All of My Friends Were There
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "All of My Friends Were There" | |
|---|---|
| Song by the Kinks | |
| from the album The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society | |
| Released | 22 November 1968 |
| Studio | Pye, London |
| Genre | Music hall |
| Length | 2:23 |
| Label | Pye |
| Songwriter | Ray Davies |
| Producer | Ray Davies |
| Official audio | |
| "All of My Friends Were There" on YouTube | |
"All of My Friends Were There" is a song by the English rock band the Kinks from their sixth studio album, The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society (1968). Written and sung by Ray Davies, the song was recorded in July or October 1968. It features a church-like organ and a changing metre, while the style showcased Davies's continued interest in music hall. The song's narrator describes an embarrassing concert experience which all of his friends were present to witness. Its lyrics were inspired by a July 1967 concert during which Davies fell ill but was persuaded to perform due to the agreed contract. The song was not present on Davies's original twelve-track edition of Village Green, but was among the tracks he added for its UK release in November 1968. Retrospective commentators have described the song in favourable terms while disputing its level of thematic cohesion with the others on Village Green.
It was an R&B concert and I had a temperature of 104 [Fahrenheit] but they asked me to do it because there was a contract. I had lots and lots to drink and I thought "It doesn't matter." The curtains opened and all my friends were sitting in the front row ... It was a terrible night and I thought I would write a song about it.[1]
Ray Davies was inspired to write "All of My Friends Were There" after a concert experience on 1 July 1967. The Kinks had agreed to play at the South East R&B Festival at Rectory Field in Blackheath, London, an event sponsored by Melody Maker magazine.[2] Davies fell ill before the performance but was persuaded to perform due to the agreed contract. After drinking heavily before going onstage, he noticed all of his friends sitting in the front row.[3] Author Clinton Heylin raises the possibility Davies was also inspired by his mental breakdown in March 1966,[4] while author Patricia Gordon Sullivan suggests the song's format arose from his time spent as a child listening to his father's sing-alongs at the local pub.[5]
"All of My Friends Were There" is played in the style of early 20th century music hall,[6] especially the verses which feature a quickly delivered vocal and what musicologist Allan F. Moore terms an "'oompah' accompanimental pattern".[7] The composition employs a shifting metre, using common time (4/4) during the verses and waltz time (3/4) during the choruses.[8][a] Davies sings his lead vocal in a Cockney accent, similar to the music hall singer Gus Elen, a favourite of his father. Partway through the song, he changes to a more posh tone while the arrangement speeds up.[10] The song ends on a dominant seventh chord; musicologist Stan Hawkins writes the chord is an awkward closer and positions the listener for reflection,[11] while author Johnny Rogan thinks it leaves the song unresolved, turning it into a shaggy dog story.[10]
When writing "All of My Friends Were There", Davies altered his original embarrassment into a bathetic comedy number.[10] The narrator describes his embarrassment after his friends attend his missed performance.[12] After struggling during his next show,[13] he goes to a café he frequented during happier times in his life, only to find all of them there as well.[12] Author Ken Rayes describes the ending as "another typical Davies twist", where "in the end, the presence of the singer's friends both deepens his embarrassment and strengthens his stability and sense of companionship".[12] Author Andy Miller instead interprets the ending as the singer's nostalgia for the earlier time, with his happy surroundings instead imaginary.[13]