Monica

Album: The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society (1968)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The Kinks' Village Green Preservation Society album features several vignettes of characters from Ray Davies' youth in London. There is Johnny Thunder, the local hoodlum; an old friend, Walter; and the witchy Wicked Annabella. Here, Davies sings of his love for Monica, the village prostitute.
  • Ray Davies told Q magazine that many people hadn't noticed that Village Green is a very sexy album. "It's about a lot of sex. Monica, Annabella... All these women that will bring you down, disgrace you," he said. "Make you leave your wife and family for a little leg over in the woods. It's about repressed sex."
  • The song has a calypso style, one that had previously featured on the Kinks' 1965 track "I'm On an Island." Ray Davies later re-appropriated the Trinidadian folk music genre again in 1970 to represent the jungle for the single "Apeman."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Experience Nirvana with Sub Pop Founder Bruce Pavitt

Experience Nirvana with Sub Pop Founder Bruce PavittSong Writing

The man who ran Nirvana's first label gets beyond the sensationalism (drugs, Courtney) to discuss their musical and cultural triumphs in the years before Nevermind.

Yacht Rock!

Yacht Rock!Song Writing

A scholarly analysis of yacht rock favorites ("Steal Away," "Baker Street"...) with a member of the leading YR cover band.

How The Beatles Crafted Killer Choruses

How The Beatles Crafted Killer ChorusesSong Writing

The author of Help! 100 Songwriting, Recording And Career Tips Used By The Beatles, explains how the group crafted their choruses so effectively.

Peter Lord

Peter LordSongwriter Interviews

You may not recognize his name, but you will certainly recognize Peter Lord's songs. He wrote the bevy of hits from Paula Abdul's second album, Spellbound.

Richie McDonald of Lonestar

Richie McDonald of LonestarSongwriter Interviews

Richie talks about the impact of "Amazed," and how his 4-year-old son inspired another Lonestar hit.

Francis Rossi of Status Quo

Francis Rossi of Status QuoSongwriter Interviews

Doubt led to drive for Francis, who still isn't sure why one of Status Quo's biggest hits is so beloved.