The Kinks
The Million-Pound-Semi-Detached
Haven't we come a long way
From newly-weds in our bed-sitter flat?
We skimped and scraped every penny
For a down payment on our semi-detached
New towns for all the young hopefuls
A garden suburb with mortgage attached
Oh, look at us now, sale all agreed, now it's time to exchange the contracts
With the people who sold us a million-pound semi

Straight out of national service
Demob suits and short back and sides
And saw the bomb sites turned air-raid shelters
Where their families lived all of their lives
Then the nation built them a utopia
With pebbledash on the outside, oh
Look at them now, they've come a long way, they are affluent and bursting with pride
Soon we'll be sitting inside that million-pound semi-detached
Detached, in our million-pound semi-detached
Looking back at the past of this million-pound semi

Two up two down, a back garden, that was the dream
Two kids, a cat and a dog, that was the scheme
Then the kids both grew up and got married and moved out of home
Then we were strangers again, together alone
Look at us now, what are we like
Sitting alone in our million-pound semi-detached?
They're all taking early retirement, the sum total of all of their lives
Now the country is fat with inflation, immigration has helped us survive
Once an Englishman's home was his castle
Now it's a freehold investment to buy, oh
Look at us now, our debts are all paid, and the Empire has really struck back
We're the proud owners of a one-million-pound semi-detached
So detached in our million-pound semi-detached
A new generation is buying and starting anew
And learning by all their mistakes the way people do
Like all the young hopefuls we're buying the future from you
We hope that one day we'll understand what you've both been through
Look at us now, what are we like
Sitting alone, in our million-pound semi-detached?
Look at us now, what are we like
Sitting alone, in our million-pound semi-detached?