The Kinks: Fun Facts about HeartBeats feature songs for February 7, 2020

 

Mirror of Love: Single from Preservation Act 2 (1974)

If you’re local, this should be a very familiar sound to you. The Kinks make use of New Orleans Jazz combined with their usual U.K. sound for this song. For those of you who don’t know much about Kink’s albums, this song is part of the Preservation saga featuring the characters Belle and Flash. Belle says in other songs how awful Flash is as a lover but this song explains how she loves him despite his flaws through the mirror of love. She even says her love would drive her to kill for him!

 

Love Me Till The Sun Shines: Single from Something Else (1967)

This B-side single was released with “Death of a Clown” and received overall positive reviews. Rolling stone said Davies characterized his cynical best with the lyrics for “Love Me Till The Sun Shines.” It’s pure, early Dave Davies through and through and people felt refreshed by it. While “Death of Clown” also received good words here and there for its creative leap forward many said “Till the Sun Shines” showed the growth Davies experienced in his song writing.

 

Susannah’s Still Alive: Single (1967)

At the age of 15 Dave Davies impregnated his high school lover Sue Sheehan. While they wouldn’t be together again until the 90s this situation affected Davies writing and this song along with its B-side, “Funny Face” and the song, “Mindless Child of Motherhood” were all about Sheehan. Davies much like his brother has had a rollercoaster of a love life and even opened up to the public about being bisexual. Davies has had seven children over the course of his many relationships.

 

Come Dancing: Single from State of Confusion (1982)

While Ray Davies shared just as much of a wild love life as his brother there is a different love of his I want to highlight. Davies wrote the song come dancing about his older sister. Growing up he would remember her going on dates to a local dance hall. At the age of 13 Ray’s sister gifted him his first guitar. The same night she passed away of a heart attack while dancing in a ballroom. She was 31. Davies wrote this song as a way to give her the happy ending he felt she deserved.  Even with the upbeat instrumentals one can’t help but get choked up knowing the real story behind the song.