Waterloo Sunset

Meaning of Waterloo Sunset by The Kinks

Ray Davies desperately needed to come up with another smash song after the Kinks' initial surge of British Invasion pop triumph fizzled. However, he instead composed "Waterloo Sunset."

A lone man watching the world outside his window as two lovers meet at a depressing London train station is the subject of this lovely guitar song. Because it was so personal to Davies, he was afraid to even show the other Kinks the lyrics before he recorded his vocal. It was like an excerpt from a diary that nobody was allowed to see, he remarked.

But it ended up becoming his most cherished design. What a dump Waterloo Station is, you'd never know it from the song, which is a testament to Davies' ability to discover beauty in the ordinary.

Speaking in 2010, Davies commented "I didn't think to make it about Waterloo, initially, but I realised the place was so very significant in my life. I was in St Thomas' Hospital when I was really ill and the nurses would wheel me out on the balcony to look at the river. It was also about being taken down to the 1951 Festival of Britain. It's about the two characters – and the aspirations of my sisters' generation who grew up during the Second World War. It's about the world I wanted them to have. That, and then walking by the Thames with my first wife and all the dreams that we had."

English rock band the Kinks is known for their song "Waterloo Sunset." The Kinks included it on their album Something Else and released it as a single in 1967. "Waterloo Sunset" is one of the Kinks' most well-known and critically appreciated songs, and it was written and produced by the band's vocalist Ray Davies.

In the middle of 1967, the song peaked at number two on the British charts. In Australia, New Zealand, and the majority of Europe, it reached the top 10. The single "Waterloo Sunset" was also made available in North America, but it did not find success there.

Despite its complex arrangement, the sessions for "Waterloo Sunset" lasted only ten hours.

Waterloo Sunset lyrics by The Kinks

Dirty old river, must you keep rolling

Flowing into the night

People so busy, makes me feel dizzy

Taxi light shines so bright

But I don't need no friends

As long as I gaze on Waterloo sunset

I am in paradise

Every day I look at the world from my window

But chilly, chilly is the evening time

Waterloo sunset's fine

Terry meets Julie, Waterloo Station

Every Friday night

But I am so lazy, don't want to wander

I stay at home at night

But I don't feel afraid

As long as I gaze on Waterloo sunset

I am in paradise

Every day I look at the world from my window

But chilly, chilly is the evening time

Waterloo sunset's fine

Millions of people swarming like flies 'round Waterloo underground

But Terry and Julie cross over the river

Where they feel safe and sound

And they don't need no friends

As long as they gaze on Waterloo sunset

They are in paradise

Waterloo sunset's fine