the kinks, “Mr. churchill says,”
from: arthur, 1969
“Well Mr. Churchill says, Mr. Churchill says
We gotta fight the bloody battle to the very end
Mr. Beaverbrook says we gotta save our tin
And all the garden gates
And empty cans are gonna make us win
We shall defend our island
On the land and on the sea
We shall fight them on the beaches
On the hills and in the fields
We shall fight them in the streets
Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed to so few
Cause they have made our British Empire
A better place for me and you
And this was their finest hour
Well Mr. Montgomery says
And Mr. Mountbatten says
We gotta fight the bloody battle to the very end
As Vera Lynn would say
We’ll meet again someday
But all the sacrifices we must make before the end
Did you hear that plane flying overhead
There’s a house an fire and there’s someone lying dead
We gotta clean up the streets
And get me back on my feet
Because we want to be free
Do your worst and we’ll do our best
We’re gonna win the way that Mr. Churchill says
Oh! oh! oh! oh! oh! oh! Well Mr. Churchill says
We gotta hold up our chins
We gotta show some courage and some discipline
We gotta black up the windows and nail up the doors
And keep right on till the end of the war”
Here’s a “deep track” from the long lost Kinks concept record Arthur . Let’s start with the kangaroo pictured above. The image confronts you when opening the gatefold lp cover. Little else approaches it in its graphic art hilarity. Then, there’s the music. “Mr. Churchill Says” is not three minutes long. It does demonstrate the band’s instrumental chops as they “take it out.” British History quips, jazz progressions, Churchill’s persona portraiture, group singing, Mick Avory’s drumming, sound effects, rock guitar solo riffin & noodliln, all washed together with some of Ray Davies’ most concise lyricism. It’s a spirit lifter. And hey, pass the picture of the kangaroo around to a friend.
