1966 The Kinks: Sunny Afternoon

Of all the songwriters to emerge from the sixties, none I think were more quintessentially English than Ray Davies. As Albion's unofficial biographer, Davies had a keen eye and wry turn of phrase that could capture the foibles of Little England in a way a lesser writer would fail to document across an entire novel. With the abrasion of 'You Really Got Me' a distant memory, 'Sunny Afternoon' is a languid music hall tumble through Davies' woes - his girlfriend's left him and taxman's at the door but he doesn't let it get him down. Ray's upper lip remains stiff as he enjoys a Hamlet cigar moment*- it's summer, the sun is shining and so the rest of the world can go to hell. How very Stoic, how very English.

There's a good humoured, vaudeville shuffle about 'Sunny Afternoon' that's as inviting as a warm bath with a "Save me, save me, save me from this squeeze" middle eight that screams out for an audience participation sing song. We can smile along with Ray and his self deprecation, even if 'Sunny Afternoon' is very much a rich man's pleasure; the tax man may have his yacht, but he's still got his "stately home" and there's more than a suggestion of a safety net that allows Ray to be laissez-faire about his maladies.

As far as that goes it's interesting to compare it with The Kinks' very next single, the savage social commentary of 'Dead End Street'. The folks who live here don't have any money either, but there's no lazing around with cold beers for them - "What are we living for? Two-roomed apartment on the second floor. No chance to emigrate, I'm deep in debt and now it's much too late." A calculated rejoinder to 'Sunny Afternoon's particular breed of English reserve, or a sign that Davies saw too much smugness in 'Sunny Afternoon' and was keen to polish his 'man of the people' credentials? Or perhaps a bit of both? Whatever, either way it doesn't spoil my enjoyment of the song and I'm happy enough to leave Ray in his luxury of sunshine. I only wish I could join him.


* Hamlet cigars ran a highly successful series of adverts on British television that, to a soundtrack of Bach's 'Air On A G String' showed that even the most calamitous set of circumstances could be redeemed by lighting up a cigar. Which got me wondering if there was any cross-pollination between 'Sunny Afternoon' and the campaign. Lo and behold, I've discovered that the entire campaign was created by the Collett Dickenson Pearce agency.........in 1966. Interesting.