‘Village Green Preservation Society’ - The Kinks, 1968
The Kinks deal in that type of songwriting that I like so much - winsome, nostalgic, pastoral, conservative, English. For an Irishman, that’s something to admit. Nobody does this better than Ray Davies - not Weller, not Lennon, not Bowie, not anyone. Ray Davies had it down perfect.
Taken from the album of the same name, and not to be confused with the also-excellent ‘Village Green’ from the same album, ‘Village Green Preservation Society’ is Davies’ hymn to an England that, by the late ’60’s, was forever gone. If it was ever there, outside of postcard pictures and Arthuric legends.
In very matter-of-fact and to-the-point lyrics, Davies sketches his manifesto, telling the listener what they are for and against. They are for “vaudeville”, “the George Cross”, “tudor houses” and “little shops” among other things. As sure as God is an Englishman, they’ll come down hard on “office blocks”, “skyscrapers” and, well, change of any kind.
Although Davies often poured scorn on those who “do the best things so conservatively”, it’s hard to imagine him singing this entirely tongue in cheek. He seems fairly authentic in what he wants, and the whole Village Green… album is based on a theme of rose-tinted views of Ye Olde Englande. It’s this theme, recurrent throughout the Kinks’ career, that put a stop to them becoming as worldwide as the Beatles or the Stones.
Anyway, it’s a really nice song, and strangely makes me nostalgic for about 1996, when I got into the album. I was in college, and Dublin was quite a different place then, pre-”Tiger”. As things seem to be starting to go a bit pear-shaped with the economy, I can see nostalgia-drenched tunes like this coming back in. Listen to the song on YouTube.
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August 22nd, 2008 at 1:12 pm
Enjoyed your post on ye olde Kinks of yore! Thanks for stopping by my site as well. Rock & Roll is a State of Mind!
August 22nd, 2008 at 11:17 pm
“God save little shops, china cups and virginity!” One of Ray’s many great lines — a clever song, I think some of it is tongue-in-cheek but not at all scornful. Thanks for posting about Ray and the Kinks.