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Mr. Churchill Says Lyrics
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
'Cos 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 on fire and there's someone lying dead
We gotta clean up the streets
And get me back on my feet
Because we wanna 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
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
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
'Cos 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
There's a house on fire and there's someone lying dead
We gotta clean up the streets
And get me back on my feet
Because we wanna 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
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It's obvious what this song is about; World War II for Great Britain.
"Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed to so few" "We shall fight them on the beaches" "And this was their finest hour!"
Are all lines from a few of Churchill's famous speeches. There are also mentions of several people who were most popular throughout the war, Mr. Beaverbrook, Mr. Montgomery, Mr. Mountbatten and Vera Lynn.
I can't understand why this song has no comments?
One of my favorite Kinks songs. It is divided into two distinct parts, representing the clean abstraction before the war, vs the more stark reality during the war.
The first half is filled with morale-boosting speeches from the pantheon of British lords, about small shared sacrifices, rah-rah, etc. The politicians sound distant, and their words are abstract and lofty. The words make you feel good, because that's what they're designed to do. You can imagine the words coming through the radio from distant politicians, getting you prepared mentally for war.
In the second half, the perspective shifts to the ground during the bombing. We are now in the stark reality of bombs and dead bodies, the politicians are gone and the people are alone with that reality. The talk is direct and between real people.
In the end, someone remembers what "Mr. Churchill says", which is basically to keep on carrying on. Almost like children remembering advice from their parents. I feel this really is the theme of the song: how the paternal leadership "prepared" its people for war.
An interesting question to ask is: how much sacrifice did Churchill, Beaverbrook, etc. suffer, compared to the average person living through the bombing?
this song is badass. i love the bomb siren with the guitar. perfect.
and i love that they used some quotes from Churchill's speeches. one of my favorites from Arthur.
Great great song. It seems partly a tribute to the greatest generation that repelled the Nazis expansion.
However one part of a verse seems a bit sarcastic and takes a rather abstract view of the conflict:
"There's a house on fire and there's someone lying dead We gotta clean up the streets And get me back on my feet Because we wanna be free"
It's a bit ironic that there are all these things they have to do (maybe forced to do) in order to be "free".
there's more than a little bit of sarcasm in it... it's more addressing of Arthur's general theme of youthful idealism and naivete being exploited by the aristocrats and the bureaucrats). The lyric "And all the garden gates and empty cans are gonna make us win" illustrates this the best, I think... these are just people pleasing soundbites to get everyone behind the war effort, a series of empty promises that the British Empire will be a better place for everyone after the war when in reality all of the effort and sacrifice led to absolutely nothing.
Absolutely nothing...except not being occupied by Nazi Germany.
Absolutely nothing...except not being occupied by Nazi Germany.
I may be just a Yank, but it seems to me that was still a worthy achievement.
I may be just a Yank, but it seems to me that was still a worthy achievement.
Well, yes, they staved off the Nazis and it was a huge achievement. But all the garden gates and empty cans didn't actually make the British Empire "a better place for me and you".
Well, yes, they staved off the Nazis and it was a huge achievement. But all the garden gates and empty cans didn't actually make the British Empire "a better place for me and you".
Wow I must admit I've overlooked this song in the past but been really listening to them again recently and this song is fantastic. Especially the second half once the bomb sirens go off
Probably the most unappreciated Kinks song, and certainly my favorite. Rays' lyrics are fabulous and the whole song is clever while not having too much hidden meaning.