Wicked Annabella
song performed by The Kinks
"Wicked Annabella" is a song by the English rock band the Kinks from their 1968 album, The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society (1968). Written by Ray Davies, it was recorded by the Kinks in July 1968. The song is Dave Davies's only lead vocal contribution on the album. It is one of several character studies on Village Green, recounting the wicked deeds of the local witch as a warning to children. Employing an eerie tone, its lyrics are darker than the rest of the album and have been likened by commentators to a dark fairy tale.
An example of psychedelia, the song includes guitar feedback and a long sustain, likely achieved through the use of an early solid-state amplifier, while Davies's lead vocal features heavy echo and reverb. Retrospective commentators have described the song as a departure from the relative calmness of Village Green and have often highlighted its guitar sound for praise.
Background and composition
Ray Davies suggested in a November 1968 interview with Melody Maker that he composed "Wicked Annabella" to get a song "to sound as horrible as it could". The song is one of many character studies on the Kinks' 1968 album The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society. Among band biographers, Andy Miller characterises "Wicked Annabella" as a "psychedelic nursery rhyme", while Johnny Rogan calls it a "black fairy tale".
The public source identifies “Wicked Annabella” as song performed by The Kinks. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Wicked, Annabella and song.
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Reception evidence should be dated and situated: later canonical status may differ sharply from the work’s initial circulation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 11, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7998269. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1968.
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This entry incorporates text from “Wicked Annabella” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.