Song by Song: "Waterloo Sunset" Quiz

Answer: no

The song was released as a single on May 5, 1967 from the studio album "Something Else by the Kinks." In the UK, the B-side contained "Act Nice and Gentle," but in the U.S., it had "Two Sisters." While the song peaked at number two on the U.K. Melody Maker's chart, it did not chart in the U.S.

Answer: Ray Davies

Ray Davies composed the song and supplied lead vocals and acoustic guitar. Mick Avory was on drums, while Pete Quaife was on bass. Roger Hodgson is the frontman for Supertramp. "Waterloo Sunset" is considered as belonging to the orchestral pop and psychedelic pop genres.

Answer: The Thames

Songfacts.com quotes Ray Davies: "I was in St Thomas' Hospital there when I was really ill as a child, and I looked out on the Thames. Later I used to go past the [Waterloo] station when I went to art college on the train. And I met my first girlfriend, who became my first wife, along the Embankment at Waterloo."

Answer: dizzy

"Dirty old river, must you keep rolling
Flowing into the night?
People so busy, make me feel dizzy."

The song was originally titled "Liverpool Sunset," Ray Davies said in a 2011 article in "The Independent." He told interviewers Liverpool was his favorite city because the band got the best reception there.

Answer: a taxi light

Rolling Stone magazine quotes Ray Davies as saying he revised this song until it "became like a pebble which had been rounded off by the sea . . . perfectly smooth." The magazine named "Waterloo Sunset" the number 42 greatest song of all time on its 2004 list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time."

Answer: chilly

"Every day I look at the world from my window
But chilly, chilly is the evening time
Waterloo sunset's fine (Waterloo sunset's fine)."

In a 2001 interview with The Herald, Ray Davies said he'd liked to rewrite "Waterloo Sunset." He told the newspaper, "Some of the lyrics don't work for me."

Answer: Terry and Julie

"Terry meets Julie
Waterloo station
Every Friday night
But I am so lazy, don't want to wander
I stay at home at night."

A Variety magazine biography of actress Julie Christie says that she and actor Terrence Stamp were "enshrined as lovers in the Kinks' masterpiece single, 'Waterloo Sunset.'" The two actors starred in "Far from the Madding Crowd" in 1967. The band, however, has not confirmed that the Terry and Julie of this song are the actors in question.

Answer: flies

"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."

For the 2012 Olympics held in London, England, Ray Davies performed this song live at the closing ceremony. That caused the song to regain popularity, so a single was re-released. It peaked at number 47 on the UK singles chart.

Answer: friends

"But I don't need no friends
As long as I gaze on
Waterloo sunset
I am in paradise."

The Jam, and English revival punk rock band, included a demo cover of "Waterloo Sunset" on the Deluxe edition of "Sound Affects," their fifth studio album. The song has been covered by David Essex, David Bowie, Peter Gabriel, and Rhett Miller, among others.

Answer: Cathy Dennis

"Am I the Kinda Girl?" was released in 1996 in Australia and 1997 in the UK. "Waterloo Sunset" was the second single released from the 1997 album. Her version peaked at number 11 on the U.K. Singles Chart (OCC).