Mr. Churchill Says

"Mr. Churchill Says"
Single by The Kinks
from the album Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire)
A-side	"Victoria" (R. Davies)
Released	12 December 1969 (UK) 15 October 1969 (USA)
Format	7" vinyl B-side
Recorded	May-June 1969 at Pye Studios (No. 2), London
Label	Pye 7N 17865 (UK) Reprise 0863 (USA)
Writer(s)	Ray Davies
Producer	Ray Davies
The Kinks singles chronology
"Shangri-La" (1969) "Victoria" (1969) "Lola" (1970)

"Mr. Churchill Says" is a song by Ray Davies of The Kinks. It appears on the album Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire). 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. The Kinks had been experimenting with the use of sound effects since the 1966 Face to Face album.

External links

• Official Ray Davies Web Site
• The Official Ray Davies Forum - "The Old Grey Board"
• The Official Ray Davies Forum on YouTube

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Churchill_Says"