Lyrics to Ordinary People

This version of Ordinary People was released by The Kinks in 1975.

Our About The Kinks page at Decade Lyrics includes the lyrics for Ordinary People from 1975 as well as all of the other lyrics from The Kinks that we have in our lyrics database.

Here's more interesting things in songs and lyrics tied to The Kinks or about the 1970s in general.

I am the image maker. I am the magic
Maker. I can turn the most ordinary
Man in the world into a star. To prove
My point I am going to find the most
Mundane little man and turn him into
Celebrity. Hmm! This looks like a
Suitably uninteresting house. I wonder
If there’s anybody here with enough
Star quality?

He presses the doorbell.

Hello. What’s your name?

Andrea.

Oh, that’s a nice name. What’s your
Husband’s name?

Norman.

His name’s Norman. That sounds
Ordinary enough. I would like you to
Join in a unique experiment with me.
I am going to take Norman’s place for
A few days. I ‘m going to research his
Ordinary dull little existence.

Oh you can’t come in now! The place
Is in a terrible mess!

That doesn’t matter. I want you to act
Normally. I want you to treat me as if I
Were Norman. I am going to sacrifice
My normal flamboyant life style and
Become ordinary, boring little Norman
For a few days.

Ordinary People

It’s like another world, being here with you,
It’s quite a trip for me, so this is reality.
I’m studying every movement, I’m trying to learn the part,
Now I want you to be natural, just relax and be as you are,
‘Cos it’s all for art, I want to observe the ordinary people

Tomorrow I shall become Norman,
I shall go to his office,
Mix with his workmates.
And if they ask any questions
I shall say I’m doing research for one of my songs.
Nomand and I are changing places
And I’m going to make him a star,
So I’m throwing away my stage suit and I’m packing away my guitar,
For the sake of art I’m gonna mix with the ordinary people.

God these pyjamas are awful!

Awful? Well all I can say is my Norman wears them every night.

Alright, no sacrifice is too great for art!

The things I’ve done for music,
The things I’ve done for art.
So I’ll make these sacrifices and I’ll take it like a star
For the sake of art I will mix with the ordinary people.

You’d better come to bed darling.

Coming! You’ll never get up for work in the morning.

I’m making observations, and character simulations.
I’ll mix with his friends and relations,
And he’ll be a part of me.

He’s changing places with Norman,
To get background for his songs.

I’m immortalising his life
And I’ll even sleep with his wife,
For the sake of art I’ll go to bed like the ordinary people.

Turn out the light.
Turn out the light.

The Star exchanges his silver stage
Suit for Norman’s pin stripe suit,
Umbrella and briefcase. He forsakes
His customary brandy and cigars and
Settles for a cup of hot chocolate before
Going to bed.

Hey Norman, you’re stayin’ at home with your wife
And you dream you’re a rock-n-roll star
But you’ve reached the point of no return
And you don’t know who you really are
You’re livin’ in a fantasy world
You don’t know what’s real
How does it feel, all of your life
In an enchanted lie

About Lyrics and Ordinary People by The Kinks

The lyrics for Ordinary People are defined as the words making up the song released by The Kinks in 1975. It also includes the verses and words used by the background chorus in the song. Like many hit songs, the lyrics to Ordinary People have different meanings to different people. While it is clear in some of the lyrics what the artist is trying to really say, only The Kinks and those working with them know all of the meanings behind all of the lyrics to their songs.

Some folks are interested in word and phrase etymology. It is easy to understand the lyrics to Ordinary People by The Kinks if you think through it. The word "lyric" itself derives from the Latin word lyricus, with the actual English word lyrics applied to the definition "words set to music" listed in Stainer and Barrett's 1876 Dictionary of Musical Terms. Continuing the chain, the Latin word lyricus derives from the Greek word λυρικός or lyrikós. This somewhat means "poetry accompanied by the lyre" or "words set to music." You can easily see that by looking at the background of the word lyric, that the "lyrics to Ordinary People" means the words set to the music of Ordinary People, or poetry accompanied by the lyre played by The Kinks. The singular form "lyric" is still used to mean the complete words to a song. However, the singular form lyric is also commonly used to refer to a specific line (or phrase) within a song's lyrics. Hence, by this analysis of word structure, you could say that the lyric to Ordinary People and the lyrics to Ordinary People are both one and the same thing. None of this talk about the word Lyrics is really relevant to fans of The Kinks who came here looking just for the lyrics to Ordinary People, but we feel it is still fun to learn what's behind commonly used words and lyrics in songs.