"Catch Me Now I'm Falling" is a song 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 ...

and first released by

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 ...

as the second track on their 1979 album ''

Low Budget A low-budget film or low-budget movie is a motion picture shot with little to no funding from a major film studio or private investor. Many independent films are made on low budgets, but films made on the mainstream circuit with inexperienced o ...

''. Written as a criticism of America's allies, the song depicts the fall of

Captain America Captain America is a superhero created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby who appears in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in '' Captain America Comics'' #1, published on December 20, 1940, by Timely C ...

as a symbol of the United States' dire circumstances at the time. The song features multiple solos on different instruments as well as a riff similar to "

Jumpin' Jack Flash "Jumpin' Jack Flash" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released as a non-album single in 1968. Called "supernatural Delta blues by way of Swinging London" by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine, the song was seen as the band's retu ...

". The song saw single release in the United States and in the Netherlands. In the U.S. it had 'Low Budget' on the B-side, while in the Netherlands the B-side was 'In a Space'. The song has since made appearances on compilations and live albums.

Background

Like many of the other tracks on "Low Budget", "Catch Me Now I'm Falling" addresses then-current events. In this case the song shows lead singer

portraying America in its time of need, with the lyrics criticizing both the U.S. and its allies that refuse to help it. Author Nick Hasted describes it as sounding as if "it could be a distress call from the last embattled radio station in an occupied land." Hasted also notes that it invoked memories of the United States' aid to Europe via the

Marshall Plan The Marshall Plan (officially the European Recovery Program, ERP) was an American initiative enacted in 1948 to provide foreign aid to Western Europe. The United States transferred $13.3 billion (equivalent to $ in ) in economic recovery pr ...

to criticize countries that were not helping the country in its time of need. While another song on ''Low Budget'' invokes

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

hero

Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

, "Catch Me Now I'm Falling" calls to

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

hero

. The

riff A riff is a short, repeated motif or figure in the melody or accompaniment of a musical composition. Riffs are most often found in rock music, punk, heavy metal music, Latin, funk, and jazz, although classical music is also sometimes based ...

is similar to those on

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

' "

". The song includes a

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to p ...

solo that ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' described as "hot," as well as a guitar solo by

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) ...

. ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' said the song was "topical" with "a hypnotic blues-rock beat," summarizing the song as "good natured pop with a message." ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

'' called it "a vintage Kinks rocker complete with raging guitar lines and a bulldozer rhythm."

Release and reception

The song was one of two U.S. only singles taken from

(the other being "A Gallon of Gas") to be released. Despite being an FM radio hit, the song failed to chart on the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), ...

. It also appeared on the compilation album ''

Come Dancing with the Kinks ''Come Dancing with The Kinks: The Best of 1977-1986'' is a double album compilation by the Kinks, released on Arista Records in 1986. Every one of the band's seven albums released by Arista during the time period indicated is represented here ...

'' and in live form on the album '' One for the Road''. Hasted praises "Catch Me Now I'm Falling" for perfectly summing up the mood in the United States at the time "with a brilliant broad stroke."

Clive Davis Clive Jay Davis (born April 4, 1932) is an American record producer, A&R executive, record executive, and lawyer. He has won five Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as a non-performer, in 2000. From 1967 to 1 ...

, head of the Kinks' label at the time Arista Records, described the song as tapping "the malaise at the tail end of the decade." Music critic

Johnny Rogan John Rogan (14 February 1953 – 21 January 2021) was a British author of Irish descent best known for his books about music and popular culture. He wrote influential biographies of the Byrds, Neil Young, the Smiths, Van Morrison and Ray Davies. ...

described the song as being "perfect" for live stadium shows. ''

'' described the song as "sweeping" and "destined to become a favorite with fans" and rated it one of the top tracks from ''Low Budget''. It also described the song as a "standout," praising its "strong vocals and lyrics" and "neat saxophone work" while describing the guitar

as being influenced by the

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

. Author Bob Cianci described it as an "

FM radio FM broadcasting is a method of radio broadcasting that uses frequency modulation (FM) of the radio broadcast carrier wave. Invented in 1933 by American engineer Edwin Armstrong, wide-band FM is used worldwide to transmit high fidelity, high-f ...

hit." But music critic

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

criticizes the song for lacking irony. ''

Rolling Stone Album Guide ''The Rolling Stone Album Guide'', previously known as ''The Rolling Stone Record Guide'', is a book that contains professional music reviews written and edited by staff members from ''Rolling Stone'' magazine. Its first edition was published in 1 ...

'' critic Rob Sheffield calls it an "embarrassing novelty."

Personnel

The Kinks *

– lead vocals *

–

lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

Mick Avory Michael Charles Avory (born 15 February 1944) is an English musician, best known as the longtime drummer and percussionist for the English rock band the Kinks. He joined them shortly after their formation in 1964 and remained with them until 1984 ...

–

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

Jim Rodford James Walter Rodford (7 July 1941 – 20 January 2018) was an English musician, who played bass for several British rock bands. He was a founding member of Argent, which was led by his cousin Rod Argent, and performed with them from their forma ...

–

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

Additional personnel *Nick Newall – saxophone

References

{{Authority control The Kinks songs 1979 singles Songs written by Ray Davies Song recordings produced by Ray Davies Arista Records singles Songs about superheroes