"Holiday in Waikiki" — from Face to Face (1966). The English tourist in paradise.
I won a competition in a little column in my local paper.
So I packed my bags and flew across the sea all on my local paper.
I sailed to Hawaii in the U.S.A.
I'm just an English boy who won a holiday in Waikiki.
I didn't realize it was commercialized when I unpacked my cases,
Because a genuine Hawaii ukulele cost me 30 guineas,
And even when I'm swimming I have to pay.
I'm just an English boy who won a holiday in Waikiki.
Oh yeah, yeah.
Across the coral sands I saw a hula hula dancer, looking pretty.
I asked her where she came from and she said to me,
"I come from New York City,
And my mother is Italian,
And my dad's a Greek."
I'm just an English boy who won a holiday in Waikiki.
It's a hooka hooka on the shiny briny on the way to Kona[?],
And in a little shack they had a little sign that said Coca Cola,
And even all the grass skirts were PVC.
I'm just an English boy who won a holiday in Waikiki.
Oh yeah, yeah.
In Waikiki
In Waikiki
Знаете ли вы, что...
- From Face to Face (1966). Holiday in Waikiki — the distant paradise where the English tourist finds that England has followed them. Ray Davies' recurring theme of being unable to escape who you are.