In 1973, around the time Preservation (Act 1) was being composed and produced, Ray Davies was going through a breakup and eventual divorce of his first wife, Rasa Dipetris. He was struggling with the old "demon alcohol" at that point, and he admitted assaulting her while drunk. He tried to keep her, "telling her lies" but he knew he would "break her heart" and possibly more. After she left and took their daughters with her, he attempted suicide by a drug overdose on July 15 that year.
Between then and September 21, when Sweet Lady Genevieve was recorded, he tried to persuade her to come back, begged her forgiveness, and promised to reform and give up drinking. She never did return. We are left with a great work of art born of pain and sadness.
In 1973, around the time Preservation (Act 1) was being composed and produced, Ray Davies was going through a breakup and eventual divorce of his first wife, Rasa Dipetris. He was struggling with the old "demon alcohol" at that point, and he admitted assaulting her while drunk. He tried to keep her, "telling her lies" but he knew he would "break her heart" and possibly more. After she left and took their daughters with her, he attempted suicide by a drug overdose on July 15 that year.
Between then and September 21, when Sweet Lady Genevieve was recorded, he tried to persuade her to come back, begged her forgiveness, and promised to reform and give up drinking. She never did return. We are left with a great work of art born of pain and sadness.