"King for a Day" is a song by Colin Moulding. It appeared on and was released as a single for the 1989 album Oranges & Lemons. It reached No. 11 on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and No. 38 on the US Mainstream Rock tracks chart.
Alternate mixes "Czar" and "Versailles" appear on the CD single.
A live, acoustic version was performed for MTV.
Quotes[]
Andy: “This is one of the three songs Colin wrote [for Oranges & Lemons]. All of them are rather down and dark but put to jolly music, which makes them even more poignant. The song's about ass-licking and making a fool of yourself just to get fame and riches and success. The song's a commando knife, dark and cutting. That's a guess at what it's about but I have seen the files and photographed them with my bow-tie camera so it's an educated guess.”
Andy: “Like all records, it reflects your state of mind at the time - we wanted to do a big bright noisy record. Our version of music for driving with the top down.”[1]
Charts[]
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | "King for a Day" | Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | 38 |
| 1989 | "King for a Day" | Billboard Modern Rock Tracks | 11 |
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
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
Videos[]
Promo[]
Promo video for "Kind for a Day." Uploaded by YouTube user "satorudeath."
David Letterman[]
Performing live on David Letterman. Uploaded by YouTube user "avespdx."
MTV[]
Live acoustic performance on MTV. Uploaded by YouTube user "RT83."