Art Lover by the Kinks

This song is NOT about underage sex, and the writer had the chance to add a line that would have clarified its intent. He left it out intentionally, to keep both the ambiguity and creepiness in tact.

“On the surface, this is an incredibly creepy song about about a man with bad intentions stalking a child. Kinks frontman Ray Davies, who wrote the song, explained that it is actually about a divorced dad who only gets custody of his daughter once a week. Davies says that when the guy says, “I’m not a flasher in a rain coat, I’m not a dirty old man,” we can choose to believe him.”


Sunday afternoon there’s something special
It’s just like another world
Jogging in the park is my excuse
To look at all the little girls

I’m not a flasher in a rain coat
I’m not a dirty old man
I’m not gonna snatch you from your mother

I’m an art lover, come to daddy
Ah, come to daddy, come to daddy

Pretty little legs, I want to draw them
Like a Degas ballerina
Pure white skin, like porcelain
She’s a work of art and I should know

I’m an art lover, come to daddy
And I’ll give you some spangles

Little girl, don’t notice me
Watching, as she innocently plays
She can’t see me staring at her
Because I’m always wearing shades

She feeds the ducks, looks at the flowers
I follow her around for hours and hours
I’d take her home, but that could never be
She’s just a substitute for what’s been taken from me

Ah, come to daddy, come on

Sunday afternoon can’t last forever
Wish I could take you home
So, come on, give us a smile
Before you vanish out of view

I’ve learned to appreciate you
The way art lovers do
And I only want to look at you



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