first few singles, you missed your chance, because then the ban was imposed.

        Liked by 1 person

  7. This waking up to a Kinks song and write up is becoming a habit. I still look at this song (album) as a new release. This was turn for my Kinks journey. They were actually getting popular and getting more recognition after years of making great music which didnt see a lot of light. I was very happy for them. They deserved it. Great tune with Rays poking fun at something and the band cooking. Dave has always been a favorite guitar player and on this tune he cuts loose. Good one Ricky.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  8. First of all, nice meeting you Max cousin Ricky! Max may have mentioned this strange German dude who’s convinced he’s some distant relative of Max. I guess that would make us distant relatives as well. 🙂

    Second, you just helped build my musical self-confidence by picking another Kinks song I know – after many others featured in this great series I hadn’t been aware of. That said, I’m now still determined to start exploring entire albums by The Kinks, as opposed to specific songs from each album only. And I’m happy to report the first album I heard from front to back in one shot is 1967’s “Something Else by The Kinks” – in part since it includes two of my all-time favorites: “Death of a Clown” and “Waterloo Sunset.”

    I first heard “Low Budget” some time this century when putting together a Kinks playlist in iTunes. It became one of 30 tracks in that playlist, which I wanted to be career-spanning and include at least one song from most of their studio albums.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  9. Ricky, brand new tune to me. I love the live video you included. Damned sexy guitar playing by Dave and Ray strutting his stuff. Good song and I daresay all of us have been there at some point in our lives!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a reply to M.Y. Cancel reply