"This Time Tomorrow" is the eighth track from

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

' 1970 album, ''

Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One ''Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One'', commonly abbreviated to ''Lola Versus Powerman'', or simply ''Lola'', is the eighth studio album by the English rock band the Kinks, recorded and released in 1970. A concept album, it is a ...

''. It 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 main songwriter for the rock band the Kinks, which he led with his younger brother Dave on lead guitar and backing voca ...

Lyrics and music

Ray Davies said of the song's inspiration: "This Time Tomorrow", like most of the other tracks on ''

'', criticizes the music business. More specifically, the track complains of the monotony of being on the road. The singer, who is currently on a plane, wonders where he'll be "this time tomorrow." He fantasizes over what the future holds for him, pondering whether he'll still be on the plane, "watching an in-flight movie show", and dreaming of being "on a spaceship somewhere sailing across an empty sea." He'll "leave the sun behind imand watch the clouds as they sadly pass imby," and says he "can see the world and it ain't so big at all." "I don't know where I'm going, I don't want to see," the singer laments. "This Time Tomorrow" opens with the sound of an aeroplane flying, followed by guitar and a National Steel resonator guitar. The song also features Kinks pianist John Gosling, with the song being one of Gosling's first ever appearances on a Kinks record. In fact, the song was among the tracks that Gosling attempted the first day he auditioned for the Kinks.

Release and reception

"This Time Tomorrow" was first featured as the opening track on the second side of the ''Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One'' album, and was not released as a single. "This Time Tomorrow" has generally received positive reviews from critics. In his album review,

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

of ''

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

'' called the song one of "three of ay Davies'sbest melancholy ballads" on ''Lola Versus Powerman'' (the other two being "Get Back in Line" and "A Long Way From Home".) Andrew Hickey said in his book, ''Preservation: The Kinks' Music 1964–1974'', that the song is "one of the most affecting songs on the album" and "endlessly listenable."

Film appearances

"This Time Tomorrow" appeared alongside "

Strangers A stranger is a person who is unknown to another person or group. Because of this unknown status, a stranger may be perceived as a threat until their identity (social science), identity and Character structure, character can be ascertained. Differ ...

", and "Powerman" in the

Wes Anderson Wesley Wales Anderson (born May 1, 1969) is an American filmmaker. His films are known for their eccentricity and unique visual and narrative styles. They often contain themes of grief, loss of innocence, and dysfunctional families. Cited by so ...

2007 film ''

The Darjeeling Limited ''The Darjeeling Limited'' is a 2007 American comedy-drama film directed by Wes Anderson, which he co-produced with Scott Rudin, Roman Coppola, and Lydia Dean Pilcher, and co-wrote with Roman Coppola and Jason Schwartzman. The film stars Owen W ...

''. These songs were added to the film's

soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' ...

. ''

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'' placed this appearance at number nine on its list of the thirteen "Great Musical Moments in Wes Anderson Movies." In 2005, "This Time Tomorrow" made an appearance in the French

Philippe Garrel Philippe Garrel (; born 6 April 1948) is a French director, cinematographer, screenwriter, film editor, and producer, associated with the French New Wave movement. His films have won him awards at Cannes Film Festival and Venice Film Festival. ...

film ''

Les amants réguliers ''Regular Lovers'' (french: Les Amants réguliers) is a 2005 French coming-of-age romantic drama film directed by Philippe Garrel and starring Louis Garrel and Clotilde Hesme. Set in 1968, it tells the story of a young couple. The film had its wo ...

''. In May 2014, a cover of the song by

Gaz Coombes Gaz Coombes (born 8 March 1976) is an English musician and singer-songwriter. He is best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist of the English alternative rock band Supergrass. He first entered the music scene aged 14 as the lead singer of the ...

was used in a TV advertisement "Never Standing Still" to mark the 150th anniversary of retailer John Lewis. In 2020, the Kinks recording features during the end credits of episode 2 ("Gloria") of the TV series ''

Mrs. America Mrs. America may refer to; * ''Mrs. America'' (miniseries), a 2020 US television mini-series * Mrs. America (contest), a US national beauty pageant See also * '' Mr. and Mrs. America'', a 1945 film * Mr. America (disambiguation) * Miss America ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:This Time Tomorrow The Kinks songs 1970 songs Songs written by Ray Davies Song recordings produced by Ray Davies