"Govinda" is a song by British rock band

Kula Shaker Kula Shaker are an English psychedelic rock band. Led by frontman Crispian Mills, the band came to prominence during the Post-Britpop era of the late 1990s. The band enjoyed commercial success in the UK between 1996 and 1999, notching up a num ...

, released on their debut album, '' K'' (1996). Sung entirely in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

, the song includes

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

influences and tambura and

tabla A tabla, bn, তবলা, prs, طبلا, gu, તબલા, hi, तबला, kn, ತಬಲಾ, ml, തബല, mr, तबला, ne, तबला, or, ତବଲା, ps, طبله, pa, ਤਬਲਾ, ta, தபலா, te, తబల� ...

instrumentation. "Govinda" was issued as a single on 11 November 1996 and peaked at number seven on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. Kula Shaker made a music video for the song, directed by Michael Geoghegan. The cover artwork for the single featured a

Longines Compagnie des Montres Longines, Francillon S.A., or simply Longines (), is a Swiss luxury watchmaker based in Saint-Imier, Switzerland. Founded by Auguste Agassiz in 1832, the company has been a subsidiary of the Swiss Swatch Group and its predec ...

Conquest watch, with the band logo and song title in place of the Longines branding. An alternative version of the track, called "Govinda '97, Hari & ST. George", appeared on Kula Shaker's ''

Summer Sun EP Kula Shaker are an English psychedelic rock band. Led by frontman Crispian Mills, the band came to prominence during the Post-Britpop era of the late 1990s. The band enjoyed commercial success in the UK between 1996 and 1999, notching up a num ...

'', released in July 1997.

Background

Lead singer and guitarist

Crispian Mills Crispian Mills (born 18 January 1973 as Crispian John David Boulting; spiritual name Krishna Kantha Das) is an English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and film director. Active since 1988, Mills is best known as the frontman of the psychedelic ...

said that the song was born out of an improvisation and based on a

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

prayer to

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...

. The words ''Govinda jaya jaya'' literally mean "Krishna (the Divine Cowherd), Glory, Glory". The text is taken from a Sanskrit devotional chant, titled "

Govinda Jaya Jaya "Govinda Jaya Jaya" is an Indian devotional chant or song. It is often sung in the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, Krishna Consciousness movement founded by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, and by various other schools of yoga, ...

". The latter was previously recorded in 1970 by devotees from the London

Radha Krishna Temple This article discusses the London Radha Krishna Temple (also Radha Krsna Temple), which has been the headquarters of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in the United Kingdom since the late 1960s. It was founded in Bu ...

and released as the B-side of their single "

Govinda Govinda (), also rendered Govind and Gobind, is an epithet of Vishnu which is also used for his avatars such as Krishna. The name appears as the 187th and the 539th name of Vishnu in '' Vishnu Sahasranama''. The name is also popularly addresse ...

" (a different song), produced by

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...

Track listings

UK CD1 # "Govinda" (radio mix) – 3:46 # "Gokula" – 2:56 # "Hey Dude" (live at The Astoria) – 5:30 # "The Leek" – 3:40 UK CD2 # "Govinda, Hari & St. George" – 3:59 # "Gokula" – 2:56 # "Govinda" (

Monkey Mafia Jon Carter (born 1970 in Essex, England) is an English electronic musician. He initially rose to prominence in the 1990s as a big beat DJ. However, as his career progressed both his productions and his DJ sets became known for including a vari ...

Pigsy's vision) – 6:56 # "Govinda" (Monkey Mafia Ten to Ten) – 4:31 UK 7-inch single :A1. "Govinda" (radio mix) – 3:46 :B1. "Gokula" – 2:56 :B2. "Temple of Everlasting Light" – 2:33 UK cassette single :A. "Govinda" (radio mix) – 3:46 :B. "Gokula" – 2:56 European and Australian CD single # "Govinda" (radio mix) # "Gokula" # "Hey Dude" (live at The Astoria) # "Drop in the Ocean" # "Govinda" (Monkey Mafia Pigsy's vision) # "Govinda" (Monkey Mafia Ten to Ten)

Credits and personnel

Credits are taken from the UK CD1 liner notes and the '' K'' album booklet. Studios * Recorded between January and May 1996 at various studios Personnel *

– writing **

– writing, vocals, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, tambura **

Alonza Bevan Alonza George Bevan (born 24 October 1970) is an English musician who is the bassist for the English rock band Kula Shaker. In between Kula Shaker splitting in 1999 and reforming in 2004, Bevan played in a number of groups including Johnny Marr' ...

– backing vocals, bass, piano **

Jay Darlington Jay Peter Darlington (born 3 May 1968 in Sidcup, London) is an English keyboardist, best known as a member of Kula Shaker. He went on to work as a touring member of Oasis and is currently a member of the Totnes, Devon based prog band, Magic Bu ...

– organ,

Mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which pushes a length of magnetic tape against a capstan, which pulls it across a playback head. A ...

, piano **

Paul Winterhart Paul Winter-Hart (born 19 September 1971 in Hammersmith, London) is the drummer for the English band Kula Shaker. He grew up in East Pennard, Somerset, and is noted for being reserved in interviews. In between Kula Shaker splitting in 1999 and ...

– drums * Gauri – backing vocals * Himangshu Goswami –

John Leckie John William Leckie (born 23 October 1949) is an English record producer and recording engineer. His production credits include Magazine's ''Real Life'' (1978), XTC's ''White Music'' (1978) and Dukes of Stratosphear's '' 25 O'Clock'' (1985), t ...

– production, mixing engineering * John Davis – mastering * Stylorouge – image creation and Graphic Precision * Trevor Rogers – photography * Zefa – photography

Charts

References

{{Authority control 1996 singles 1996 songs Britpop songs Columbia Records singles Indian mythology in music Kula Shaker songs Music videos directed by Michael Geoghegan Song recordings produced by John Leckie Songs written by Crispian Mills