Dead End Street - Mono Mix

This song is about the hopelessness of the British lower class, especially when unemployed. The title "Dead End Street," which means a one way street, implies the difficulty for many of getting away from the desperate situation they find themselves in. Ray Davies explained to Q magazine: "My whole feeling about the '60s was that it's not as great as everyone thinks it is. Carnaby Street, everybody looking happy, that was all a camouflage. That's what Dead End Street was about. I wrote it around the time I had to buy a house and I was terrified. I never wanted to own anything because my dad had never owned property. He'd inherited from his dad that he had to rent all his life. So I still have inbuilt shame of owning anything. It's guilt."

Dave Davies claimed this was one of his two favorite songs written by his brother, Ray. The other one he mentioned was "Shangri-La."

The band pulled a fast one on producer Shel Talmy, who wanted the song to have more of a pop beat. Ray Davies told interviewer Daniel Rachel (The Art of Noise: Conversations with Great Songwriters): "He finished the track and said, 'That's great,' and went home. Then we pretended to leave but came back to the studio and re-recorded the song. We played it to him the next day and he said, 'See what I mean, there's nothing wrong with it.' He thought we were playing him his version."