Mr. Churchill Says

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Mr. Churchill Says - Wikipedia

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"Mr. Churchill Says"

UK B-side label

Single by the Kinks

from the album Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire)

A-side

"Victoria"

Released

12 December 1969

Recorded

May–June 1969

Pye, London

Ray Davies

The Kinks UK singles chronology

"Shangri-La"
(1969)

"Mr. Churchill Says"
(1969)

"Lola"
(1970)

Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) track listing

12 tracks

Side one

"Victoria"
"Yes Sir, No Sir"
"Some Mother's Son"
"Drivin'"
"Brainwashed"
"Australia"

Side two

"Shangri-La"
"Mr. Churchill Says"
"She's Bought a Hat Like Princess Marina"
"Young and Innocent Days"
"Nothing to Say"
"Arthur"

"Mr. Churchill Says" is a song written by Ray Davies and released by the Kinks. It appears on the 1969 album Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire).

Lyrics and music

The song is about the struggle of World War II on the people of Great Britain. The song paraphrases parts of several of Prime Minister Winston Churchill's famous speeches including "Never was so much owed by so many to so few", "We shall fight on the beaches", and "This was their finest hour". In addition to Winston Churchill, the song mentions several other political, military and popular figures who were prominent during the war including Max Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook, Bernard Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, Louis Mountbatten and Vera Lynn (quoting her song "We'll Meet Again").

The song features a striking example of integration of sound effects into an arrangement, in this case a vintage air-raid siren which introduces a new section.^[1] The Kinks had been experimenting with the use of sound effects since the 1966 Face to Face album. Ray Davies is also featured on lead vocals.

When talking about the song (and Churchill himself) Ray Davies stated, "Today TV exposed weaknesses in politicians ... But I don't know about Winston Churchill. He may have been a bit more ruthless than we've been led to believe. When the battle's over and you've won, you always look good. But what was achieved by it?"^[2]

Release and reception

"Mr. Churchill Says" was first released as the second track on the second side of Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire), where it followed "Shangri-La". However, it saw single release on 12 December 1969, where it was released as the B-side of the "Victoria" single in Britain.

Unlike other tracks on Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire), "Mr. Churchill Says" has generally received mixed reviews from critics. Rolling Stone's J.R. Young praised the track, saying that "on "Mr. Churchill Says" the band moves effortlessly into a three or four part number, changing the tempo, the mood, and the melody while never losing a superb dancing beat."^[3] However, in his book, Preservation: The Kinks' Music 1964–1974, Andrew Hickey said that the track is "one of the lesser songs on the album, but a necessary breather after the intensity of 'Shangri-La'."^[4]

References

^ It is not clear whether this sound comes or not from the BBC Sound Library. Both the Kinks in End of the Season and the Beatles in a take of Across the Universe used the same bird song extracts
^ Kitts, Thomas M. (2014-05-25). Ray Davies: Not Like Everybody Else.
^ Young, J.R. (November 1969). "Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2014-05-26.
^ Hickey, Andrew. Preservation: The Kinks' Music 1964 - 1974.

External links

v t e The Kinks singles discography
1960s singles (UK & US)	1964 "Long Tall Sally" "You Still Want Me" "You Really Got Me" "All Day and All of the Night" 1965 "Tired of Waiting for You" "Ev'rybody's Gonna Be Happy" "Set Me Free" "See My Friends" "Who'll Be the Next in Line" "A Well Respected Man" "Till the End of the Day" 1966 "Dedicated Follower of Fashion" "Sunny Afternoon" "Dead End Street" 1967 "Mister Pleasant" "Waterloo Sunset" "Death of a Clown" (Dave Davies solo) "Autumn Almanac" "Susannah's Still Alive" (Dave Davies solo) 1968 "Wonderboy" "Days" "Lincoln County" (Dave Davies solo) 1969 "Starstruck" "Hold My Hand" (Dave Davies solo) "Plastic Man" "Drivin'" "The Village Green Preservation Society" "Shangri-La" "Victoria"
1970s singles (UK & US)	1970 "Lola" "Apeman" 1971 "God's Children" "20th Century Man" 1972 "Supersonic Rocket Ship" "Celluloid Heroes" 1973 "One of the Survivors" "Sitting in the Midday Sun" "Sweet Lady Genevieve" "Where Have All the Good Times Gone" 1974 "Money Talks" "Mirror of Love" "Mirror of Love" (band version) "Holiday Romance" "Preservation" 1975 "Everybody's a Star (Starmaker)" "Ducks on the Wall" "You Can't Stop the Music" 1976 "I'm in Disgrace" "No More Looking Back" 1977 "Sleepwalker" "Juke Box Music" "Father Christmas" 1978 "A Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy" "Live Life" "Black Messiah" 1979 "(Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman" "A Gallon of Gas" "Catch Me Now I'm Falling" "Moving Pictures" "Pressure"
1980s singles (UK & US)	1980 "Lola" (live) "You Really Got Me" (live) 1981 "Better Things" "Destroyer" "Predictable" 1982 "Come Dancing" 1983 "Don't Forget to Dance" 1984 "Good Day" "Do It Again" 1985 "Living on a Thin Line" (radio promo only) "Summer's Gone" 1986 "Rock 'n' Roll Cities" "How Are You" 1987 "Lost and Found" 1988 "The Road" 1989 "Down All the Days (Till 1992)"
1990s singles (UK & US)	1990 "How Do I Get Close" 1993 "Only a Dream" "Scattered"
Other singles (non-UK/US)	1966 "Dandy" (Europe) 1969 "Picture Book" (Australia) "Australia" (Australia) 1983 "State of Confusion" (Germany) 1991 "Did Ya" (Europe)
Other songs	"So Mystifying" "Bald Headed Woman" "Stop Your Sobbing" "Dancing in the Street" "I Need You" "I Go to Sleep" "I'm Not Like Everybody Else" "Big Black Smoke" "Party Line" "Rosy Won't You Please Come Home" "Love Me Till the Sun Shines" "David Watts" "Two Sisters" "Polly" "She's Got Everything" "Do You Remember Walter?" "Johnny Thunder" "Last of the Steam-Powered Trains" "Big Sky" "Sitting by the Riverside" "Animal Farm" "Village Green" "Phenomenal Cat" "All of My Friends Were There" "Wicked Annabella" "Monica" "People Take Pictures of Each Other" "Berkeley Mews" "Mr. Churchill Says" "Strangers" "This Time Tomorrow" "Rats" "Got to Be Free" "Have a Cuppa Tea" "Oklahoma U.S.A." "Muswell Hillbilly" "Sitting in My Hotel" "The Hard Way" "Life Goes On" "Misfits" "Attitude" "Low Budget" "Give the People What They Want" "Heart of Gold"

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Lyrics and music

Release and reception

See also

References

External links