Days It's great to see so much thoughtful discussion put into such a lost classic. The song is so worth it and I suspect completely unknown except for hardcore fans. Days? Does it get any simpler than that? But paradoxically, there's so much going on here. You can take the lyrics completely straightforward or consider all the possible alternate meanings. Ray found a simple way to represent multiple possibilities. This is made ever more impressive by the sincerity of the delivery. A truly special song.
Agreed -- sadly, the Kinks as a whole, and this period in particular, have been sufficiently recognized and appreciated only in retrospect, in my opinion. Very unfortunate that they weren't held in as high esteem by the industry and the record-buying public in real time, as it were.
That’s what I love so much about it. Both the Wonderboy and Days singles, released back to back, express something very deep, what @ajsmith called Ray’s “zen attitude” towards the human experience, both fatalistic and celebratory. There’s plenty of other great examples in Ray’s songwriting career to prove it’s not only a formal or poetic stance, but a genuine world view. Just listen to the later masterpiece How Are You (on the Think Visual LP), which could almost be seen as a sequel to this most beautiful track. There are better songs in the Kinks Kanon, or ones that I prefer, musically at least, but Days is probably the only one that really rivals Waterloo Sunset for its formal perfection, its popular impact, its dignified classicism and its philosophical depth.
It’s annoying, (esp cos ideally items like this should have been compiled on a DVD to go in the VGPS box) but on the other hand I’m just glad they exist somewhere to maybe be seen in full one day, and that we’re able even to see these excerpts. For years neither was even thought to exist!
Days I was about to list off some superlatives but I think one of the best compliments I can offer to Days is that it sounds timeless, which is no mean feat. I understand that Days is quite popular at memorial services and funerals, which supports Vagabone's claim that it is sentimental. But on the pop-rock scale of sentimentality, with Motorhead's Killed by Death at zero and John Lennon's Imagine at 10, I'd rate Days only a 7. It's a personal lyric by Ray but it's not directed at any particular person - hence anyone or everyone can 'own' it. I do tend to agree with Fortuleo's comment that it's probably about the affair that Ray had recently been having, but there's no way of telling for sure - and it probably doesn't matter. I just can't agree with the suggestion that over-familiarity with a song can turn it from being good to bad unless you never really liked it in the first place. I have heard songs like You Really Got Me, Satisfaction and Stairway to Heaven hundreds of times each. I should be fed up with them but instead I marvel at their enduring qualities. And the same goes with Days. It's a beautiful song.
Zen attitude. I wonder if "She learned that life was just a game" from "Polly" is a sneaky little message in the middle of a story, fitting in with this tendency. Zipp thought that lyric was strange, and maybe the opposite of the expected moral. Well, maybe it is. Subverting or challenging expectations. The people in "Polly" seem to be acting out a mysterious half-spoken-of cycle over generations, that has some odd rules and counter rules. You do this, then you do that instead, then you do this again. You only speak of some of it, and you get by and all is well. And you learn about what life is really about, below the surface of what you are doing, and maybe you give each other little nods and winks. I don't know if there's Zen hidden in there somewhere, but someone is trying to figure something out. And is it worse that she went out and learned something, or is it inevitable? Tree of knowledge and all that. You're supposed to have stayed at home, but also, maybe, you aren't. Heck, God in the Adam and Eve story is just as confusing, if we can mix Zen and the Bible here, or set them against each other. What does "life (is just a game)" even mean in this context? Life as lived in this English subculture, or in any civilization.... Or just anywhere? "Life is only what you conjure," on the flipside.
That would make sense, but it isn't my personal experience unfortunately. I really did love "Days" as a child- honestly, I did! Maybe I should have mentioned that. It is a beautiful song, and I shared the general opinion of it. One day I was suddenly no longer able to enjoy it. Hopefully one day the switch will be flicked again and I will love it again.. There are songs where there is seemingly no limit to the number of times I can hear them - so far. Most Beach Boys songs fall into this category. Not trying to back-pedal, honestly: I didn't mean to suggest it was particularly oversentimental. Just that its slight sentimentality was a contributory factor in my getting tired of the song. If I could explain it better I would. I agree the song is timeless, the kind of tune that you would be no surprise if it turned out to be traditional. I can't stress enough how this is so not the case in the UK.
Pretty bad. When I saw a sleeve cover with this spelling I thought it might be from a non-English speaking country. But Pye UK?
It's interesting to note that 'Days" was pulled from the upcoming VGPS album just like "Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields Forever" was pulled from Sgt. Pepper for basically the same reason, i.e. to make sure the bands in question make an impact in the singles chart after a few months absence. As for "Days" itself, it's second to "Waterloo Sunset" as the most profound song that Ray ever wrote. Recently, I had a friend who has a podcast play it for a dear friend who recently moved overseas. Although the lyrics do seems mostly straightforward, but the words "The night is dark, it just brings sorrow, let it wait...."seem to suggest that's there's a crack in the narrator's stoic facade. Speaking of cracks in the facade, Elvis Costello's version of "Days" was the first crack in my Elvis Costello fandom. I remember reading about it in the UK press (it was only available on a film soundtrack at first). Elvis even boasted in an interview that his version was "better" than the original. When I finally got to hear it, I was totally underwhelmed. Here's Petula Clark's version:
Heartbreakingly bittersweet sums up “Days” for me as well, as one of my favorite Kinks songs. I first heard it on Kinks Kronikles, and knew the song fairly well at the time my first girlfriend and I broke up in high school. These days, even though I’ve been happily married for more than 30 years, it still brings a lump to my throat. It also sprang to mind after the loss of a dear friend.
Days is a song I feel like I've known all my life. I heard it on the radio and out and about as a child, and into my early adolescence. When I started my Kinky life in 2010 I finally found who recorded the song, and from then on I've had an odd relationship with it. I think it's grand, majestic, timeless, beautiful even, but the thing that has always stood out to me most is just how hot the UK 45 was cut when I finally got it a couple of years later. It's a song that does everything right, and I can't fault it... but for some reason I can't put it on the level with tracks like Waterloo Sunset. I think, to me at least, the lyric doesn't quite have the Ray magic I come to The Kinks for, but I can still place it high on the pantheon of Kinks Klassics. I covered the mono/stereo differences a few months ago in an episode of Mixology on 45 for my Patreon, and just for you guys I'm going to make that episode public for the next few days, in case you wanted to quickly dive in. I love how, like a few tracks on the album, the stereo mix features a tambourine overdub absent in the mono! Listen here if you fancy: https://www.patreon.com/posts/mixology-on-45-c-47337262
Day's I think this is the closest anyone will ever come to making the next Waterloo Sunset. But I don't think Day's needs to be compared to anything anyways - it's a perfect song regardless. "I wish today could be tomorrow" ... I mean there's just so much packed into that line alone... everyone can relate to that. And not to disparage Bob Dylan or Nick Drake or Joni Mitchell or any of the big name lyricists, but I don't think anyone else could so elegantly and concisely summarize that sense of angst and reflection as Ray Davies. And to think he was only 24 when he did this... I tend to think that people assign too much value to age in music anyway, but Ray sounds like he's lived and died 10 times before writing Day's. The music is great too. I love that chromatic ending and the tinny mellotron strings.
I'm usually loath to 'rate' songs/albums too much, moods and tastes ebb and change over time and it's healthy to stay open and receptive to new stuff. Top ten etc lists can become impenetrable fortresses if you're not careful. However, "Days" is as good a song as I think you could ever hope to hear. And I really do mean ever. Anticipating or enduring loss, but remaining thankful for what remains, for all that you have learned. (Ray seems very on a tip about loss and absence at this point. Or maybe he still is.) Musically it's very smartly done, the key shifts and transitions are just immaculate. Melodically bright, catchy, thoughtful. It's also curiously.. what's the word? I was going to say inoffensive. Gentle. It doesn't quite announce or sell itself like Waterloo Sunset, there's no huge "sha la la" moment. It builds to something special though, with the harmonies and so on. Not a song that demands to be mentioned or noticed. Its enduring quality lies within. Always loved it, even as a rather callow youth, who wouldn't? But as the years pass, like a fair few Kinks songs, it doesn't half start to tug at the bloody heartstrings.
A friend of mine was at the only public showing of the full Basil Brush 'Days' clip, and managed to get a few sneaky photos of the showing, (before he was asked to stop!) including at least one shot that isn't in the clip above:
One of Ray’s greatest songs. If I had to choose between the great “Waterloo Sunset’ and this, I’d pick “Days’ a sublime melody.
Days I could listen t0 this song for days and never tire of it. Here we are in the very top tier of Kinks classics. If anyone where to ask me my favorite Kinks songs there are a handful that come immediately to mind and this is one of them. A gorgeous song that I don't think can be improved upon. I love Elvis Costello, but his version doesn't even come close. I'm very annoyed that he even tried to claim his version was better. The Kinks add some beautiful harmony vocals and it brings so much joy to sing along with them. If this were released on the next album would we have to remove another song for the single? There is no doubt it would have elevated Village Green Preservation Society which is hard to even imagine. But I also wouldn't want to remove any other song, so maybe its best place is to have been released as a single. A brilliant song! On a side note, I woke up this morning with "Polly" still running through my brain.
This acoustic version is my favorite. The imperfections and vulnerability in Ray's singing, the chugging guitar at the end like it's running out of breath, and time.
