"Rosy Won't You Please Come Home" is a song by the British rock band

the Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in London in 1963 by brothers Ray Davies, Ray and Dave Davies, and Pete Quaife. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British ...

. The song first appeared on the album '' Face to Face'' in 1966, and, like all of the songs on the album, was written by

Ray Davies Sir Raymond Douglas Davies ( ; born 21 June 1944) is an English musician. He was the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and primary songwriter for the Rock music, rock band the Kinks, which he led, with his younger brother Dave Davies, Dave pro ...

Background

"Rosy Won't You Please Come Home" was inspired mainly by Rosy Davies, the sister of Ray and

Dave Davies David Russell Gordon Davies ( '; born 3 February 1947) is an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was the lead guitarist and backing vocalist for the English rock band the Kinks, led by his older brother (and principal writer and singer) ...

. She, along with her husband, Arthur Anning, had moved to Australia in 1964, which devastated Ray to a great extent. On the day that they moved, Ray Davies broke down on the beach after a gig. "I started screaming. A part of my family had left, possibly forever. ... I collapsed in a heap on the sandy beach and wept like a pathetic child", Davies said of the incident. Dave Davies added, "All of a sudden, the fact that they were really leaving finally hit Ray. He ran to the sea screaming and crying." Rosy and Arthur's departure later inspired the premise for the Kinks' 1969 concept album, ''

Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) ''Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire)'', often referred to simply as ''Arthur'', is the seventh studio album by the English rock band the Kinks, released on 10 October 1969. It was the first Kinks album to feature bassist Jo ...

''.

Release and reception

"Rosy Won't You Please Come Home" appeared as the second track on the album ''Face to Face'' in October 1966. That same month, the song made an appearance on the French EP ''Dandy'', which also featured "

Dandy A dandy is a man who places particular importance upon physical appearance and personal grooming, refined language and leisurely hobbies. A dandy could be a self-made man both in person and ''persona'', who emulated the aristocratic style of l ...

", " Party Line", and "Fancy". The song also appeared on the compilation album ''

Picture Book A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. With the narrative told primarily through text, they are distinct from comics, which do so primarily through sequential images. The ima ...

''. ''

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

'' critic

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and former senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of multiple artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance ...

called the track a "classic" and cited the song as a highlight from ''Face to Face''.

References

Sources

* {{The Kinks singles 1966 songs Baroque pop songs The Kinks songs Songs written by Ray Davies Song recordings produced by Shel Talmy