Victoria
The opening track of Arthur, both nostalgic and satirical about Victorian Britain.
The Kinks, from Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) (1969)
- Written by
- Ray Davies
- Released
- 1969
- Length
- 3:40
- Album
- Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire)
Ray Davies set the grim realities of nineteenth-century Britain against the paternalist hopes of empire, and voiced the adoration of queen and country felt by the poor. It opens on a heavy electric blues guitar riff, and a bridge on "Land of hope and gloria" with raucous backing vocals from Dave Davies builds to a brass climax.
It was the lead single from Arthur in the US, backed with "Brainwashed", and reached number 62 on the Hot 100, their highest placing there since "Sunny Afternoon" in 1966. In Britain it came out in December as the third and final single from the album, backed with "Mr. Churchill Says". It was a hit around Toronto, reaching number 9 on the CHUM Top 30 in March 1970, and reached number 8 in Sweden. The Fall had a British Top 40 hit with it in 1988 and the Kooks covered it for the War Child album Heroes in 2009. Setlist.fm logs 133 performances.
Covers and versions
- The Fall (1988) A UK Top 40 hit.
- The Kooks (2009) For the War Child album Heroes.
More songs by The Kinks
You Really Got Me, Sunny Afternoon, Waterloo Sunset, Lola, Days, All Day and All of the Night, Come Dancing, Celluloid Heroes
Sources
- Victoria (The Kinks song), Wikipedia
- The Kinks song statistics, setlist.fm