The Kinks - Superman - Lyrics Meaning

Superman was released on the 1986 album, "Come Dancing With the Kinks"

The song starts off with the singer waking up and looking in the mirror. He`s not happy with his appearance because he's skinny. He decides that there has to be a way for him to improve himself, and so he excercises a bit and then depressed, gets dressed. He wants to fly like Superman.

The next day, the singer wakes up and discovers "a big black cloud hanging over me". He hears the news and find that there are many strikes going on. It depresses him because he has numerous bills to pay and it seems that he will need special powers to get by with what he has. At the same time, he is thankful that he's still alive and well.

The singer also hears about the violence, robbery, and craziness in the world. This frustrates him and his girlfriend is upset about everything that is happening. He is sad to see her upset and he wishes he could fly like Superman and take her away from the world's troubles. He also feels helpless because he would like to fix all of these troubles, but he's thinks he can't because he's thin and weak, and he can't even swim.