"The Village Green Preservation Society" is a single by the English rock group the Kinks. Written by Ray Davies, the song is a nostalgic reflection on cultural English "village green", country, and hamlet lifestyle, and references many different characteristics and features of it, such as Tudor houses and draught beer. At the same time, it speaks negatively of modern, industrial traits, such as office blocks and skyscrapers. As the opening track of The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society, it sets the theme for the majority of the rest of the album. It is also, according to AllMusic, the best-known track from the album. The song has been part of the Kinks' live setlist. The song inspired the band's slogan, "God Save the Kinks".
Background
Written by Kinks frontman Ray Davies, "The Village Green Preservation Society" was written as an ode to the things Davies treasured. Davies explained in 2018, "As 'The Village Green Preservation Society' is supposed to be about things I want to preserve, I thought I would try that song. Virginity is sacred. You only have it once. That innocence—and it's a thing to treasure. I still search for things that I do for the first time." "The Village Green Preservation Society" was a late addition to the album, having been written with the purpose of being the album's title track. With this song, Davies wanted to sum up the Kinks' general sentiment of preserving the past that appears throughout the album; he wrote in a 1968 interview, "Somebody just mentioned to me that the Kinks do try to preserve things—we are all for that looking back thing. I thought it would be a nice idea to try to sum it up in one song. All the things in the song are things I'd like to see preserved."
Reception
"The Village Green Preservation Society" generally received positive reviews. Rolling Stone magazine praised the songs vocals and stated that "the tune, the rhythm, are more of a delight with each verse". AllMusic's Stewart Mason felt that the song was "one of Davies' sweetest creations", but felt that it is overrated and not as successful lyrically as 1967's "Autumn Almanac". The song was the second single released in America from The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society, but it did not chart.
Album appearances
Studio albums
The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society
The song was covered by folk singerKate Rusby and appears as a bonus track on the album Awkward Annie in 2007. This version was recorded as the theme for BBC TV sitcom Jam and Jerusalem. Ray Davies himself recorded a version with the Crouch End Festival Chorus for the 2009 album The Kinks Choral Collection. A cover version by pop singer Natalie Merchant appears on her compilation Rarities , released in 2017.
