| "Shangri-La" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
&sq=Qlik&lang=&file=File:Shangri-La_cover.jpg) French picture sleeve | ||||
| Single by the Kinks | ||||
| from the album Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) | ||||
| B-side | "This Man He Weeps Tonight" | |||
| Released | 12 September 1969 | |||
| Recorded | May–June 1969[1] | |||
| Studio | Pye, London | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Label | Pye | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Ray Davies | |||
| Producer(s) | Ray Davies | |||
| The Kinks UK singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Shangri-La" is a song written by Ray Davies of the Kinks. The song appeared on the 1969 concept album, Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire). The song's inspiration can be traced back to when the band visited the Davies brothers' sister, Rose, and her family in Australia, the "designed community" that the family lived in serving as the initial lyrical inspiration. The song's highly ironic lyrics comment on British class society while portraying Arthur, the album's ill-fated protagonist, and his empty life in the suburbs. The musical aspects of the song both reflect and comment on the mood of the lyrics.
"Shangri-La" was released as the second single from Arthur in the United Kingdom, backed with "This Man He Weeps Tonight." The single was a commercial failure, not reaching the charts in any countries besides the Netherlands. The members of the band, however, thought highly of the song, with both Dave Davies and John Dalton singling it out for praise.
- ^ Hinman 2004, p. 132.
- ^ Pitchfork Staff (22 August 2017). "The 200 Best Albums of the 1960s". Pitchfork. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
...and "Shangri-La," a folk hymn to suburban consumerism.