Pink Floyd - The Wall (1979)

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Pink Floyd - "The Wall" (1979)

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Personnel

Roger Waters: vocals, guitars, synths, and sounds.
David Gilmour: vocals, guitars, synths, and sounds.
Nick Mason: drums.
Richard Wright: organ, piano, synths, and bass pedals.​

As with many concept albums, the actual "meaning" and full understanding of the present metaphors in the lyrics, or the apparent storyline (or lack thereof) will be debated endlessly until the end of time. As a writer I have found myself fascinated with the lyrical genius of Roger Waters and David Gilmour, of Pink Floyd. There always seems to be a little twist to everything. Even the simplest of songs turn into ideas with deeper purpose than I'd ever imagined, once I look a little closer. In this I have delighted, and it is my pleasure to present a personal analysis and review of their 1979 classic "The Wall".

It was 1977 and Roger Waters was pissed. While on tour for their previous concept album, Animals (known as the "In the Flesh" tour of 1977) he was so disgusted with the behavior of some of the audiences he'd seen, that he envisioned a wall between himself and the chavs in question. Though he was not the only member of the band to feel disappointment with the tour, Roger felt deep loneliness and isolation because he wasn't enjoying what he previously loved to do. He felt a certain separation from the audience, which troubled him, and he wanted to get down to the roots of his personal struggle. Thus the idea for "The Wall" was born.

Roger and the band went to work in January of 1979, at the golden hands of Bob Ezrin (who had previously worked with rock giants KISS and Alice Cooper). The album was written mostly by Roger, with the help of David Gilmour on the more popular tracks (such as 'Run Like Hell', 'Young Lust', and 'Comfortably Numb'). Bob co-wrote the pivotal track "The Trial". The recording of "The Wall" took place in several places, starting in France and ending up in several studios throughout greater Los Angeles, California. Keyboardist Rick Wright and drummer Nick Mason lived in the Super Bear studio in France during recording; Roger and David lived in separate homes close by. An unfortunate technicality of the situation was Bob Ezrin's marital problems, which eventually came between him and the band on multiple occasions, causing a strained relationship between himself and Roger (who was not amused by Bob's tardiness and flighty behavior during the time of trial in his life).

The relationship between Roger and Rick became strained when Bob was displeased with the methods and volume in which Rick made progress. Roger said he would refuse to allow the album to be released unless Rick got his shit together and left. So he did. Owners of the original LP will notice that there is no mentioning of Rick's name in the sleeve. He would later return for touring as a salaried musician.

The album was released on November 30th, 1979, and charted significantly well, reaching #1 in Norway, Sweden, Germany, New Zealand, and Austria; #3 in the UK, and #9 in Spain in 1979; in 1980 it reached #1 in the United States and France. It also spawned a handful of singles which were equally successful; "The Wall" marked one of Pink Floyd's highest points of their career, commercially, and would continue to be praised after the release of a film adaptation in 1982.

During touring for "The Wall", the band dazzled their audiences with large, startling marionettes and fabulous visual displays. During the course of the concert, a cardboard "wall" would be assembled between the audience and the band, to be torn down at the end of the show.
 

ladyislingering

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Re: Pink Floyd - "The Wall" (1979)

The album itself tells a marvelous story for those with great patience (or inner turmoil). It opens with a track called "In the Flesh?", which is a reference to the tour that inspired "The Wall" to be written. It begins quite gently, with the faint melody of a song that would later appear on the album: "Goodbye, Cruel World". It soon builds to a hard-driving rock song, synthesizers and guitars galore.

"In the Flesh?"


Lyrics, with commentary in red:

So ya
Thought ya
Might like to go to the show (referring to an unruly gentleman who was spit on by Roger Waters for his hideous behavior during the "In the Flesh" tour)
To feel the warm thrill of confusion
and that space cadet glow (perhaps the concertgoer was hoping for this to be the perfect experience?)
Tell me is something eluding you sunshine?
Is this not what you expected to see? (Roger's snappy commentary at the hooligan in question.)
If you wanna find out
what's behind these cold eyes
You'll just have to claw
your way through the disguise (the disguise being Roger's emotional "wall")

LIGHTS!
ROLL THE SOUND EFFECTS!
ACTION!!!

The song ends with the roaring engine of a jet. The story's protagonist, Pink, has an awful lot in common with Roger (not surprisingly). Pink's father (we later learn) died in World War II (thus the plane). This is the first brick in Pink's wall. It flows rather seamlessly into ...

"The Thin Ice"



Introduced by the sound of a crying child, "The Thin Ice" is meant to represent the gentle years of childhood innocence, before one realizes that there is hurt and pain in this world.

Lyrics (commentary in red)

Momma loves her baby
And Daddy loves you too (the fundamental first thing of a child's existence)
And the sea may look warm to you Babe
And the sky may look blue (but things are not always as they seem at first glance!)
Ooooh Babe
Ooooh Baby Blue
Ooooh Babe
If you should go skating
On the thin ice of modern life (where a person usually learns that life is difficult, and there are struggles and trials)
Dragging behind you the silent reproach
Of a million tear stained eyes (perhaps those that have already lived but haven't the heart to tell an innocent child of what lies beneath the surface of a world that looks so nice at first?)
Don't be surprised, when a crack in the ice
Appears under your feet (in which case another brick must be added to the wall as a means of protection.)
You slip out of your depth and out of your mind
With your fear flowing out behind you
As you claw the thin ice (suggesting that once a person falls through "the thin ice" without a safety net, there will be imminent problems?)

After the child ceases to cry there is a gentle vocal by David Gilmour. The passages are soft, and Roger begins to sing, thus leading into another brief (2:30) rock ballad. There's plenty of piano and crying guitars; "The Thin Ice" segues into a very well-known track:

"Another Brick in the Wall (Part 1)"



With its moody intro, the first part of this popular and memorable piece leads into Pink's pain over learning that his father has passed away in the war. He is coming to grips with it (thus putting another brick in the wall).

Lyrics (commentary in red):

Daddy's flown across the ocean (remember the airplane?)
Leaving just a memory (he did not survive the war.)
Snapshot in the family album (Pink was too young to remember him, and this is all he has left of his father.)
Daddy what else did you leave for me?
Daddy, what'd'ja leave behind for me?!?
All in all it was just a brick in the wall. (The death of Pink's father is a brick in Pink's protective wall.)
All in all it was all just bricks in the wall.

This is mostly a very calm, somber track, as it is leading up to perhaps the most well-known groove on the entire album.

"The Happiest Days of Our Lives"




A sound of a helicopter breaks the calm. The voice of the headmaster is heard for the first time on the album. The song has a bit of a disco groove if you look closely; this is apparently deliberate (as the band felt they could capitalize from adopting this sound, without straying too far from the classic Pink Floyd sound). The song's title is a supposed reference to the innocence of childhood during the formative school years.

Lyrics (with commentary in red).

When we grew up and went to school
There were certain teachers who would
Hurt the children in any way they could (Roger himself has said that his school years were very difficult due to bullying from teachers and students alike.)

By pouring their derision
Upon anything we did (mocking their every move.)
And exposing every weakness
However carefully hidden by the kids
But in the town, it was well known
When they got home at night, their fat and
Psychopathic wives would thrash them
Within inches of their lives. (this suggests that these adults are unhappy with their own lives, therefore taking it out on the children. I believe this also suggests that even the teachers have built walls of their own.)
 

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Re: Pink Floyd - "The Wall" (1979)

Since "The Happiest Days of our Lives" blends with the next song, "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)" they are often played as one if you hear them on the radio, and were released on the single as one. It also opens with an actual scream by Roger. It is here that you hear more of the deliberate disco groove, and the choir of schoolchildren.

"Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)"




The schoolchildren present on this track where children from Islington Green School. The school later received a share for the trouble of their choir, and free albums to the children who participated. Also present in this song is the condescending screaming of the headmaster.

Lyrics (with commentary in red):

We don't need no education (at least, not the one they're potentially getting about life from the contempt of their corrupted educators.)
We don't need no thought control (They don't need it, as in, it is a potentially harmful force, the mockery)
No dark sarcasm in the classroom...
Hey! Teachers leave them kids alone
Hey! Teachers! Leave them kids alone! (the otherwise silent plea.)
All in all it's just another brick in the wall.
All in all you're just another brick in the wall. (Pink puts another brick in his "wall" to protect him from the pain of being tormented in school.)

We don't need no education.
We don't need no thought control.
No dark sarcasm in the classroom.
Teachers leave them kids alone.
Hey! Teachers! Leave them kids alone!
All in all it's just another brick in the wall.
All in all you're just another brick in the wall.

"Wrong, Do it again!"
"Wrong, Do it again!"
"If you don't eat yer meat, you can't have any pudding.
How can you have any pudding if you don't eat yer meat?"
"You! Yes, you behind the bikesheds, stand still laddy!"
"You! Yes, you!
"Stand still laddy." (this is the screaming of the headmaster.)

Despite its seeming simplicity, there really is a lot going on in this song. The screaming of the children (who seem to be in revolt by the end of the song) is Pink's internal conflict that he cannot play out, and so he daydreams instead. Metaphorically this could suggest that Pink is now screaming from behind the wall he is building between himself and his teacher(s).

The first track on the album that could easily survive as a standalone is "Mother".



It is guitar-driven and calm, with David Gilmour and Roger Waters both sharing vocals. The song tells the story of Pink's overprotective mother.

Lyrics (with commentary in red):

Mother do you think they'll drop the bomb? (this might suggest that Pink still fears that what happened to his father will happen to him.)
Mother do you think they'll like the song? (Pink is a musician.)
Mother do you think they'll try to break my balls?
Ooooh aah, Mother should I build a wall. (Asking mother whether he should protect himself from said ball breakage, by building a wall between him and people within the music business.)

Mother should I run for president? (Outlandish dreams are discouraged by mother.)
Mother should I trust the government? (They killed his father.)
Mother will they put me in the firing line?
Ooooh aah, is it just a waste of time? (What's the point of going if you're just going to get killed?)

Hush now baby, baby don't you cry.
Mama's gonna make all of your
nightmares come true. (Everything Mother is protecting Pink from will eventually come to him when she can no longer protect him, and he won't know how to cope with it.)
Mama's gonna put all of her fears into you. (Her fears drive her to protect Pink from everything in life that may harm him.)
Mama's gonna keep you right here
under her wing.
she won't let you fly but she might let you sing. (She will protect him, but he cannot go, even if he is a musician now. Pink does leave later in the story. Later it is implied that this action has hurt his mother.)
Mama will keep baby cosy and warm.

Ooooh Babe Ooooh Babe Ooooh Babe (x)
Of course Mama's gonna help build the wall. (She's another brick in Pink's wall.)

Mother do think she's good enough.. for me? (first mentioning of Pink's girlfriend/wife.)
Mother do think she's dangerous.. to me?
Mother will she tear your little boy apart? (We later learn that she is adulterous.)
Oooh aah, mother will she break my heart? (She will.)
Hush now baby, baby don't you cry.
Mama's gonna check out all your girl friends for you.
Mama won't let anyone dirty get through.
Mama's gonna wait up till you get in.
Mama will always find out where you've been.
Mamma's gonna keep baby healthy and clean (How is Pink to deal with this when he doesn't understand how a relationship works, since his mother has driven him to the point of dysfunctional thought pattern? He is told to fear the world, which enables him to further build his wall.)

Ooooh Babe.. Ooooh Babe.. Ooooh Babe
You'll always be a baby to me

Mother, did it need to be so high? (The Wall.)

This concludes Side A of the album.
 

METALPRIEST

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Re: Pink Floyd - "The Wall" (1979)

Well done!! I love The Wall and again...Well done!! I cannot wait for side two now.

:clap::clap::clap::clap:
 

That 70s Guy

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Re: Pink Floyd - "The Wall" (1979)

The best album ever made!!!

It was made for me and me only!

Mine!!
 

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Re: Pink Floyd - "The Wall" (1979)

The conflict with mother is not resolved, but narrowly avoided in the next song, which opens with chirping birds, a distant airplane, and a child (Roger's son Harry) who says "Look, mummy, there's an airplane up in the sky." This echoes back to Pink's innocent childhood. The menacing synth brings us back to his adulthood. The song is relatively quiet, with vocals by David Gilmour and lyrics that melt into each other with the precise grace and beauty Pink Floyd has been known for.

"Goodbye Blue Sky"



Lyrics (with commentary in red).

Oooooooo ooo ooo ooooh
Oooooooo ooo ooo ooooh

Did-did-did-did you see the frightened ones? (soldiers.)
Did-did-did-did you hear the falling bombs? (during the Blitz in WWII.)
Did-did-did-did you ever wonder why we had to run for shelter when the promise of a brave new world unfurled beneath a clear blue sky? (It wasn't quite over yet.)

Oooooooo ooo ooooo oooh
Oooooooo ooo ooooo oooh

Didd-did-did-did you see the frightened ones?
Did-did-did-did you hear the falling bombs?
The flames are all long gone but the pain lingers on!.. (Within the following generation - Pink's mother has warned him of this, thus instilling her fears into him. This is why the pain lingers.)

Goodbye blue sky
Goodbye blue sky
Goodbye
Goodbye (the blue sky could represent many things, but to me it represents Pink leaving the last bit of his traumatic childhood behind him - his mother.)

Pink has then left his mother, and his relationship with the aforementioned wife/girlfriend is becoming very strained, due to the emotional distance imposed by the metaphorical wall between him and her, thus ...

"Empty Spaces"



Lyrics (commentary in red):

What shall we use to fill the empty spaces (Pink needs to build a barrier between the harm done by his significant other.)
where we used to talk? (As they have grown further apart.)
How shall I fill the final places (By going on tour as a musician, that's how.)
How shall I complete the wall? (This is yet another brick in Pink's emotional wall, but there is still something else that must be done before he is sure it's the end of their relationship.)

When this track is played backwards, the following can be heard faintly in the left channel:

Congratulations, you have found the secret message.
Please send your answer to Old Pink in care of the
Funny Farm.

(Old Pink, Carolyn is on the phone)

(Carolyn is Roger's wife.)

"Empty Spaces" drives right on into..

"Young Lust"



Pink is now touring in the United States, as he is a musician now. He has not seen his wife/girlfriend in a very long time, so he goes looking to replace what he was to her, physically, as his wall has never allowed for an emotional connection. The song itself boasts an incredible guitar solo, a long bass groove, and the makings of a true classic. The guitars are simply nasty, raunchy, and raw.

Lyrics (with commentary in red):

I am just a new boy (He's never been to the States.)
Stranger in this town (A touring musician.)
Where are all the good times? (He's itching to see the world that his mother tried to protect him from.)
Who's gonna show this stranger around? (He's looking for a groupie.)

Ooooo I need a dirty woman (A loose woman, a slut, a groupie.)
Ooooo I need a dirty gal

Will some woman in this desert land
Make me feel like a real man? (This might suggest that his sexuality has been repressed, but this theory makes more sense if you've seen the visuals from the film.)
Take this rock n roll refugee (He is from the UK, and ran off to the US.)
Ooo Babe, set me free (reinforces the theory that his sexuality is repressed.)

Ooooo I need a dirty woman
Ooooo I need a dirty gal

Ooooo I need a dirty woman
Ooooo I need a dirty gal


[Man:] "Hello?" (A man that his wife/girlfriend is supposedly sleeping with at the residence where he was before he left for the tour.)
[Operator:] "Yes, a collect call for Mrs. Floyd from Mr. Floyd.
Will you accept the charges from the United States" (The wife to the husband.)
"He hung up. Is this your residence, sir?"
"I wonder why he hung up..."
"There must be someone else there
besides your wife to answer."
[Man:] "Hello?"
[Operator:] "This is the United States calling."
"Are we reaching?"
(Phone is Hung Up)
"See he keeps hanging up."
"But it's a man answering." (Pink learns that his wife is having an affair.)

My personal theory is that the telephone call was made before Pink calls in a groupie to fulfill his needs. After finding out about his wife's affair he no longer feels reservations about inviting groupies into his place. This is evident in the next track.
 

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Re: Pink Floyd - "The Wall" (1979)

"One of My Turns"



The track opens with the dead end of the telephone before Pink hangs up, and the voice of a groupie who has come into his flat and is greeted with silence. The sound of a television is ever-present through a series of synth tones, and Roger's gentle voice. About 2:03 the song takes a very dramatic turn as Pink begins to rage at his wife via freaking out the groupie in his flat.

Lyrics (with commentary in red):

["Oh my God, what a fabulous room!
Are all these your guitars?
This place is bigger than our apartment.
Uh, can I get a drink of water?
Do you want some? Huh?
Woah! Look at this tub!
Wanna take a baaath?!
What are you watchen'?
Hello? Are you feelin' okay?"] (This is the dialogue of a groupie that has been invited/invited herself into Pink's flat. He is not answering her as she talks to him, as he is devastated after learning of his wife's infidelity.)

Day after day, love turns grey. (The distance between Pink and his wife proved disastrous.)
Like the skin of a dying man.
Night after night, we pretend it's all right.
But I have grown older and
You have grown colder
and nothing is very much fun any more. (Not even sex.)
And I can feeeeeel
one of my turns coming on.
I feeeeeel
cold as razor blade, tight as a tourniquet
Dry as a funeral drum. (He is about to lash out at his wife in any way he finds that he's able to, being an entire ocean away.)

Run to the bedroom .. (this is spoken to the groupie.)
In the suitcase on the left you'll find my favourite axe. (to frighten her.)
Don't look so frightened, this is just a passing phase..
One of my bad days...
Would you like to watch T. V.?
Or get between the sheets?
Or contemplate the silent freeway?
Would you like something to eat? (as she has helped herself to water.)
Would you like to learn to fly? (Pink breaks a window, the traffic is heard below.)
Would you, would you like to see me try? (he leans out the window.)

Oh! Oh no!

Would you like to call the cops?
Do you think it's time I stopped?
Why are you running away? (He is abandoned and isolated yet again.)

After the groupie runs from Pink in fear, he realizes that he is only raging after the departure of his wife from his life.

"Don't Leave Me Now"



The song is rather spooky, with distant sounds of absolutely nothing but a synth, distant piano, and Roger's voice. The song is also accompanied by a deep breathing sound. It's nothing groundbreaking but it serves its purpose in the story very well. It conveys the mood perfectly.

Lyrics (commentary in red):

Ooooh Babe
Don't leave me now
Don't say it's the end of the road (Pink is pleading with his wife.)
Remember the flowers I sent (perhaps asserting something nice he has done for her, in his defense, if anything.)
I need you.. Babe
To put through the shredder
in front of my friends... ooooh Babe! (He has an internal need to mentally shred her, to get rid of her, and not think of her. I theorize that his "friends" might be the figures in his head.)
Don't leave me now..
How could you go..
when you know how I need you? (Pink is pitying himself.)
To beat to a pulp on a Saturday night.. ooooh Babe (maybe the same concept as putting her through his mental shredder?)
Don't leave me now!
How can you treat me this way? Running away? (A mixture of his feelings toward his unfaithful wife and his pity over not being able to keep even a mere groupie in his company.)
Ooooh Babeeeeee
Why are you running awaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay?
Ooooh Babe!

Roger begins to howl about midway through the song (or, at least, that is the best that I can explain it personally). His voice becomes pleading and needy. The music picks up once the lyrics end, to a mourning and low guitar, without of course losing its inner tenderness. Toward the end, Pink is flipping channels on his television when he is suddenly overcome with a fit of rage. At this point in the story, Pink has experienced a lot of abandonment (his father, wife, and now this strange girl he doesn't even know) and is beginning to doubt the value of surrounding himself with others.

Pink smashes the living shit out of his television set as the album abruptly leads into ...

"Another Brick in the Wall (Part 3)"



The song is quite brief and aggressive. It doesn't work well as a standalone at all, but it definitely demands the listener's attention with the guitars and synth. Note how the dialogue on the television finally stops when Pink lets up on the smashing.

Pink decides to flip a giant middle finger to the world. Observe in the lyrics (commentary in red).

I don't need no arms around me. (He doesn't need his wife, or that groupie.)
And I dont need no drugs to calm me!
I have seen the writing on the wall. (It has suddenly become very clear to him.)
Don't think I need anything at all!
No! Don't think I'll need anything at all! (Pink decides he will dismiss everyone and everything.)

All in all it was all just bricks in the wall. (As they were only a product of his newly desired and acquired isolation.)
All in all you were all just bricks in the wall.

As Pink finishes out his frustrations, he begins to calm down and the music slows to a crawl again.

"Goodbye Cruel World"



The intro of this song echoes back to "Careful With that Axe, Eugene". It's very simple and quiet, and has often been misconstrued as a song about suicide. Pink is committing mental and social suicide. The song is less than a minute and half long.

Lyrics:

Goodbye cruel world I'm leaving you today ..
Goodbye, Goodbye, Goodbye

Goodbye all you people, there's nothing you
can say.. to make me change my mind
Goodbye.

During live performances of "The Wall" there would only be one brick left for completion of the Wall. Roger would peek through the last space, sing his piece, and the brick would go in. This symbolizes Pink's absolute isolation from the entire world. Thus concludes side B.
 

Magic

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Re: Pink Floyd - "The Wall" (1979)

Awesome review and interpretations, the best I have seen written on The Wall.

Muchos Kudos, LiL :good
 

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Re: Pink Floyd - "The Wall" (1979)

Side C opens with another well-known Floyd classic.

"Hey You"




The opener on side C begins with a deceptively gentle tone. There is much speculation as to what the lyrics have to do with the story at hand, but this is just my personal examination of what Pink is facing, mentally.

Lyrics (with commentary):

Hey you, out there in the cold
getting lonely, getting old...
can you feel me? (Pink's wife is perhaps addressing him in this portion.)
Hey you, standing in the aisles
With itchy feet and fading smiles
Can you feel me? (Pink is addressing his fans here.)
Hey you, dont help them to bury the light.
Dont give in without a fight. (Pink's subconscious is telling him not to let the pain in his life bring him down, and not to let the people who caused it dictate how he carries on through life.)

Hey you, out there on your own...
sitting naked by the phone...
would you touch me? (Pink, to his adulterous wife.)
Hey you, with you ear against the wall
waiting for someone to call out
would you touch me? (Pink's wife, or someone else very close to him, calling to him.)
Hey you, would you help me to carry the stone?
Open your heart, I'm coming home (this line and the one above, I feel, are Pink addressing his mother.)

But it was only fantasy. (Omniscient view, third person view.)
The wall was too high, (Pink has built his defenses too strongly and nobody can understand him.)
'cause you can't see. (No one will know how he feels unless he lets them in.)
No matter how he tried,
he could not break free. (From himself.)
And the worms ate into his brain. (Worms could be anything. To me they symbolize his demons.)

Hey you, out there on the road
always doing what you're told,
can you help me? (Pink to a roadie, maybe?)
Hey you, out there beyond the wall,
breaking bottles in the hall,
can you help me? (Pink is now calling out to even the nearest punk kid.)
Hey you, don't tell me there's no hope at aaaaall.
Together we stand, divided we fall..we fall..we fall (Pink to himself. He sees that he cannot operate being apart from society, and that he must be a part of society.)

Everything about this song is absolutely incredible. Everything from the desperately pleading guitar, to the shared vocals (David and Roger) to the fact that the lyrics are so hard to figure out. It works beautifully even as a standalone track. It leads quietly and well into the next track.

"Is There Anybody Out There?"



There is hardly a sound aside from an odd scream (which, to my memory, and correct me if I'm wrong, has been taken from "Echoes") and a gentle guitar, as Pink pleads to the outside world. Lyrics are not necessary for discussion, as there are some indecipherable voices present, but for the most part it's just Roger singing "is there anybody out there?" several times. At this point in the story, Pink is regretting his decision and wants to reach out to someone to help him. Nobody is answering, which is a set-up for the next part of the story.

"Nobody Home"



All that is heard in the beginning of this song is a faint TV and a voice that faintly mimics that of the headmaster. It opens with a piano. The song is meant to address Pink's sadness over his isolation. Much of this song was written about Syd Barrett, which I will address in the lyrics as well as my interpretation of the story at this point.

Lyrics (commentary in red):

I've got a little black book with my poems in (maybe a gentle nod to Simon and Garfunkel? "I've got my books and my poetry to protect me. I am shielded in my armour."?)
I've got a bag with a toothbrush and a comb in (Pink has thrown it all away.)
When I'm a good dog they sometimes throw me a bone in (He occasionally feels a cold connection to humanity, or their charity.)
I got elastic bands keeping my shoes on (a gentle nod to Syd.)
Got those swollen hand blues.
Got thirteen channels of shit on the T.V. to choose from.
I've got electric light
And I've got second sight (Hindsight, 20/20.)
I've got amazing powers of observation (Pink has realized what he has done by shunning society.)
And that is how I know
When I try to get through
On the telephone to you
There'll be nobody home (His behavior has driven so many people away, including himself.)

I've got the obligatory Hendrix perm (Syd.)
And I've got the inevitable pinhole burns
All down the front of my favourite satin shirt (Syd.)
I've got nicotine stains on my fingers (this refers to Rick Wright.)
I've got a silver spoon on a chain (who was addicted to cocaine at the time)
I've got a grand piano to prop up my mortal remains (and was their pianist.)
I've got wild staring eyes (Syd.)
I've got a strong urge to fly (Pink realizes he needs to do something about his situation because this is getting him nowhere.)
But I got nowhere to fly to-fly to-fly to-fly to (But he doesn't know where to go from here.)

Ooooh Babe when I pick up the phone
There's still nobody home (Nobody lives inside of Pink's head anymore?)
I've got a pair of Gohill's boots
And I've got fading roots. (Pink is losing touch with himself.)
 

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Re: Pink Floyd - "The Wall" (1979)

The television from the last track proceeds into the next.

"Vera"




Another minimal and brief track (which is a little bass-heavy) clocking in at 1 minute, 34 seconds, it is seemingly pointless. There was a song during the war by a woman named Vera Lynn. It was called "We'll Meet Again", written for the soldiers who were overseas, and the hope that they would come home safe.

Lyrics (with commentary in red) of "Vera":

Does anybody here remember Vera Lynn? (Her song may have given Pink's mother hope during his father's time of service in the war.)
Remember how she said that
we would meet again some sunny day? (Pink would not meet his father.)

Vera! Vera! What has become of you? (This suggests that she seems to have disappeared, with her song, and with hope.)
Does anybody else in here feel the way I do? (Pink wonders if anyone, like himself, has entirely lost hope.)

However, it makes sense for the next track.

"Bring the Boys Back Home"



This song, though brief, is absolutely tremendous. With its massive orchestration and present unity in the vocals, it is a song that is very focused on one message: we are as one. It has taken me some time, personally, to understand this.

Lyrics (with commentary in red):

Bring the boys back home. (Don't stray too far from 'home' - Pink has left his responsibilities and what is important to him, for his career, self, and dreams.)
Bring the boys back home.
Dont leave the children on their own, no, no. (Let nothing come before your children?)
Bring the boys back home.

"Wrong! do it again!"
"Wrong! [knock, knock, knock] Do it again!" (Headmaster flashback.)
Time to go! [knock, knock, knock, knock]
"Wrong! do it again!" [knock, knock, knock]
Time to go! [knock, knock, knock, knock] (Pink's manager before a show.)
Are you feeling okay? (Groupie flashback.)
Time to go! [knock, knock, knock, knock]
Are you feeling okay? [ knock, knock, knock]
"He keeps hanging up." (Telephone call in which he learns of his wife's infidelity.)
Time to go!
[knock, knock, knock, knock]
Are you feeling okay?
[knock, knock, knock]
Time to go! [knock, knock, knock, knock]
Time to go!
Time to go!

Is there anybody out there?

Pink has realized that he has hurt the ones he loves with his own self-centeredness. Life has taken him away from what and who he loves, enjoys, and lives for. This has cost him a great many things, which all come back to him in flashbacks before the song fades out and Pink asks "is there anybody out there?" perhaps as his last desperate plea.

"Comfortably Numb"




"Comfortably Numb" works brilliantly as a standalone track and is extremely well-known. Both Roger and David share vocals, and there is also a very famous guitar solo throughout the midsection of the song. It is, essentially, a deceptively beautiful and lush track, rich with emotion, peace, and an overall numbness of the senses.

Though the lyrics are not easily interpreted, this is my personal view of what's going on in the song.

Lyrics (with commentary in red):

Hello. (A doctor is treating Pink.)
Is there anybody in there? (He is unresponsive.)
Just nod if you can hear me.
Is there anyone home?

Come on, now.
I hear you're feeling down. (The doctor wants to give Pink medicine so he can continue on normally.)
Well I can ease your pain,
Get you on your feet again. (So he can operate well enough to perform again.)

Relax.
I need some information first. (The doctor needs to know how to help him.)
Just the basic facts:
Can you show me where it hurts?

There is no pain, you are receding. (Apparently it's working.)
A distant ships smoke on the horizon.
You are only coming through in waves.
Your lips move but I cant hear what you're sayin. (Pink is responding well to the drug.)
When I was a child I had a fever.
My hands felt just like two balloons. (Pink recalls a childhood illness.)
Now I got that feeling once again.
I cant explain, you would not understand. (He cannot form the words to tell the doctor, and he is only talking inside his head.)
This is not how I am. (Pink has seen better days.)
I have become comfortably numb. (The drugs must be working.)

Ok. (The doctor has found the antidote.)
Just a little pinprick. (Perhaps Pink has overdone it with heroin and now needs methadone?)
Therell be no more --aaaaaahhhhh!
But you may feel a little sick. (Methadone is supposed to ease the unease of heroin addicts when they're coming down.)

Can you stand up?
I do believe its working. good. (Pink has come back into full consciousness.)
Thatll keep you going for the show. (Pink's manager is speaking to him.)
Come on its time to go. ("Comfortably Numb" now appears to be a recollection of an event that took place before Pink built the wall, as Pink had recalled these words throughout the last portion of "Bring the Boys Back Home".)

There is no pain, you are receding.
A distant ships smoke on the horizon.
You are only coming through in waves.
Your lips move but I cant hear what you're sayin.
When I was a child I caught a fleeting glimpse,
Out of the corner of my eye.
I turned to look but it was gone.
I cannot put my finger on it now.
The child is grown, the dream is gone. (The dream that he would make it alone, as a musician, perhaps?)
I have become comfortably numb. (He feels complete emptiness and indifference toward all that he has worked for, and all he longs for is to be a functioning part of society now(?)).

"Comfortably Numb" closes side C of "The Wall".
 

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