My Top 1000 Songs #935: Oklahoma USA

[I've been writing up my Top 1000 songs on a daily basis--you can see them all in descending order by hitting the All My Favorite Songs tag.]

While it's generally held in pretty high regard by Kinks fans, I've never been entirely taken in by 1971's Muswell Hillbillies. Granted, after that incredible run of Village Green Preservation Society/Arthur/Lola, it's a little unfair to expect the same level of brilliance; or maybe it's just their blend of rootsy Americana and British music-hall doesn't entirely click for me. 

But don't get me wrong, it's still a pretty great album. There are a few Kinks all-timers, most notably the sparse, piano-based "Oklahoma USA," one of Ray Davies' most gorgeous ballads. It's crushingly sad, a broken woman imagining her life as a Broadway musical, but the quiet, pastoral beauty of the melody and Ray's delivery make it endlessly appealing. All life we work, but work is a bore; if life's for living, what's living for? No wonder Yo La Tengo, known for impeccable taste in covers, breathed new life into it on their 1990 Fakebook covers LP.

Ray Davies solo acoustic, live 2006:

Yo La Tengo's magnificent cover:

Yo La Tengo, live 2015: