Catch Me Now I'm Falling
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| "Catch Me Now I'm Falling" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
![](#/media/File:"Catch_Me_Now_I'm_Falling"_(Kinks_1979_single).jpg) | ||||
| Single by the Kinks | ||||
| from the album Low Budget | ||||
| B-side | "Low Budget" | |||
| Released | 5 September 1979 (US) | |||
| Recorded | January – June 1979 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 5:58 (album version) 4:02 (single version) | |||
| Label | Arista | |||
| Songwriter | Ray Davies | |||
| Producer | Ray Davies | |||
| The Kinks US singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Low Budget track listing | ||||
11 tracks
| ||||
| Alternative cover | ||||
 American single label | ||||
"Catch Me Now I'm Falling" is a song written by Ray Davies and first released by the Kinks as the second track on their 1979 album Low Budget. Written as a criticism of America's allies, the song depicts the fall of Captain America as a symbol of the United States' dire circumstances at the time. The song features multiple solos on different instruments as well as a riff similar to "Jumpin' Jack Flash".
The song saw single release in the United States and in the Netherlands. In the US it had "Low Budget" on the B-side, while in the Netherlands the B-side was 'In a Space'. The song has since made appearances on compilations and live albums.
Like many of the other tracks on "Low Budget", "Catch Me Now I'm Falling" addresses then-current events. In this case the song shows lead singer Ray Davies portraying America in its time of need, with the lyrics criticizing both the US and its allies that refuse to help it.[1] Author Nick Hasted describes it as sounding as if "it could be a distress call from the last embattled radio station in an occupied land."[2] Hasted also notes that it invoked memories of the United States' aid to Europe via the Marshall Plan to criticize countries that were not helping the country in its time of need.[2] While another song on Low Budget invokes DC Comics hero Superman, "Catch Me Now I'm Falling" calls to Marvel Comics hero Captain America.[2][3]
The riff is similar to those on the Rolling Stones' "Jumpin' Jack Flash".[3] The song includes a saxophone solo that Billboard described as "hot", as well as a guitar solo by Dave Davies.[2][4] Cash Box said the song was "topical" with "a hypnotic blues-rock beat", summarizing the song as "good natured pop with a message".[5] Record World called it "a vintage Kinks rocker complete with raging guitar lines and a bulldozer rhythm."[6]
