Peak
9
Weeks
14
Score
2,460
Chart Year
1970
This song is about a guy who meets a girl (Lola) in a club who takes him home and rocks his world. The twist comes when we find out that Lola is a man. As stated in The Kinks: The Official Biography, Ray Davies wrote the lyrics after their manager got drunk at a club and started dancing with what he thought was a woman. Toward the end of the night, his stubble started showing, but their manager was too tanked to notice. Said Davies: "'Lola' was a love song, and the person they fall in love with is a transvestite. It's not their fault - they didn't know - but you know it's not going to last. It was based on a story about my manager." Ray Davies revealed to Q magazine in a 2016 interview: "The song came out of an experience in a club in Paris. I was dancing with this beautiful blonde, then we went out into the daylight and I saw her stubble. " He added; "So I drew on that but colored it in, made it more interesting lyrically." The Kinks came up with the riff after messing around with open strings on guitars. The group's guitarist, Dave Davies, contended that he deserved a songwriting credit on the track, leading to additional friction with his brother Ray, who got the sole composer credit. "Lola" revived The Kinks in America, where they hadn't had a Top 40 hit since "Sunny Afternoon" in 1966. Their first American tour in 1965 did not go well - they clashed with their promoter, drew sparse crowds, and often played short sets. The group was so petulant, the American Federation of Musicians refused to issue them permits, effectively banning them from the country until 1969. By the time "Lola" was released, most Americans hadn't heard from the Kinks in years, but the song proved very popular and this time, the band could promote it. The next single, "Apeman," reached #45, but the next few Kinks albums took them in a more theatrical direction. They didn't have another substantial hit in the US until "Come Dancing" in 1982. The line "You drink champagne and it tastes just like cherry cola" was recorded as "it tastes just like Coca-Cola." The British Broadcasting Company (BBC) refused to play it because of the commercial reference, so Ray Davies flew from New York to London to change the lyric and get the song on the air. There was speculation, fueled by a 2004 piece in Rolling Stone magazine, that this song was inspired by the famous transgender actress Candy Darling, who Kinks lead singer Ray Davies allegedly dated for a brief time. This is the same Candy mentioned in Lou Reed's "Walk On The Wild Side" ("Candy came from out on the island, in the backroom she was everybody's darling"). Report this ad Ray Davies, who wrote this song, told Rolling Stone in 2014 why this song didn't cause more of an uproar considering its storyline. "The subject matter was concealed," he said. "It's a crafty way of writing. I say, 'She woke up next to me,' and people think it's a woman. The story unfolds better than if the song were called 'I Dated a Drag Queen.'" Kinks fans were not the types who would relate to a cross-dresser, but they loved this song. It opened the door for artists like Lou Reed and David Bowie to explore gender fluidity in songs that appealed to rock fans of all stripes. Weird Al Yankovic recorded a parody of this song entitled "Yoda" (based on the Star Wars movies) for his 1985 album Dare to Be Stupid. >> Ray Davies used his National Steel resonator guitar for the first time on this song. He recalled to Uncut: "On 'Lola' I wanted an intro similar to what we used on Dedicated Follower Of Fashion, which was two Fender acoustic guitars and Dave's electric guitar so I went down to Shaftesbury Avenue and bought a Martin guitar, and this National guitar that I got for £80, then double-tracked the Martin, and double-tracked the National – that's what got that sound." The Kinks probably weren't familiar with it, but an American song published in 1918 also mentions Lola and Coca-Cola. In "Ev'ry Day'll Be Sunday When The Town Goes Dry," we hear the line, "At the table with Lola they will serve us Coca-Cola." Ray Davies told Daniel Rachel (The Art of Noise: Conversations with Great Songwriters) that he didn't initially show the lyrics to the band. "We just rehearsed it with the la-la la-la Lo-la chorus which came first. I had a one-year-old daughter at the time and she was singing along to it." Lola is mentioned in the 1981 Kinks song "Destroyer," which begins: "Met a girl called Lola and I took her back to my place." Ray Davies knew how to craft a hook, and he found a good one here. He said: "I wrote 'Lola' to be a great record, not a great song. Something that people could recognize in the first five seconds. Even the chorus, my two-year-old daughter sang it back to me. I thought, 'This must catch on.'"
I met her in a club down in old Soho Where you drink champagne and it tastes just like Cherry cola C-O-L-A, cola She walked up to me and she asked me to dance I asked her her name and in a dark brown voice she said, "Lola" L-O-L-A, Lola, Lo-Lo, Lo, Lo-Lola Well, I'm not the world's most physical guy But when she squeezed me tight she nearly broke my spine Oh my Lola, Lo-Lo, Lo, Lo-Lola Well, I'm not dumb but I can't understand Why she walked like a woman but talked like a man Oh my Lola, Lo-Lo, Lo, Lo-Lola, Lo-Lo, Lo, Lo-Lola Well, we drank champagne and danced all night Under electric candlelight She picked me up and sat me on her knee She said, "Little boy, won't you come home with me?" Well, I'm not the world's most passionate guy But when I looked in her eyes Well, I almost fell for my Lola Lo-Lo, Lo, Lo-Lola, Lo-Lo, Lo, Lo-Lola Lola, Lo-Lo, Lo, Lo-Lola, Lo-Lo, Lo, Lo-Lola I pushed her away I walked to the door I fell to the floor I got down on my knees Then I looked at her, and she at me Well, that's the way that I want it to stay And I always want it to be that way for my Lola Lo-Lo, Lo, Lo-Lola Girls will be boys, and boys will be girls It's a mixed up, muddled up, shook up world Except for Lola Lo-Lo, Lo, Lo-Lola Well, I'd left home just a week before And I'd never ever kissed a woman before But Lola smiled and took me by the hand She said, "Little boy, gonna make you a man" Well, I'm not the world's most masculine man But I know what I am and I'm glad I'm a man And so is Lola Lo-Lo, Lo, Lo-Lola, Lo-Lo, Lo, Lo-Lola Lola, Lo-Lo, Lo, Lo-Lola, Lo-Lo, Lo, Lo-Lola Lola, Lo-Lo, Lo, Lo-Lola, Lo-Lo, Lo, Lo-Lola Lola, Lo-Lo, Lo, Lo-Lola, Lo-Lo, Lo, Lo-Lola Lola, Lo-Lo, Lo, Lo-Lola, Lo-Lo, Lo, Lo-Lola Lola, Lo-Lo, Lo, Lo-Lola, Lo-Lo, Lo, Lo-Lola
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aug 29, 1970 | 65 | 61 |
| 2 | Sep 5, 1970 | 60 | 66 |
| 3 | Sep 12, 1970 | 40 | 86 |
| 4 | Sep 19, 1970 | 36 | 90 |
| 5 | Sep 26, 1970 | 29 | 97 |
| 6 | Oct 3, 1970 | 28 | 98 |
| 7 | Oct 10, 1970 | 13 | 113 |
| 8 | Oct 17, 1970 | 12 | 114 |
| 9 | Oct 24, 1970 | 9 | 117 |
| 10 | Oct 31, 1970 | 9 | 117 |
| 11 | Nov 7, 1970 | 10 | 116 |
| 12 | Nov 14, 1970 | 16 | 110 |
| 13 | Nov 21, 1970 | 23 | 103 |
| 14 | Nov 28, 1970 | 36 | 90 |