Ten covers of Waterloo Sunset - one of The Kinks' greatest songs, #42 in Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time with videos/covers by Peter Gabriel, Ray Davies, Elliott Smith, Def Leppard, Jackson Brown, and lyrics

By Jack Brummet
Pop Music Editor

Waterloo Bridge on the Thames River in London - click to enlarge

A London FM radio poll in 2004 named Waterloo Sunset the "Greatest Song About London", and Time Out named it the "Anthem of London." 

Waterloo Sunset is  #42 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.  Paul Weller and Damon Albarn, and many other musicians, cite the song as their favourite of all-time. Even the sometimes cranky Pitchfork Media named it the 29th best song of the 1960s.  It's probably in my top fifty.

The notoriously cranky, but often brilliant,  journalist Robert Christgau called the song "the most beautiful song in the English language."   Pete Townshend of The Who has called it "divine" and "a masterpiece".  Allmusic senior editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine said it is "possibly the most beautiful song of the rock and roll era."

Ray Davies performs the song at Glastonbury in 2010.  This is a wonderful cover of his own song with a choir. 



The Kinks perform Waterloo Sunset at the time of its release:



Billy Bragg's cover, performed right next to Waterloo Bridge in London:



Peter Gabriel's gorgeous and heartbreaking version with strings:



The late, great Elliott Smith, who performed the song frequently at shows:



Def Leppard!:



David Bowie:



A guy named Steve on YouTube:



Another [piano-centric] cover by Ray Davies in NYC by Ray Davies with a choral octet:



Ray Davies and Jackson Brown:



Waterloo Sunset
By Ray Davies

Dirty old river, must you keep rolling
Flowing into the night
People so busy, makes me feel dizzy
Taxi light shines so bright
But I don't need no friends
As long as I gaze on Waterloo sunset
I am in paradise

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

Terry meets Julie, Waterloo Station
Every Friday night
But I am so lazy, don't want to wander
I stay at home at night
But I don't feel afraid
As long as I gaze on Waterloo sunset
I am in paradise

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

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
They are in paradise

Waterloo sunset's fine

---o0o---