I just traveled to London for the first time, and it was proper.
People walked their dogs in Kensington Gardens, and they were talked to friends during casual evening strolls. In the pubs they enjoyed their pints, and they politely ate their fish and chips. Cream tea in the afternoon, which if you happen to be in Cornwall, means you put jam on your biscuit first, and then the clotted cream on the jam.
The people we talked to supported the monarchy, and they celebrated their sometimes checkered past of colonialism and royal intrigue. They sometimes said things they knew they shouldn’t say, but they said those things quietly, and with a wink and a nod.
“‘Cause he gets up in the morning
And he goes to work at nine
And he comes back home at five-thirty
Gets the same train every time
‘Cause his world is built ’round punctuality
It never fails”
Walking through the sometimes busy sometimes quiet streets of London, the song “A Well Respected Man” by The Kinks ran through my head on repeat. More than “Here Comes the Sun.” More than “This Could be the Last Time.” More than “Substitute.”
The Kinks have always seemed to be the most British of the 1960’s British monster rock bands. They were not as pretty or talented as The Beatles, they were not as loud as The Who, and they were not as greasy and surly as The Rolling Stones, but they they always felt to me the most British. Their British accents came through loud and clear, and they had the audacity to sing about normal British people, British history, and the way British people respond to the world around them.
“And he’s oh, so good
And he’s oh, so fine
And he’s oh, so healthy
In his body and his mind
He’s a well respected man about town
Doing the best things so conservatively”
The Kinks were led by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. Though they would eventually refuse to speak to each other, as is the case with many rock and roll brothers, they founded what would become The Kinks in the front room of their parents North London home in 1963. They added a rhythm section, and they made wildly popular music that has resonated over the last 60 years.
They began with a strictly garage rock sound with the major hit “You Really Got Me” in 1964, and soon went on to expand their repertoire with more acoustic and folk influences. Songs like “A Dedicated Follower of Fashion” and “Sunny Afternoon” and “Waterloo Sunset” showed the creative range of this band that never quite got the attention and praise it so richly deserved. They weathered on, forever in the shadow of The Beatles, The Stones and The Who. They deserved so much more acclaim and fame than they ever experienced. “A Well Respected Man” is a perfect example of their range and depth.
The Kinks had just finished a tour, and Ray Davies went to a beach resort to unwind from the stress of the road. Another guest, a wealthy middle-aged man, invited Davies to play golf with him the next day. Davies, however, was convinced this wealthy, straight-laced gentleman was only interested in being able to tell his mates that he hung out with a rock star. Davies refused to play, and instead wrote this blistering accusatory song, imagining what this bloke must be like at home.
Ray Davies sings the first verse alone, accompanied only by a tinny sounding acoustic guitar. The rhythm section soon falls in behind him, and brother Dave harmonizes on the chorus. The song, scathing in its indictment of the British upper middle class, never gets too loud or overly angry.
The song is proper, describing a proper man.
“And his mother goes to meetings
While his father pulls the maid
And she stirs the tea with councilors
While discussing foreign trade
And she passes looks, as well as bills
At every suave young man”
Nothing about this man is inherently wrong, he’s just a boring, regular man. There are little indiscretions, and minor societal infractions, but the people described in this song are mostly well behaved, mostly well respected, and always very boring. Their lives are sins of omission.
“And he likes his own backyard
And he likes his fags the best
‘Cause he’s better than the rest
And his own sweat smells the best
And he hopes to grab his father’s loot
When pater passes on”
Whether smoking a British cigarette (a “fag”), or being able to boast that he actually worked hard enough in his back yard to sweat, this “well respected man” recognizes his own positive attributes that Davies casts as negatives.
“And he plays the stocks and shares
And he goes to the regatta
He adores the girl next door
‘Cause he’s dying to get at her
But his mother knows the best about
The matrimonial stakes”
“A Well Respected Man” could have easily been sung by Bob Dylan or Buddy Holly, walking that fine line between early rock and roll, and protest folk music with a scathing societal message. Davies’ voice never rises in passion or concern, he is as gentle as the people he dismisses in this song.
In the shadow of a massive explosion of groundbreaking British rock and roll, The Kinks found their niche of creativity and honesty. “A Well Respected Man” hit #9 on the US charts, and has been a mainstay of FM radio ever since its release in 1966. Interestingly enough, in researching this article, I learned that “A Well Respected Man” was almost going to be the theme song for the American version of The Office television show, which definitely would have been an interesting turn in the history of this unexpected hit song.
“A Well Respected Man”
Written by Ray Davies
Performed by The Kinks
Released September 17th, 1965
1Perfect Song 