"A Crack in the Ice": Attachment and Insanity in Pink Floyd's The Wall

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"A Crack in the Ice": Attachment and Insanity in Pink Floyd's The "A Crack in the Ice": Attachment and Insanity in Pink Floyd's The

Wall Wall

Margaret E. Geddy

Georgia Southern University

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“A crack in the ice”: Attachment and Insanity in Pink Floyd’s The Wall

An Honors Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for Honors in Literature &

Philosophy

M. Elizabeth Geddy

Under the mentorship of Dr. Joseph Pellegrino

ABSTRACT

Pink Floyd’s concept album The Wall follows a musician named Pink from adolescence to

adulthood as he struggles to maintain his sanity while searching for a genuine connection "on the

thin ice of modern life." This paper analyzes several aspects of the album to trace the character’s

break with reality and what he comes to realize, such as all of the lyrics, the track-listing and the

side each song appears on, and any non-musical background noise. Through the lens of

Attachment Theory, a type of developmental psychology, the inevitability of Pink’s descent into

madness is shown, as is how his lack of secure attachment to his mother is one of the biggest

determining factors of his psycho-social and emotional advancement.

Thesis Mentor:________________________

Dr. Joseph Pellegrino

Honors Director:_______________________

Dr. Steven Engel

April 2018

Literature & Philosophy

University Honors Program

Georgia Southern University

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

To Dr. Pellegrino, for all of his assistance, guidance, and extreme amounts of patience

To my friends, who tolerated my insanity and supported me throughout the duration of this project

And to my parents, for their constant and unwavering love and care, and without whom I would not have

ever been able to write this

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“A crack in the ice”: Attachment and Insanity in Pink Floyd’s The Wall

On November 30, 1979, the highly anticipated album The Wall was released by the

progressive rock band Pink Floyd. A concept album that spans four sides, it centralizes on Pink

Floyd, a musician trying to survive “the thin ice of modern life” (19). A child born in Blitz-era

London whose father is killed during his infancy, Pink is raised by his depressed and suffocating

mother before fleeing her grip to become a rock star. When he discovers his wife is having an

affair while he is away on tour, he suffers from a mental breakdown and disengages from the

world around him by retreating behind his emotional wall; a wall in which the bricks are people

and events from his past, and the bricklayer is his overprotective mother. In an exclusive

interview with Tom Vance of BBC Radio

the day of the album’s release, Waters articulated that

the fundamental idea of The Wall is that “if you isolate yourself, you decay” (8), a concept that is

finally understood by the protagonist at the end of the album. After conducting an internal self-

examination in the form of a trial, Pink sentences himself to “tear down the wall” (445),

representing his decision to de-isolate himself. Each side focuses on a different period of his life

leading up to this moment: the first his childhood, the second his entrance into adulthood and

stardom, the third his withdrawal from reality, and the fourth his breakdown and self-imposed

trial.

Prominent rock historian Alan Di Perna described the rock opera as “a swansong for the

heyday of Pink Floyd and the classic rock Seventies” (64) in his article on the history of the

album, an apt description as it is the last to feature the classic lineup of Roger Waters on bass and

vocals, David Gilmour on guitars and vocals, Nick Mason on drums, and Richard Wright on

keyboard. The band had been catapulted into fame by the success of Dark Side of the Moon,

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something that placed a great deal of strain on the interpersonal relationships of the band

members. As Di Perna notes, Waters described the early days of the band as “magical” but

destroyed by greed; he said that on the Dark Side tour, “all everyone was talking about was

grosses and numbers and how many people there were in the house… you could hardly hear

yourself think. And you could hardly hear anything [on stage] because there were so many drunk

people, all shouting and screaming” (66). The effect of these toxic show environments came to a

head while touring Animals in 1977. The name of the tour was “Pink Floyd In the Flesh” and

they were playing at Montreal’s Olympic Stadium, which Nick Mason described as “a gigantic

sports stadium, overlooked by a futuristic tower [that] soared up to enormous heights” and “not

conducive to a warm and fuzzy rapport with the fans” (422) in his book Inside Out: A Personal

History of Pink Floyd. He noted the group of audience members directly in the band’s line of

vision was “probably high on chemicals and definitely low on attentiveness” (422), and after

they began shouting songs they wanted the band to play, Waters become so upset that he spat at

them and stormed offstage. He later spoke of the alienation he felt from their fans and his fellow

bandmates in his interview with Vance, stating that this tour made him aware of “a wall between

us and our audience… so [the album] started out as being an expression of those feelings” (1).

As soon as they returned home, Waters sequestered himself in Switzerland and produced three

albums worth of material

that would eventually be shaped into The Wall.

If read as a poetic narrative sequence, the fact that the album is a psychomachia is clear;

Pink retreats into his head completely to try and understand the events that have brought him to

the point of psychotic break, and does not reemerge until he comprehends why he has isolated

himself behind “the wall.” Contemporary psychological attachment theory, an area of study in

developmental psychology, suggests that examining Pink’s experiences as a child could offer an

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explanation for his inability to form genuine emotional connections with those around him. At its

most basic, the theory states that “human infants need a constant nurturing relationship with one

or more sensitive caregivers to develop into healthy individuals” (Van Rosmalen et al 22). A

close analysis of Pink’s relationships during his formative years reveals the root causes of his

incapability to cope with the pressures of modern life or to establish meaningful connections

with others – the loss of his father in his infancy, the influence of his overprotective and

depressed mother, and a psychologically abusive schoolmaster. These are revealed through

Pink’s introspective self-reflection throughout the length of the album, one that forces him to

address the reasons behind his alienation and consciously decide to tear down his emotional

walls.

As the theory of attachment has changed over time, it has become apparent that the idea

cannot be attributed as coming from a singular source. In an article that tracks its evolution,

Lenny Van Rosmalen and others discuss how John Bowlby, a British psychoanalyst who focused

on parent-child relationships, was credited as being the sole founder of attachment theory for a

long time; however in the 1990s, psychologists recognized the integral role a woman named

Mary Ainsworth had in shaping the theory. Ainsworth developed her understanding of mother-

child relationships while working under William Blatz, a Canadian psychoanalyst whose work

centered on the mental health of young children, and combined his theories about security with

Bowlby’s theory of attachment. Despite working on similar topics around the same time, Blatz

and Bowlby never actually met – all of the influence their respective ideas have had on

attachment theory as it is understood today came from Ainsworth’s integration of their work, as

well as from her own contributions and studies.

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After being exposed to Freud’s work and volunteering at a school where the

“psychological problems of the children… were as a rule attributed to adverse emotional

experiences as a child” (27), John Bowlby decided to study the development of children. His

clinical work certain supported the school’s view of the children, as he found that “for most

problematic behavior in childhood there was a cause in real life, be it neglect, emotional or

physical deprivation, or separation” (28). He also stressed the importance of the relationship

between a mother and child in the early years, considering the “emotional bond between child

and mother the basis for all further development” (28), and theorizing that even in minor cases, a

disruption of that bond could adversely affect later personality development. He arrived at this

conclusion about mother-child separation only months before Ainsworth arrived in London to

work with him. At the same time Bowlby was working on this, William Blatz was across the

Atlantic also researching the relationship between parents and children. While in charge of a

laboratory nursery at the University of Toronto that studied the social adjustment of children, he

hypothesized that “[c]hildren start off having to depend on their parents… As [they] grow older

and begin to feel certain the parent will be there for them no matter what, the dependence

becomes ‘secure’” (26). Later, he defines security in his book Understanding the Young Child as

being “the state of consciousness which accompanies a willingness to accept the consequences of

one’s own decisions and actions” (164), as well as theorizing that a stable mother during early

childhood was ideal for healthy psychological development. There are several similarities

between the careers and research of Bowlby and Blatz. Both men were working on their

respective theories during the first half of the 20

century and were influenced by the rise of

psychoanalysis and popularity of Freud. During this time the mental hygiene movement was

born and the idea that children’s development was shaped by their relationships with their

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parents also came into vogue. Both men worked with children in the U.K. who were temporarily

(or permanently) without parents during World War II, as well as studied how the absence of a

parent affects the well-being of a child. Although their studies and areas of interest overlapped

several times, it was not until Ainsworth began working for Bowlby in London that their work

intersected.

Mary Ainsworth developed her interest in developmental psychology while studying

under Blatz at the University of Toronto, and learning about his theories on security and

development of children inspired her to continue her graduate studies and doctoral studies there.

In 1950 Ainsworth moved to London and obtained a position as senior researcher under Bowlby.

Whereas Blatz had fully worked out his theory of security, Bowlby was still working on his

theory of attachment, which allowed Ainsworth contribute to its construction. While working

with Bowlby, she collaborated on a book about infant-mother separation; in a letter to Bowlby

during this time, she conveyed that their research team believed that “the responses which

characterize the young child’s relation to his mother, whether he is with her or away from her,

provide a template one which…social responses are modeled, especially those to love objects”

(30). Although she only worked for him for three years, Ainsworth would continue collaborating

with Bowlby up until his death in 1990. Three of her contributions assisted in creating

attachment theory as it is understood today: the idea of the secure base, the Strange Situation

Procedure,

and the idea of maternal sensitivity. She discusses the secure base for the first time in

her dissertation, saying that a child’s security in its family during developmental stages “forms a

basis from which the individual can work out gradually forming new skills and interests…

Where familial security is lacking, the individual is handicapped by the lack of what might be

called a secure base” (van Rosmalen et al 33), a notion that was clearly influenced by her work

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under Blatz. Ainsworth developed the idea of maternal sensitivity during her tenure at Johns

Hopkins University, a term that refers to the mother’s ability to respond appropriately to the

needs of the child. While it echoed Bowlby on the importance of the continuous presence of the

mother or caregiver, it differed in that she believed “the security of [that] attachment was being

influenced by the sensitivity of the attachment figure” (34). These concepts about an infants need

for sensitivity and security form the basic tenets upon which all further research into this theory

builds upon, such as research that attempts to understand the role and importance of father-child

relationships, how other primary caregiver figures (like teachers) affect children’s psychological

development, and how adolescent attachments to mothers and other caregiver figures can affect

an individual’s ability to process their adult emotions in a healthy way. Other studies focus more

on the mental health of the mother or mother-figure, analyzing the effect post-partum depression

has on a child and how children perceive and internalize their mother’s psychological state

during formative years.

In Parents and the Preschool Child, Blatz cautions that a child “who is persistently

misunderstood or ignored is being thwarted more effectively than if we build a wall around him”

(230). Pink was not only misunderstood and ignored as a child, but also humiliated, left behind,

and hurt, and has therefore spent most of his constructing a wall behind which he can escape his

inability to cope with reality. The people who helped him lay the foundations of this wall are all

introduced on the first side of The Wall, the portion that centralizes on Pink’s childhood

experiences, and by applying attachment theory to the lyrics, their role in his isolation is clear;

aside from his fear of abandonment that resulted from having never known his father, the stifling

quality of Pink’s relationship with his emotionally damaged mother, coupled with being

educated by an unhinged and restrictive schoolmaster, has left him utterly incapable of

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maintaining meaningful relationships as a mature adult. Every aspect of the first side reinforces

that idea, from characters’ non-musical interjections to the various background noises that

interrupt the flow of the album. Because of the fact it concerns his childhood, this side is

arguably the most important one of the album, as anything that occurs on it will shape how he

interacts with the world from that point forward.

The album starts with a song titled “In the Flesh?,” a reference to the tour during which

the infamous spitting incident occurred, with Pink addressing his fans at one of his concerts.

Sung by Waters (as is the majority of the album), he invites them to “the show” (3), which he

assumes they are attending so they can “feel the warm thrill of confusion / that space cadet glow”

(4-5), his slightly sarcastic tone implying that he is mocking their reason for being there. A lilting

melody from an organ that can be heard quietly in the background and after asking if “something

is eluding you, sunshine? / is this not what you expected to see?” (6-7), he explains to the crowd

that if they want to find out “what’s behind these cold eyes / you’ll just have to claw your way

through this / disguise” (8-10). These lines insinuate whatever disguise he believes he is wearing

must be removed from him by force if they wish to see the real him, a revelation underscored by

a dramatic guitar riff that begins abruptly after he sings the final word. A voice can be heard in

the background yelling for lights and the curtain to be dropped while the instruments blend

together into a cacophonous discord, which turns into the sound of approaching airplanes. The

decision of what planes to use the sound from was not made arbitrarily; according to the album’s

producer James Guthrie, they were “Stuka divebombers… taken from original wire recordings

made during the war” (Diemoz 5). This choice to use recordings of the planes that carried out the

London Blitz is the first instance of the World War II imagery which runs throughout the album.

The next song, “The Thin Ice,” picks up with the sound of a baby crying just after the sound of

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the planes turns into the noise of an explosion, signaling that the narrative has now flashed back

to the moment of Pink’s birth. The placement of these planes in the song just before his life

begins demonstrates the foundational nature of this idea of being under attack and the centrality

of this theme for the rest of his life.

“The Thin Ice” introduces listeners to Pink’s mother and provides the most information

about their relationship in his infancy. The first stanza, sung by David Gilmour, is her way of

soothing her distressed baby – she assures Pink that “Momma loves her baby / and daddy loves

you too” (11-2) before telling him that “the sea may look warm to you babe / and the sky may

look blue / but ooooh babe” (13-5). This stanza displays her capacity for reflective functioning to

be somewhat low, defined by Whitney Rostad in an article on parent-child relationship quality to

be a caregiver’s ability to comprehend and accurately respond to a child’s mental state and to be

“related to the time mothers would persist in trying to soothe an infant in distress” (2167) –

instead of placating him with positivity and warmth, she expresses her depressed view of the

world. The use of the conjunction “but” here indicates just how wary Pink’s mother is of reality

and his understanding of it, and the lamentation “ooooh babe” reoccurs throughout the album,

usually in moments of emotional stress. In a study examining Post-Partum Depression and its

effect on a child, Z. S. Mason et al notes that “maternal depression has been found to negatively

affect infant attachment style, making it less likely that an infant will develop a secure

attachment to his or her mother” (383). In the next stanza, he returns with the same cynical tone

of voice he used to sing the opening song to again address the audience. He warns them to not be

surprised to see cracks appear while skating upon “the thin ice of modern life” (19), saying that

you “slip out of your depth and out of your mind / with your fear flowing out behind you / as you

claw the thin ice” (24-6). Pink is speaking from personal experience as the album will reveal, but

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his foreboding advice is at odds with the simple piano arrangement that supports it. This song

demonstrates that as a young child, Pink could clearly perceive the negativity of his mother’s

mental state, and it had an indelible effect on his ability to form a secure attachment to her.

This song is followed by “Another Brick in the Wall (Part 1)”—the only song on the

album in which Pink speaks directly to his father, and the first to make mention of his wall. The

song begins with a change in mood and tone; repetitive strumming replaces a complicated riff.

When Pink sings that his father has “flown across the ocean / leaving just a memory / a snapshot

in the family album” (27-9), it seems like he is parroting back his mother’s response to his early

inquiries about his father’s absence. These lines raise the valid question of where exactly he is,

one that the 1982 animated film of the album

answers; Pink’s father was killed at the Battle of

Anzio, an Allied victory in the last year of the war that ended with the capture of Rome, and the

same engagement where Waters lost his own father. Clearly one of the reasons his mother is

suffering from PPD, this knowledge is necessary for understanding both her and Pink’s mental

states on this side of The Wall. He then poses the question “Daddy what else did you leave for

me?” (30) without waiting for or expecting a response, instead angrily demanding again “Daddy

what d’ya leave behind for me?” (31), rhetorical questions which stress how deeply he is hurt by

his lack of knowledge about his father beyond that snapshot. In his discussion of this album with

Vance, Waters stated that this song is “about being left” (3) and his generation of war-babies. He

concludes the song by saying that, all in all, his father’s absence was “just a brick in the wall / all

in all it was all just bricks in the wall” (32-3), a key phrase that will be repeated in the two other

songs that complement this one (Parts Two and Three). This song, whose original title was

“Another Brick in the Wall (Reminiscing),”

explicitly explains that the death of his father so

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early in his life is something that Pink carries with him always, and that it is one of the specific

reasons for his isolation.

The “Happiest Days of Our Lives” is the next song on the discography, and it establishes

how Pink suffered under his schoolmaster as a child. Beginning with cymbals and drums

reminiscent of a military company, the sound of children fighting in a schoolyard is heard while

an older male voice yells for a child to stand still. Pink’s voice has a hard edge when he sings

this song, disclosing that when they grew up and went to school that “there were certain teachers

who would / hurt the children anyway they could” (35-6). Immediately followed by the sound of

someone being hit in the background, he continues to explain that they would “pour their

derision / upon anything we did” (37-8) and expose “every weakness / however carefully hidden

by the kids” (39-40); the sound of mocking laughter is heard right after this, reinforcing Pink’s

humiliation in front of his peers by his teacher. While this description paints a very negative

picture of his schoolmaster, it is one that lines up with Waters’ memories of his education. In his

interview with Vance, he states that his school life was very similar to this song and that he

doesn’t agree with people who want to bring back grammar schools, saying that the “bad

[teachers] can really do people in” and that there were some at his school who never tried to

encourage students or get them interested in anything, but instead just tried to “crush them into

the right shape, so that they would go to university and do well” (3). As a person in the position

of a primary caregiver, the relationship between a teacher and a child is significant in terms of

the child’s understanding of social interactions, something discussed by Tiago Ferriera et al in a

comparative study of how various caregiver relationships affect children’s development. They

found that teachers “play an important role in promoting positive social exchanges within the

classroom, namely by setting behavioral expectations and by shaping the children’s prosocial

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behavior,” something that is “a central dimension of… children’s social acceptance and

psychological adjustment” (1836). Rostad agrees with this view, saying that caregivers “guide

children’s expectations about the behavior of social partners and how to interact with the social

world” (2165). This song then illustrates the detrimental effect his relationship with his

schoolmaster had on his social development and adjustment, and on his ability to connect with

his peers.

The title of “Happiest Days of Our Lives” is ironic then, as Pink has displayed that those

days were clearly not positive memories for him, and he continues to scrutinize his early

scholastic career in the succeeding song. “Another Brick in the Wall (Part Two)” is one of the

most-recognized songs off this album, as it was the only single that was released ahead of the

album itself. Pink is a spokesperson for his peers in this song, and begins by declaring that “we

don’t need no education / we don’t need no thought control / no dark sarcasm in the classroom”

(45-7), implying he realizes that the education system is a vehicle through which society can

influence and shape their thoughts. He follows this by telling teachers to “leave them kids

alone,” and then states that “it’s just another brick in the wall / …you’re just another brick in the

wall” (50-1): an explicit affirmation of the inimical effect of his schoolmaster on his life. This

stanza is then repeated by a children’s choir from the Islington Green School, a decision about

which there is some argument as to who was its originator,

and one that symbolizes all of the

other Pinks that have suffered under their schoolmasters. After an extended guitar solo, there are

several verbal interjections – among other phrases, “Wrong, do it again!” is repeated several

times by that same voice from “The Happiest Days of Our Lives,” and then the song fades out

into the sound of children arguing in a schoolyard and a dial tone; both serve to indicate his

detachment from his peers, the dial tone in particular implying he has no one to with whom to

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speak about his depression and loneliness. Originally titled “Another Brick in the Wall

(Education),” the negative impact of Pink’s relationship with his schoolmaster is made evident in

this song.

“Mother” is the final song on the first side, and is the last one that takes place in Pink’s

childhood. He begins by blowing out a breath of nervous air before launching into a stanza of

questions addressed his mother about what his future life will be like; the first three questions ask

if she thinks “they’ll drop the bomb… / like this song… / try to break my balls” (59-61), the next

three if he should “build the wall… / run for president… / trust the government” (62-4), and the

final two if they will “put me in a firing line / is it just a waste of time” (65-6). All of these

questions show that Pink is clearly concerned about how he might suffer in his adult life and

wants his mother to assuage his worries, yet her response in the next stanza demonstrates that is

not what she is going to do. Sung again by Gilmour, she responds first by referring to him as

“baby” and telling him to hush his crying, and then croons that “Mama’s gonna make all your /

nightmares come true / Mama’s gonna put all her fears into you” (68-70). These first lines

illustrate once again that her capacity for reflective functioning is low since her reaction to a

child’s natural curiosity about the world is to crush it with her own fears, and the rest of her

answers only prove this point. She celebrates that she’s “gonna keep you right here / under her

wing” (71-2) and that she “won’t let you fly but she might let you sing” (73), exposing the one

way Pink can escape the stifling grasp of his mother. She coos “ooooh babe ooooh babe” (75)

after assuring him that she’ll keep him cozy and warm, referencing back to her attempts to

soothe him in “The Thin Ice,” and concludes the verse by saying “of course mama’s gonna help

build the wall” (76). This last statement is the only sort of answer to one of his eight questions he

receives, and it’s not even to the question he asked. Pink wanted to know if he “should build the

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wall,” not if she would help him do it – but she was always going to help him build his wall

because she is the one from whom he learned they exist.

The third stanza of “Mother” has Waters resume as Pink, who now begins to ask his

mother questions about love and heartbreak. He asks if she thinks an unknown girl is “good

enough for me / …dangerous to me” (77-8) and if she will “tear your little boy apart” (79),

before concluding with the inquiry of “Mother will she break my heart” (80). These lines

foreshadow the pain Pink will go through in his adult romantic relationships, as well as show

Pink playing into the way his mother infantilizes him by referring to himself as her little boy

while still retaining an air of emergent maturity by calling her “Mother” as opposed to “Mama.”

Again voiced by Gilmour, her first response is to tell him again “hush now baby, baby, don’t you

cry” (81), a reaction that seems unwarranted since Pink doesn’t seem upset, just curious. She

says that she’ll check out all his girlfriends for him and that she “won’t let anyone dirty get

through” (83) before promising that she’s “gonna wait up until you get in / Mama will always

find out where / you’ve been” (84-6), lines which emphasize her suffocating grip on Pink and his

love life. She sings that she’s “gonna keep baby healthy and clean / ooooh babe ooooh babe”

(87-8) before ending her verse by telling him “you’ll always be baby to me” (89), to which Pink

responds “Mother did it need to be so high.” (90). Her final line in this song indicates that her

ceaseless babying of Pink will continue for the rest of the album, while the rare punctuation at

the end of his line signifies his resignation and acceptance of his mother’s smothering influence

over his life.

With Mason’s study finding that “maternal feelings of attachment play a significant role

in… social-emotional development and on the mother’s view of the interaction with her child”

(391), and Bowlby considering “the emotional bond between child and mother [to be] the basis

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for all further social development” (van Rosmalen et al 28), it is clear that Pink’s insecure

attachment to his mother will hurt his ability to feel socially accepted as an adult; this, coupled

with how his schoolmaster has affected this ability, will also harm his capability to maintain

romantic relationships, which will be displayed on the second side. The second side begins with

a song Waters described to Vance to be about “remembering one’s childhood and then getting

ready to set off into the rest of one’s life” (4). Entitled “Goodbye Blue Sky,” it is sung entirely

by Gilmour. Based on his vocals on the first side, it is logical then to assume that his voice

indicates Pink’s mother is speaking, or at least connotes her presence in his thoughts, for the

remainder of the album. Based on Waters’ explanation of the song and the fact that Gilmour is

the one singing, this song is Pink’s recollection of his adolescent relationship with his mother. It

opens with the sound of birds chirping, which is quickly is taken over by the buzz of approaching

aircraft; a young child’s voice says “look mummy, there’s an airplane up in the sky” just before

the music starts. The noise of planes in this song refers back to the Stuka divebombers in “In the

Flesh?” and brings the Blitz back to the forefront of the narrative. Alternating between sharp and

normal keys, Pink’s mother begins to recount her memories of it, asking “did you see the

frightened ones / did you see the falling bombs” (92-3) and if he ever wondered why they “had to

run for shelter / when the promise of a brave, new world / unfurled beneath the clear blue sky”

(95-7). She stutters pronouncing “did” each time she says it, and all the words in the last question

are run together and expressed in one breath, implying she is in a state of depressed anxiety –

women who suffer from post-partum depression as she does “have difficulties with many facets

of interpersonal communication, such as rate of speech, voice quality… and emotional

expressiveness and responsiveness” (Mason 382). She then repeats the first two questions in the

same way, but follows them up by saying that the “flames are all long gone / but the pain lingers

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on” (101-2). She concludes the song by saying “goodbye blue sky” and then just “goodbye”

twice, a formula that will be repeated at the end of the second side in “Goodbye Cruel World.”

Her statement that the “flames are all long gone / but the pain lingers on” (101-2) could

not better epitomize the mental repercussions felt by those who experienced the Blitz. As noted

by Michal Shapira in her article “The Psychological Study of Anxiety in the Era of the Second

World War,” the biggest concern of psychologists in the time leading up to the war was the

effect aerial bombings would have on civilians’ psyches, and many focused their efforts on

understanding anxiety, fear, and panic. Shapira discusses how, in her study of civilian anxiety,

Melitta Schmiedberg concluded that air raids brought up infantile fears

and therefore the Blitz

had “private, coded meaning related to specific mental perception and past experiences” for each

person who experienced it. For Pink’s mother, this was not only a difficult time because of the

raids; she had just entered into motherhood and widowhood within months of each other and, as

previously discussed, was suffering from post-partum depression. The detachment of her final

words suggest her entering into a catatonic state, or perhaps retreating behind her internal wall as

Pink does at the end of this side, and the fact that this image of her is given in the song that

summarizes Pink’s childhood signifies how he internalized her behavior during the Blitz.

Shapira’s study found that in children who were raised during this time, “trauma and anxiety

were dependent on the anxiety demonstrated by their parents” (53), indicating that Pink will deal

with anxiety

from the raids and the war in a similar way as he moves forward with his life.

“Goodbye Blue Sky” concludes with the sound of a conductor reading out train departures,

symbolizing Pink’s departure from his childhood and entrance into maturity.

The next song on the official discography is “Empty Spaces,” but on the sleeves of the

album, a song titled “What Shall We Do Now?” follows “Goodbye Blue Skies.” Cut for space at

Geddy 18

the last minute, both Guthrie and Waters agree that the album makes more sense with “What

Shall We Do Now?” since it is one of the few songs on the album that provides direct insight

into Pink’s adult romantic relationships. Waters states in his interview with Vance that the reason

they left the lyrics on the sleeves was because they thought it was important that people can read

them, “otherwise it’s terribly confusing” (5), as well as that this song is about “[protecting]

oneself from one’s isolation by becoming obsessed with other people’s ideas” (4). The song is

musically similar to “Empty Spaces” which replaced it, and consists of Pink asking his wife (he

is now married) rhetorical and materialistic questions that unveil the lack of substance in their

relationship, beginning with Pink demanding “what shall we use to fill the empty spaces / where

waves of hunger roar?” (1-2). The fact that this is the first question implies that their relationship

has already reached a point where there are “empty spaces” between them, and perhaps the

reason for that lies in the following question of “shall we set out across a sea of faces / in search

of more and more applause?” (3-4). This side sees Pink embark on tour as a young rock star and

begin to encounter the adverse side effects of fame, such as the emotional distance that can result

from being away from loved ones. After asking “shall we work straight through the night / shall

we get into fights” (7-8), exposing some of the cracks that are already present. His formulation of

the questions up until this point stands out, as it is very formal and echoes the phrasing of a

certain part of a well-known Modernist poem: T. S. Eliot’s The Wasteland. Entitled “A Game of

Chess,” this section critiques a relationship that is struggling to survive in the modern world,

ultimately due to a lack of communication. One of them begins speaking to the other:

“What shall I do now? What shall I do?

I shall rush out as I am, and walk the street

With my hair down, so. What shall we do to-morrow?

Geddy 19

What shall we ever do?” (131-4).

Their partner responds that they will have hot water at ten and a car at four if it rains, and then

says that they “shall play a game of chess, / pressing lidless eyes and waiting for a knock upon

the door” (137-8). Through his use of similar phrasing to Eliot, Waters alludes to the vacuous

nature of this couple’s relationship and how it occurs in Pink’s relationship with his wife in this

song, as well as in “Empty Spaces.”

After these formally phrased inquiries, Pink then launches into a long string of questions

that all run together, dropping the use of “shall we” and stating them without a subject. Some

examples are “leave the lights on / drop bombs” (9-10), “bury bones / break up homes / send

flowers by phone” (13-5), “keep people as pets / train dogs / race rats” (20-2); all of these

questions hint that this is not a healthy relationship since most of them have a negative

connotation, while the fact that he never receives an answer demonstrates the severe lack of

communication. The song ends with the phrase “but never relax at all / with our backs to the

wall” (26-7), the suggestion in these lines being that not only is this not a comfortable

relationship, but that it is also one that exists outside of his wall. Ultimately, Pink will realize that

his inability to open up and connect with his wife at this time is one of the reasons their marriage

fails. The fact that Pink would marry a woman with whom he has trouble communicating and

connecting with should not come as a surprise, as these were foundational issues for him in his

early relationship with his mother. In an article on how insecure attachment styles affect well-

being, Fuschia Sirois discusses how “emerging adults with an insecure attachment style may

experience distress from relationships due to their perception of inadequate support provided by

[them]” (319); his insecure attachment to his mother heightens Pink’s feelings of alienation in his

marriage, even if things are not as bad as his brain perceives them to be. In an article explaining

Geddy 20

how attachment translates into adult relationships, Hazan and Shaver note that some of the best

evidence of an unhappy relationship is “the intense anxiety that typically accompanies

separation” (13), something Pink displays in lines 10-25 when he runs all the questions together.

His cadence and diction is reminiscent of the memory of his mother in lines 95-7 of “Goodbye

Blue Skies,” and this will occur again when Pink is on the verge of breaking down later on this

side.

“Empty Spaces” essentially summarizes the lack of connection and communication that

was expressed in “What Shall We Do Now?” into four lines: Pink inquires “what shall we use to

fill the empty / spaces where we used to talk” (107-8), and then asks himself how he should “fill

the final places / how should I complete the wall” (109-10). However, this song begins with

recordings of voices played backwards, one of which says “Roger, Carolyne’s on the phone.”

Carolyne was Water’s wife at the time, though they have since divorced, and a direct reference to

her here indicates this song is certainly about Pink’s marriage. Again the phrasing imitates

Eliot’s style in The Wasteland, but “Empty Spaces” shares something with his poem that “What

Shall We Do Now?” does not: verbal interjections from the outside world. Just after the

previously discussed section of the poem (which itself was a verbal interruption in its narration),

two women have a conversation about how one should prepare for their husband returning from

the army. They are interrupted five times by a bartender yelling “HURRY UP PLEASE IT’S

TIME” (141, 152, 165, 168-9), a stylistic choice that serves to remind readers of both the outside

world and the continuous progression of time, which is the same reason that these interjections

are scattered throughout The Wall. The biggest difference between “Empty Spaces” and “What

Shall We Do Now?” is that “Empty Spaces” mentions the construction of the wall and explains

Geddy 21

not only that Pink does not view it as complete yet, but that he is actively seeking a way to finish

it – something he will accomplish by the end of the second side.

The next song begins with an immediate shift in sound from the eerie guitar that played

during “Empty Spaces” to a more classic rock sound. “Young Lust” sees Pink seeking a physical

connection after lamenting the state of his marriage, but in a detached way: referring to himself

as a stranger, he asks where all the good times are and “who’s gonna show this stranger around”

(114), which distances himself from his attempted infidelity by not using personal pronouns. He

then sings “ooooh I need a dirty woman / ooooh I need a dirty girl” (115-16), a sentiment that

directly opposes his mother’s response to his questions about love in “Mother.” She tells him that

she “won’t let anyone dirty get through,” while in this song he is searching for a “dirty” woman

specifically – his mother’s overregulation of his life has resulted in him seeking out exactly the

opposite of what she wants for him, something he does in a moment of anxiety and weakness. He

wonders if “some cold woman in this desert land / [will] make me feel like a real man” (117-18)

and asks for someone to “take this rock and roll refugee” (119) and set him free, using his status

as a rock star to try and get attention since he doesn’t feel comfortable being himself with

potential romantic partners. To conclude the song, he repeats lines 117-18 for emphasis, and then

a recording of a collect call

is heard. A male voice answers and says hello, to which the operator

says “a collect call for Mrs. Floyd to Mr. Floyd. Will you accept charges from the United

States?,” and the phone is hung up. The operator then asks Pink “That’s your residence right? I

wonder why he hung up? Is there supposed to be someone else there besides your wife there to

answer?” before attempting the call again, only to hear a dial tone. This exchange tells listeners

explicitly that Pink is married, and its location at the end of “Young Lust” is important because it

represents his last-ditch effort to reconnect with his wife, only to find out she is having an affair.

Geddy 22

This revelation gives Pink exactly what he was seeking in “Empty Spaces,” which is a reason for

him to complete his wall.

The sound of the dial tone carries into “One of My Turns,” referencing back its use in

“Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)” to highlight Pink’s inability to connect with his peers.

Waters explained to Vance that in this song, “we’ve leapt somehow a lot of years… somewhere

on into our hero’s career” (5). There is a sound of a door opening, and the voice of a groupie is

heard marveling at Pink’s “fabulous room” and asking him if all the guitars are his. A film plays

in the background while the groupie continues to make observations about his hotel room, saying

that it’s bigger than her apartment and suggestively asking if he wants to take a bath. During this

time, Pink never responds to her, even when she directly asks him questions. She ends the

section by asking him if he’s feeling okay, and then he finally begins to sing; he bemoans the

fact that “day after day, love turns grey / like the skin on a dying man” (123-4) before directing

the song to his wife. He says that each night they pretend everything is okay, “but I have grown

older and / you have grown colder” (125-6), a statement that reveals he knew their marriage was

coming to an end. However he was not prepared for its end, and coupled with the shock of his

wife’s affair, the sound of the dial tone triggers Pink’s anxiety. His breakdown now imminent, he

says “I can feel one of my turns coming on” (129), implying that he has had an episode like this

before; he follows this statement with the fact that he feels “cold as a razor blade / tight as a

tourniquet / dry as a funeral drum” (130-2), lines that are again run together in a way that

indicates he is in a state of anxiety.

The music then suddenly shifts and Pink’s voice takes on a sardonic tone of voice

reminiscent of the beginning of the album. He tells the groupie to get his favorite guitar from his

suitcase and to not look so scared, assuring her that “this is just a passing phase / one of my bad

Geddy 23

days” (136-7), another indication that he has broken down like this before. He begins to ask her

questions without waiting for an answer, echoing his behavior in “What Shall We Do Now?” and

“Mother.” The questions get increasingly concerning as he goes on and the sound of glass being

smashed echoes in the background; he asks if she wants to learn to fly or if she’d like to see him

try, before ending the song by demanding “would you like to call the cops? / do you think it’s

time I stopped?” (145-6) and wailing after her “why are you running away?” (147). The last

question shows how just how disconnected Pink is as he clearly doesn’t understand how erratic

or alarming his behavior is – he just sees it as “one of his bad days,” suggesting that he has

experienced this feeling before and expects it will disappear on its own.

After the demonstrated lack of communication in Pink’s marriage, the fact that it failed

should not come as a surprise to listeners; Hazan and Shaver discuss how the dissolution of a

relationship is highly likely when partners “lack trust in each other and, as a result, do not openly

and clearly communicate their thoughts and feelings, [or] engage in effective strategies of

conflict resolution” (13). While the album does not provide the perspective of the wife until the

penultimate song and therefore listeners are unaware of how she behaves in their relationship,

everything that has taken place up until this point illustrates that Pink is someone who is

incapable of revealing how he truly thinks and feels. This incapability to open up to her is almost

certainly what ruined their relationship, and Pink is conscious of this; however, as the following

song of “Don’t Leave Me Now” displays, he is utterly unaware of how to fix the situation. The

song opens with the phrase “ooooh babe” (148) which occurs five times throughout the song – a

direct reference to Pink’s mother when she would attempt to soothe him as a child, the presence

of this line indicates both that he is anxious and reverting back to his adolescent attachment

behavior. In an article entitled “Loss and Recovery,” Robert Weiss explains that “the full

Geddy 24

attachment syndrome, including separation distress, is most likely to be elicited by a threat to the

relationship itself… [which] is most evident when there is a discovery of a partner’s infidelity”

and that this threat “triggers separation distress with attendant panic and rage” (41). The panic

felt by Pink that the discovery of his wife’s affair prompts begins in “One of My Turns” and

continues into “Don’t Leave Me Now;” he begs her not to leave him, reminding her of flowers

he sent and whining that he needs her. He asks “how could you go? / when you know I need you

/ to beat to a pulp on a Saturday night” (156-8), a line is less about their relationship and more of

a reference to the fact that “there is a lot of violence in relationships often that aren’t working”

(Vance 6). Pink demands of her “how can you treat me this way / running away” (162-4), an

ironic question as the mistreatment is clearly mutual, and then again asks “why are you running

away?” (165), echoing the end of “One of My Turns.” Just after, Gilmour sings the last line of

“ooooh babe” (166), underscoring the continuing effect of Pink’s mother on his psyche and her

presence in his subconscious during this time. The dissonant sound of this song, coupled with

heavy breathing heard in the background, contributes to his panic and continued slide towards

insanity – musicologist Phil Rose discusses this in his study of this album, stating that “Don’t

Leave Me Now” is “entirely nonfunctional harmonically [which] seems to reflect Pink’s

diminishing stability” (120).

The song concludes with the noise of someone flipping through television channels, all of

which begin to blend together and increase in loudness until Pink screams and begins to smash it.

This is where “Another Brick in the Wall (Part Three)” picks up; in an aggressive-sounding

voice, Pink yells “I don’t need no arms around me / and I don’t need no drugs to calm me” (167-

8), implying that up until then, he had been using drugs to retain his sanity. He explains that he

has seen “the writing on the wall” (169) and shouts that he doesn’t “need anything at all” (171),

Geddy 25

an assertion that his behavior does not support. The final two lines follow the same formula as

the first two parts of this song did and he states that “all in all it was all just bricks in the wall /

all in all you were all just bricks in the wall” (172-3). There is a key difference between this

phrasing and the preceding two songs, that being the tense change in the final line from present

to past; this serves to declare that his emotional wall has finally been completed. The second side

concludes with “Goodbye Cruel World,” which sees Pink retreat behind it in a way similar to

how his mother disappeared behind hers in “Goodbye Blue Skies.” Pink bids reality adieu,

singing “goodbye cruel world / I’m leaving you today” (174-5) and repeating “goodbye” three

times after. He also bids farewell to all the people and explains that “there’s nothing you can say

/ to make me change / my mind” (180-2) before saying his final “goodbye.” (183); the rare

punctuation in this line reinforces his utter resignation and finality in his decision to withdraw

into his subconscious. When discussing this song, Waters tells Vance that “Goodbye Cruel

World” is Pink going “catatonic… he’s going back and he’s just curling up and he’s not going to

move. That’s it, he’s had enough, that’s the end” (7).

Hazan and Shaver discuss how loneliness “seems to take two major forms – emotional

and social isolation,” explaining that emotional isolation is “the kind of loneliness associated

with the lack of an intimate companion” while social isolation develops “from the lack of a

social network or sense of community” (14). By the end of the second side, Pink is definitely

suffering from loneliness; he has completely separated himself from anyone that could make him

feel understood and is attempting to recover from the loss of his marriage all by himself,

something that he is not executing well. Weiss discusses how a failure to recover from the loss of

an attachment relationship can manifest in two ways: chronicity and compartmentalization.

Chronicity is the “unmoving persistence of one or both phases of grief proper: search and protest,

Geddy 26

or depressed withdrawal” (49), both of which Pink experiences – he goes through the search and

protest phase in “One of My Turns,” “Don’t Leave Me Now,” and “Another Brick in the Wall

(Part Three)” before entering into an extended period of depressed withdrawal in “Goodbye

Cruel World.” Compartmentalization is “a refusal to attend [reality]” according to Weiss, during

which “the loss is put out of one’s mind or walled away” (49); this is exactly what Pink has done

by the end of the second side, and will continue to do, until he decides to tear down his wall at

the end of “The Trial.”

For the entirety of the third side, Pink is in a state of detached loneliness behind his wall

while he salvages what is left of himself after the dissolution of his marriage, something that is

exemplified by the side’s orchestral nature; Ezrin explains that the band allowed him to build this

side and that he did it in this way because, by then “the album [had] reached the point of

surreality” (Diemoz 3). It begins with “Hey You,” which Waters refers to as “an attempt to re-

establish contact with the outside world” (Vance 7); here, Pink realizes the repercussions of

removing himself from his life too late, but is now so isolated from anyone that could help that

he is utterly alone. The first two stanzas are sung by Gilmour, not to indicate the presence of

Pink’s mother, but to underscore how dissociated he is from himself and from reality. In the first

stanza, Gilmour tries to get Pink’s attention, asking “Hey you! Out there in the cold / getting

lonely, getting old, can you feel me” (184-5) and telling him “Hey you! Don’t help them to bury

the light / don’t give in without a fight” (188-9). The “them” referred to in line 188 is everyone

in Pink’s life that has made him feel like behind his wall is where he needs to be, and by

succumbing to their abuse, he is helping them snuff out his “light.” Gilmour continues

attempting to reach out to Pink, saying “Hey you! Out there on your own / sitting naked by the

phone would you touch me” (190-1); this image of a vulnerable Pink clutching a phone lines up

Geddy 27

with the sound of the dial tone used on the album, as well as bringing to mind the discovery of

his wife’s infidelity. The next lines describe him as someone “with [their] ear against the wall /

waiting for someone to call out” (192-3), a fitting characterization of him as that is exactly what

Pink is doing while he is behind his wall. Gilmour then sings for Pink to “open your heart, I’m

coming home” (195) before breaking into an extended guitar solo, but to no avail; Waters

resumes vocals after the guitar to sing that it was only fantasy, that the wall “was too high, as

you can see / no matter how he tried he could not break free / and the worms ate into his brain”

(197-9) in that same cynical voice he has used throughout the album to indicate he is speaking to

his audience at the show. Waters continues to sing as Pink for the final stanza of “Hey You,”

continuing the lyrical structure of the first two stanzas, concluding the song with the line

“together we stand, divided we fall” (205); this line demonstrates how now that Pink is

completely removed from anyone else, he realizes that only genuine human connection can save

someone from themselves. However his cry for help comes too late since, as Waters points out,

“it’s no good crying for help if you’re sitting in the room all on your own, and only saying it to

yourself” (Vance 8).

The following song, which Waters describes to Vance as being “a mood piece” (8) more

than anything else, is “Is There Anybody Out There?” – a title which shows that Pink wants to

connect with someone, but as the song reveals, cannot find the motivation to actually go out and

seek it. It begins with the sound of a distant freeway and the sound of a TV turning on; an

excerpt of the American Western show Gunsmoke is heard before Waters repeats the question “is

there anybody out there?” four times in a haunting and removed voice, and the song concludes

with light guitar. Waters explains that while part of Pink wants to get help, the part “that’s

making everything work doesn’t want anything except just to sit there and watch TV” (Vance 8),

Geddy 28

so that is what he does. The noise of the television continues into the following song of “Nobody

Home,” in which Pink considers the effect that becoming a rock star has had on him. Dialogue

from the 60s sit-com Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C plays in the background and a screaming child is told

to shut up before the piano leads into Waters vocals. Pink sings that he’s got “a little black book

with my poems in / got a bag with a toothbrush and a comb-in / when I’m a good dog they

sometimes throw me a bone in” (210-2), lines implying that while on tour, he views himself as a

dog that is rewarded when it behaves like it’s supposed to. Waters discloses that some of the

lines “harp back to the halcyon days of Syd Barrett”

(Vance 8), such as when Pink says he has

“elastic bands keeping [his] shoes on” (213), but that it is mostly about various people Waters

has known in the world of rock and roll.

After sarcastically heralding the fact that he’s “got thirteen channels of shit on the TV to

choose from” (215) as well as electric light, he explains that he’s also got “amazing powers of

observation” (218) and that is how he knows that when he tries to “get through / on the telephone

to you / there’ll still be nobody home” (220-2): a line that shows he understands the loss of his

wife is permanent. He carries this satirization of a rock star’s life into the second stanza,

mentioning the “inevitable pinhole burns / all down the front of my favorite satin shirt” (224-5),

the “nicotine stains on my fingers” (226) and his “silver spoon on a chain” (227), before

bragging that “I’ve got a grand piano to prop up my mortal remains” (228). These lines denote

that Pink became aware of the vapidity and materialism of the world he now inhabits far too late,

just as he realized too late that he needs to seek help; now he understands that, even though he’s

“got a strong urge to fly” (230), he’s “got nowhere to fly to” (231). When analyzing this song,

Rose says that “Pink lists all of the possessions and features that he has, but they are all

countered at the end by what he doesn’t have” (132) – whereas before the end of his marriage he

Geddy 29

always had the possibility of going home to his wife, he knows that now there is no one there to

even answer the phone. He ends the song with the statement “I’ve got a pair of Gohills boots /

and I’ve got fading roots” (234-5) before the music is interrupted by another interjection from

the television he turned on at the beginning of “Is There Anybody Out There?.” Waters states

that the last two lines of this song is Pink starting to “get back to side one” (Vance 8), meaning

that he is almost ready to face his demons and grasp how exactly he got to this place of

emotional and social isolation. He has not been able to reach that point of introspection on his

own however, and instead must be forced there; he is driven there by his total break from reality,

triggered by a movie about the Blitz coming on the television at the end of “Nobody Home.”

After the sound of a plane crashing concludes the noise of the television, the next song of

“Vera” picks up with Pink’s forlorn inquiry of “does anybody here remember Vera Lynn /

remember how she said that / we would meet again” (236-8). Vera Lynn is a British singer who

was enormously popular during WWII, and here Pink references her song “We’ll Meet Again;”

released in 1939, the song came to be the anthem of soldiers and the ones who they had to leave

behind, people like his father and mother. Pink cries “Vera! Vera! / What has become of you”

(240-1) before asking if “anybody else in here / feels the way I do?” (242-3), lines that show

Pink’s mental instability as he is not only physically alone in his room, but also alienated from

his memories behind his wall, and therefore mentally alone as well. The next song picks up with

a vaguely militant drum beat before a chorus begins to sing:

“Bring the boys back home

Bring the boys back home

Don’t leave the children on their own, no, no

Bring the boys back home” (244-7).

Geddy 30

Waters refers to this as being the “central song of the whole album,” telling Vance that it’s partly

about “not letting people go off and be killed in wars” but also about not allowing “anything that

anyone might do… become more important than friends, wives, children, other people” (9). It is

important to note that Pink does not sing during this song, further emphasizing the degree to

which the early loss of his father still hurts him. The song ends with a loop of previously heard

verbal interjections on the album: the schoolmaster yells “Wrong! Do it again!,” the groupie asks

him if he’s feeling okay, the operator from “Young Lust” says “There’s a man answering, but he

keeps hanging up!,” while again children’s mocking laughter is heard in the background, along

with the noise of a dial tone; in the foreground, someone knocks on his door and cheerily tells

him that it’s time to go, something that repeats until the question “is there anybody out there?” is

played to conclude “Bring the Boys Back Home.”

Side three concludes with the song “Comfortably Numb,” which is easily one of the

band’s most well-known songs, and described by di Perna to be a “brilliant evocation of the

narcotized, desensitized, consumerist malaise that was life in the late 20

century… [and a song

that] resonates possibly even more powerfully here in the Prozac/Lexapro early 21

” (72).

Originally entitled “The Doctor,” this song sees Pink finally come in contact with another human

being, but not in the way that he so desperately desires. It is now time for Pink to leave and

perform his show, but whoever comes to fetch him realizes there is something not right about

him. In the first stanza, Waters sings what Pink hears said to him; someone asks “hello, / is there

anybody in there?” (248-9), to which they must get no response because they tell him to “just

nod if you can hear me” (250) before wondering out loud if there’s “anyone home” (251). The

voice then tells Pink they’ve heard he’s been “feeling down” (253) and that they can help “ease

your pain / and get you on your feet again” (254-5), before asking if he can show them where it

Geddy 31

hurts. Gilmour picks up the vocals in the second stanza to provide Pink’s response to this, which

is not verbal but instead remains internal, and sings that “there is no pain you are receding” (260)

before explaining that “you are only coming through in waves / your lips move but I can’t hear

what you’re saying” (262-3). These lines convey the severity of his detachment from reality, and

he continues to explain that he feels like he did as a child with a fever, saying “I can’t explain,

you would not understand / this is not how I am / I have become comfortably numb” (267-9); he

realizes his isolation has made him sick, mentally as opposed to physically, but he is too

removed from reality to articulate this to them.

Waters resumes the vocals for the third stanza, in which Pink’s handlers bring in a doctor

to make him better for the performance that night. He administers some sort of medicine to Pink,

saying “O.K. / just a little pinprick / there’ll be no more ahhhhhh!” (270-2), a frustrated scream

that sounds just like Pink’s from “Another Brick in the Wall (Part Three).” The doctor warns that

he “may feel a little sick” (273) before asking if he can stand; he then states that he believes “it’s

working, good / that’ll keep you going through the show” (275-6) before telling Pink again that

it’s time to go. This stanza reveals how little these people care about Pink’s health and well-

being, and show that they only see him as something with which to earn money. Gilmour

resumes as Pink’s internal voice for the fourth stanza repeating the first four lines of the second

stanza verbatim. He then thinks about “when I was a child / I caught a fleeting glimpse / out of

the corner of my eye” (282-4) and how he “turned to look but it was gone” (285), and how now

that the child is grown, “the dream is gone / I have become / comfortably numb” (288-90). This

song shows Pink to be the victim of both the greed of his label and of himself, as well as the total

instability of his current mental state, an idea which can be extended over all of the third side.

“Comfortably Numb” then can be interpreted as a denouncement of the recording industry,

Geddy 32

something that is supported by Waters’ relation of this song to his own experiences while on

tour; he explains to Vance that “all [management is] interested in is how many people there are

and that tickets have been sold and that the show must go on, at any cost, to anybody” (9).

Where the third side follows Pink as he drifts in a state of removed consciousness, the

final side witnesses the fallout of his isolation and subsequent breakdown, as well as his decision

to process everything that led him to construct his wall. It begins with “The Show Must Go On,”

in which a desperate Pink addresses his parents asking “must the show go on?” (292) while a

choir harmonizes with the melody in the background; he follows this question with the plea

“ooooh Pa take me home / ooooh Ma let me go” (293-4), simultaneously desiring his father’s

presence while wanting his mother’s influence to subside. He cries that there has been a mistake,

that “I didn’t mean to let them / take away my soul / am I too old is it too late” (296-8), lines

which once again have a run-on cadence connoting that he feels anxious. He ends the song by

wondering “where has the feeling gone? (300) and “will I remember the song?” (302) before

stating that “the show must go on.” (303). The final stanza of this song demonstrates how

removed Pink is from his life as a rock star, as it was something he was once passionate about,

but now he is concerned that he won’t even remember his own songs. He has now arrived at his

show and there is a second of silence before the next song of “In the Flesh” begins; another

reference to the band’s 1977 tour that saw the spitting incident, the lack of question mark denotes

that Pink now feels about the fans as Waters did in Montreal – an assertion that is supported by

his behavior during this song.

“In the Flesh” begins in the same abrupt way that the first song on the album does, even

sharing the same opening riff, and the first six lines of the song are the same as they are in “In

the Flesh?.” The songs differ when Pink tells the audience that “I’ve got some bad news for you

Geddy 33

sunshine / Pink isn’t well he stayed back at the hotel” (310-1), a line which displays that he has

become completely dissociated from himself, before explaining that “they sent us along as a

surrogate band”

(312) and that they’re “gonna find out where you fans / really stand” (313-4).

He then launches into a vitriolic condemnation of the audience members, spewing that “that one

looks Jewish / and that one’s a coon” (320-1) before demanding “who let all this riff-raff into the

room” (322), and closes the song with the parting remark of, “if I had my way / I’d have all of

you shot” (325-6). The severity of his mental state now abundantly clear, Waters says that “this

is the end result of that much isolation and decay” and that “these kind of fascist feelings develop

from it” (Vance 10); these feelings he mentions will play a large role in the following two songs

“Run Like Hell” and “Waiting for the Worms.”

“Run Like Hell” follows “In the Flesh,” and was another song released as a single. One

of the few songs where Waters could be arrested of total creative control,

Gilmour wrote the

majority of the music for this number – with the sound of the crowd chanting “Pink Floyd! Pink

Floyd!” in the background, Pink launches into a classic rock number while still drugged-up from

the medicine administered to him by the doctor. His opening lines to the crowd are that “you

better make your face up in / your favorite disguise” (327-8), which serves to remind listeners of

the “disguise” he mentioned he was wearing in “In the Flesh?.” He then tells them to “feel the

bile rising from your guilty past / with your nerves in tatters / as the cockle shell

shatters”

(333), giving the indication that mentally, he is far removed from his current actions, before he

ends the stanza by yelling that they better run before “the hammers batter / down the door” (336-

7). This is the first mention of hammers on the album, and they will show up again in “Waiting

for the Worms and “The Trial” – Waters told Vance that the hammer is used on this side as “a

symbol of the forces of oppression” (10). He picks up the second stanza by telling them that they

Geddy 34

better run all day and night and to “keep your dirty feelings / deep inside” (341-2), the use of

“dirty” referencing back to his mother’s use of it in “Mother” and his own in “Young Lust,”

before advising to “park the car / well out of sight” (345-6) if anyone was taking out their

girlfriend that night; he warns “if they catch you in the backseat / trying to pick her locks” (347-

8) that they’re “gonna send you back to mother / in a cardboard box” (349-50), making clear that

the last thing he wants is to be sent back to her smothering embrace. The song concludes again

with “you better run” (351) and the sound of running footsteps, and a voice in the foreground is

heard yelling “Hey! Open up!.” The noise of a car peeling away plays while the crowd is heard

chanting both “Pink Floyd!” and “Hammer! Hammer!,” leading into the next song of “Waiting

for the Worms.”

At the beginning of “Waiting for the Worms,” the sound of the crowd chanting fades out

and a voice is heard yelling “eins, zwei, drei, alle!” before Pink comes in, supported by a chorus.

He sings that “you cannot reach me now / … no matter how you try / goodbye cruel world it’s

over” (352-4), lines which echo the sentiment he expressed when he first retreated behind the

wall in “Goodbye Cruel World.” Then Gilmour comes in to alternate lines with Waters for the

next stanza, with Gilmour on the first and third and Waters on the second and fourth saying:

“Sitting in a bunker here behind my wall

Waiting for the worms to come

In perfect isolation here behind my wall

Waiting for the worms to come” (366-9)

Gilmour’s voice being used for lines 366 and 368 imply the internal voice of Pink’s mother is

giving him assurance while he waits for the worms, which are a personification of his

deteriorating mental state. Waters describes this song to Vance as being “in theatrical terms, an

Geddy 35

expression of what happens in the show when the drugs start wearing off and what real feelings

he’s got left start taking over again” (10); after a voice is heard telling people where to convene

for the rally, Pink’s voice takes on the same jeering and detached tone it had during “In the

Flesh.” Similarly to the first song on this side, “Waiting for the Worms” is one of the most

controversial songs on The Wall, this due to Pink’s devolvement into a fascist leader directing

some sort of racist political rally starting at line 360; he references Nazi ideology and their

actions during the war, announcing to the crowd that they’re “waiting for the final solution / to

strengthen the strain” (367-8), waiting to “turn on the showers / and fire the ovens” (370-1), and

waiting for “the queers and the coons / and the reds and the Jews” (373-4). The fact that his

worst version of himself takes the form of a fanatical Nazi is not surprising, since as a child born

during the war, he would have been exposed to numerous forms of propaganda that all depicted

Nazis to be the face of pure evil. A concept he would have internalized, it works in conjunction

with the demonstrated and permanent effect WWII and the Blitz had on his psyche to explain

why he turns into this hateful creature on the fourth side. Waters sings the final line of “all you

need to do is follow the worms.” (380) before the same voice from the beginning of the song is

heard giving instructions via megaphone to the assembled crowd and again the crowd chants

“Hammer! Hammer!” as the song fades out.

The next song of “Stop” finally sees Pink desire an end to the madness; in the opening

second of the song he shouts “Stop!” (381) before exclaiming that he wants to “go home / take

off this uniform / and leave the show” (382-4), again referencing the fact that his outward

appearance does not match his internal feelings. However, he explains that “I’m waiting in this

cell / because I have to know / have I been guilty all this time” (385-7), which is the first

admission by Pink that he is also to blame for his isolation; although the people in Pink’s life

Geddy 36

may have given him the bricks for his wall, he is the one that built it, something he must come to

terms with if he wants to reverse the damage he has done while trying to protect himself. Of this

song, Rose points out how Pink’s “impending madness is portrayed in the piano’s chromatic

dissonances and in the surrealist echoing of words” (144); for example, the word “time” in the

final line echoes until just before the penultimate song on the album, “The Trial,” begins.

In an interview with Phil Rose, Waters describes “The Trial” as being “an internal self-

examination” (238). The song starts off with the sound of a heavy door creaking open and

footsteps echoing in a corridor. In an affected posh accent, Waters sings “good morning Worm

your honour” (388) before explaining that they will show that the “prisoner who now stands

before you / was caught red-handed showing feelings / …of an almost human nature” (390-2);

these lines reveal that Pink has finally stopped running from the worms and is now their prisoner,

as well as what exactly he thinks his problem was: the fact that he dared to show his emotions.

Waters follows his proclamation of Pink’s guilt up by calling the schoolmaster to the stand, and

the second stanza consists of his “testimony” against Pink. In an enraged voice, he yells that he

always knew Pink would come to no good, and bemoans the fact that “if they’d let me have my

way with him I could have / flayed him into shape” (397-8); this sentiment reverberates with

Waters’ portrait of the grammar school teachers of his youth who only wanted to “crush

[students] into the right shape” (Vance 3). The schoolmaster goes on to blame “the bleeding

hearts and artists / [for letting] him get away with murder” (400-1), before begging for the judge

to “let me hammer him today” (402). This references back to the idea that the hammer

symbolizes oppression, in particular from society and its expectations.

Pink’s voice is heard for the first time after the schoolmaster testifies, where he thinks for

the first time that he really is crazy and decides “they must have taken my marbles away” (405).

Geddy 37

The next person to testify against him is his ex-wife, who poisonously refers to him as a “little

shit [who’s] in it now” (407) and hopes that “they throw away the key” (408). She then whines

that “you should have talked to me more often / than you did” (409-10), implying the lack of

communication was all Pink’s fault, before asking if he’s “broken any / homes up lately” (411-

2); this line directly refers to “What Shall We Do Now” where one of Pink’s proposed activities

is to “break up homes” (15), which further proves that that song is about his relationship with his

wife. She ends her rant by asking the judge for “just five minutes… / him and me alone” (413-4),

presumably so she may continue to verbally berate him – another glimpse into why their

marriage did not work. Pink’s mother now arrives to testify, arriving in the scene by drawing out

her opening word of “Babe” in a way that mimics the noise of a falling bomb, and immediately

begins to treat Pink like a small child. She cries “come to mother baby let me hold you / in my

arms” (416-7), echoing herself in “Mother” and further verifying how incapable she is of treating

him as a mature adult. She assures the judge that she “never wanted him to / get in any trouble”

(418-9) and pleads with him to let her take Pink home to end her testimony. Pink then resurfaces

and repeats his speculation that he is crazy before exclaiming “there must have been a door there

in the wall / when I came in” (424-5), which are the last words spoken by him on the album. This

realization Pink has in this moment denotes that he is looking for an exit from his isolation, but

still does not yet know what he needs to do; he simply wants to find an exit, while his deeper self

that is conducting the trial knows he needs to destroy the wall completely.

Just after reaching this conclusion, the judge prepares to sentence Pink; he proclaims that

“the evidence before the court is / incontrovertible” (427-8) and that there is “no need for / the

jury to retire” (428-9), since he has “never heard before of / someone more deserving / of the full

penalty of law” (431-3). The harshness of the judgement Pink is laying on himself highlights his

Geddy 38

low self-esteem, something he developed from his relationship with his schoolmaster; this

assertion is supported by the judge’s reasoning behind his sentence. He says that the way Pink

made his wife and mother suffer “fills him with the urge to defecate” (436), but makes no

mention of the schoolmaster again, indicating his damage to Pink is not at all Pink’s fault. The

judge then says that since Pink has revealed his deepest fear, “I sentence you to be exposed

before your peers / tear down the wall.” (440-1); just as the punctuation throughout the album

has signified a finality or acceptance of a decision, so it does here. The crowd chants “tear down

the wall!” while circus-like music plays in the background, and in the last twenty seconds of the

song, the wall can be heard crashing down. This scene in “The Trial” is depicted on the inside of

the vinyl album cover in great detail, with each of the three witnesses sitting on the broken-down

wall looking over the scene. In the parts of the wall that are still intact, there are small pictures of

different instances in Pink’s life that he feels were bricks in his wall: one in a classroom, one in

his nursery with his mother, and one alone in his cell. Easily the most important song on the

album, “The Trial” is Pink undergoing what Weiss refers to as neutralization, which is how

individuals recover from the loss of attachment relationships, such as their marriage; he explains

this process to “require the confrontation of emotion-laden memories and associations one by

one [to reduce] the associated pain” (47).

The noise of the wall coming down carries over into the final song on the album,

“Outside the Wall.” Taking the role of omniscient narrator, Waters performs the vocals on this

song to a tune played lightly on a clarinet, with the support of a children’s chorus; he sings that

“all alone, or in twos / the ones who really love you / walk up and down outside the wall” (442-

4), which is one of the most important takeaways from the album. The way that Pink represents

his mother and wife in his head is very exaggerated and extreme, due in part to his insecure

Geddy 39

attachment style and also to his isolation – when one removes oneself from reality, there is no

one they can rely on to pull them out of the depths of their insanity. Instead anyone who cares for

that person must walk outside their wall until they decide to come out. Waters goes on to say that

“the bleeding hearts and the artists / make their stand,” a line which mocks the statement made

by the schoolmaster, before explaining that once they’ve given their all “some stagger and fall,

after all it’s not easy / banging your heart against some mad buggers / wall.” (450-2) to conclude

the album. The tune on the clarinet continues for about ten more seconds, before a voice is heard

faintly in the background saying “isn’t this where…,” and then the album cuts off; however, the

accompaniment in “Outside the Wall” may sound familiar to some listeners, and that is because

it is the tune which opens the album as well. Just before the opening riff begins in “In the

Flesh?,” a quiet melody is heard and so is a voice saying “…we came in?” – this decision to

make the album into something which can be looped and played as one long song speaks not

only to the Modernist qualities possessed by The Wall, but also conveys the idea that even if

someone destroys their emotional wall, all of the experiences that led to its construction still

inhabit their psyche. Every day will be a battle for them to keep the worms in check and to resist

re-constructing their wall, as its foundation will always remain.

Although the critical reception to the album was fantastic and it remains one of the best-

selling albums of all time, the negative effect its production had on the band cannot be ignored,

as it resulted in the dissolution of the Dark Side lineup. In his book Pigs Might Fly: The Inside

Story of Pink Floyd, Mark Blake discusses how behind the scenes of the tour, the band was not

even speaking: he quoted Waters admission that “[they would] have four Winnebagos parked in

a circle… with all the doors facing away from the circle” (681). As Diemoz notes, most “of the

personal disputes were already established before The Wall…but things did deteriorate further

Geddy 40

on that level during the making of the album” (3). After attempting to work together on The

Final Cut, Waters’ ego got the best of him, and John Harris writes in his book The Dark Side of

the Moon: The Making of the Pink Floyd Masterpiece that Waters alleged parting remark to the

band was “you fuckers – you’ll never get it together” (11). Regardless of the personal and

professional issues the creation of this album caused, the genius of its presentation and its

relevance in 21

century society cannot be ignored.

Phil Rose was correct when he said that ultimate meaning of The Wall is best expressed

by Waters himself, quoting him to have said that it “is about redemption, and we are redeemed

when we tear our walls down and expose our weaknesses to our fellow man and sit around the

fire and talk” (150). While everyone has a different reason for constructing a wall behind which

they can protect themselves from pain, Pink’s decision to build his stemmed directly from his

insecure attachment to his over-bearing and overprotective mother, which was one that began at

his birth; this statement is supported by the fact that the illustration of Pink’s mother on the

inside of the vinyl record depicts her breasts to be a brick wall, implying that she transferred this

idea of emotional isolation to him while he was breast-feeding. His mother was not the sole

attachment figure in Pink’s life that damaged him though – his father’s death in the war early in

his life, in conjunction with his abusive schoolmaster, led his to feel utterly alienated from

society. The album makes clear the detrimental effect of these three relationships (or lack

thereof) on Pink’s healthy social and emotional adjustment as an adult, culminating in the loss of

his marriage and departure from reality. However, once Pink realized that his self-imposed

isolation was hurting him more than it could ever help him, he took a step back from himself and

examined exactly who and what led him to this point; a choice that allowed him to free himself

of the constraints of his wall, it is also a choice that listeners can make for themselves about their

Geddy 41

own lives. Therefore, the intention behind The Wall is to demonstrate that genuine human

connection is the only thing that can save someone from the decay and the “worms” inside their

head: put more succinctly, “together we stand, divided we fall.”

Geddy 42

Works Cited

Blake, Mark. “Why Are You Running Away?” Pigs Might Fly: The Inside Story of Pink Floyd,

Aurum Press Ltd, 2007, pp. 611-702.

Blatz, William. Understanding the Young Child, William Morrow and Company, 1944.

Blatz, William and Edward Bott. Parents and the Preschool Child, William Morrow and

Company, 1929.

Diemoz, Chris. “Unspoken Bricks – An Indepth Analysis.” Brain Damage, Matt Johns, 2018,

www.brain- damage.co.uk.

Di Perna, Alan. “The Wall.” Pink Floyd: The Story Behind Every Album, Harris Publications Inc,

2015, pp. 64-73.

Eliot, T. S. The Wasteland, Horace Liveright, 1922.

Ferreira, Tiago et al. “Preschool Children’s Prosocial Behavior: The Role of Mother-Child,

Father-Child and Teacher-Child Relationships.” Journal of Child and Family Studies,

vol. 25, no. 6, 2016, pp. 1829-39.

Harris, John. “Prologue: January 23.” The Dark Side of the Moon: The Making of the Pink Floyd

Masterpiece, De Capo Press, 2005, pp. 8-17.

Hazan, Cindy and Phillip Shaver. “Attachment as an Organizational Framework for Research on

Close Relationships.” Psychological Inquiry, vol. 5, no. 1, 1994, pp. 1-22.

Jacobson, Nicolas. “Current Evolutionary Adaptiveness of Psychiatric Disorders: Fertility Rates,

Parent-Child Relationship Quality, and Psychiatric Disorders Across the Lifespan.”

Journal of Abnormal Psychology, vol. 125, no. 6, 2016, pp. 824-39.

Mason, Nick. “Writing on the Wall.” Inside Out: A Personal History of Pink Floyd, Chronicle

Books, 2005, pp. 419-68.

Geddy 43

Mason, Z. S. et al. “Maternal attachment feelings mediate between maternal reports of

depression, infant social-emotional development, and parenting stress.” Journal of

Reproductive and Infant Psychology, vol. 29, no. 4, 2011, pp. 382-94.

Pink Floyd. The Wall, Columbia Records, 1979.

Rose, Phil. “Interview with Roger Waters.” Roger Waters and Pink Floyd: The Concept Albums,

Fairleigh Dickinson UP, 2015, pp. 235-44.

---. “The Wall.” Roger Waters and Pink Floyd: The Concept Albums, Fairleigh Dickinson UP,

2015, pp. 89-153.

Rostad, Whitney L., and Daniel J. Whitaker. "The Association between Reflective Functioning

and Parent–Child Relationship Quality." Journal of Child and Family Studies, vol. 25,

no. 7, 2016, pg. 2164-77.

Shapira, Michal. "The Psychological Study of Anxiety in the Era of the Second World War."

Twentieth Century British History, vol. 24, no. 1, 2013, pp. 31-57.

Sirois, Fuschia M. et al. “Insecure attachment orientation and well-being in emerging adults: the

roles of perceived social support and fatigue." Personality and Individual Differences,

vol. 101, 2016, pp. 318-21.

van Rosmalen, Lenny, et al. "From Secure Dependency To Attachment: Mary Ainsworth’s

Integration of Blatz’s Security Theory Into Bowlby’s Attachment Theory." History of

Psychology, vol. 19, no. 1, 2016, pp. 22-39.

Vance, Tom. Interview with Roger Waters. “The Wall” BBC, 1979. Radio.

Weiss, Robert. “Loss and Recovery.” Journal of Social Issues, vol. 44, no. 3, 1988, pp. 37-52.

Geddy 44

Notes

1. BBC’s exclusive 1979 interview with Roger Waters is the only one that goes through the

album song by song with its creator, and is one of the best primary sources for The Wall.

2. This information comes from Chris Diemoz’s article “Unspoken Bricks” and is relayed

by Bob Ezrin. Most of the cut material from The Wall ended up on Waters’ solo album The Pros

& Cons of Hitchhiking and the album The Final Cut.

3. The SSP is a laboratory procedure that “prompts attachment behavior, which is then

observed and classified;” it consists of eight episodes in which the child is removed from and

reunited with its mother in order to see whether “he seeks contact and is put at ease quickly or

whether he tries to avoid contact or is angry” (van Rosmalen et al 33).

4. Written by the band, the 1982 animated film was directed by Alan Parker and illustrated

by political cartoonist Gerald Scarfe. Due to the fact that it has many more songs than the

original album, this analysis of the album does not make any mention of it, aside from

acknowledging the reason behind the absence of Pink’s father.

5. Any original song titles discussed in this analysis can be found in Diemoz’s article, which

includes a breakdown of the recording sessions leading up to the album’s release that shows its

evolution.

6. There is some controversy in terms of who made this decision, discussed by Diemoz in

his article – Ezrin states that it was his idea to have the kids sing the second verse, while Guthrie

states that it was all Waters’ idea.

7. In her study of anxiety in WWII, Shapira discusses how psychoanalyst John Rickman

reached similar conclusions to Schmiedeberg, arguing that air raids triggered the resurgence of

“unconscious infantile anxieties” (47) that most hae managed to overcome with age.

Geddy 45

8. In an article titled “Current Evolutionary Adaptiveness of Psychiatric Disorders,” Nicolas

Jacobson discusses the heritability of psychiatric disorders such as generalized anxiety disorder,

panic disorder, social phobia disorder, and posttraumatic stress pathology, as well as the effect

these can have on a parent-child relationship.

9. In his book Pigs Might Fly: The Inside Story of Pink Floyd, Mark Blake discusses how

this recording was “a direct reference to the incident on the last American tour when Waters had

telephoned his ex-wife Judy” (648).

10. Syd Barrett was a founding member of Pink Floyd who was forced to leave the band in

April 1968 due to his deteriorating mental state. Alan di Perna discusses his influence and early

work with the band Pink Floyd: The Story Behind Every Album.

11. Nick Mason discusses the stage production of this show at length in his chapter on this

album, explaining that they began each show with what was dubbed ‘the surrogate band’ acting

as the real Pink Floyd; then “as the pyrotechnics and effects headed towards a climax, the first

group of musicians froze, and the lights revealed the real band behind them” (452) at the end of

“In the Flesh?.”

12. Mason discusses this in his book as well, saying that the “level of contributions by other

members of the band would become a bone of contention. Perhaps the very completeness of

Roger’s demo made it difficult for David or Rick to contribute much. But certainly David later

felt that his musical contribution, especially to ‘Run Like Hell’ and ‘Comfortably Numb’ was not

being fairly recognized” (427).

13. Waters explains to Phil Rose in an interview what the reference to “cockleshells” is,

saying that he once watched a movie about soldiers attempting to blow up German submarines

with very frail boats, and that they were known as “the cockleshell heroes” (237).

Geddy 46

Appendix

The Wall Lyrics

SIDE 1

In The Flesh? (Waters)

[Voice 1] . . . we came in?

So ya

Thought ya

Might like to go to the show

To feel the warm thrill of confusion

That space cadet glow 5

Tell me is something eluding you sunshine?

Is this not what you expected to see?

If you wanna find out what’s behind these cold eyes

You’ll just have to claw your way through this

Disguise. 10

[Voice 2] Lights! Roll the sound effects! Action! Drop it on ‘em! DROP IT ON

‘EM!

The Thin Ice (Waters)

Momma loves her baby

And daddy loves you too.

And the sea may look warm to you babe

And the sky may look blue

But ooooh babe 15

Ooooh baby blue

Oooooh oooooh babe

If you should go skating

On the thin ice of modern life

Dragging behind you the silent reproach 20

Of a million tear-stained eyes

Don’t be surprised when a crack in the ice

Appears under your feet

You slip out of your depth and out of your mind

With your fear flowing out behind you 25

As you claw the thin ice

Geddy 47

Another Brick In The Wall, part 1 (Waters)

Daddy’s flown across the ocean

Leaving just a memory

A snapshot in the family album

Daddy what else did you leave for me 30

Daddy what d’ya leave behind for me

All in all it was just a brick in the wall

All in all it was all just bricks in the wall

The Happiest Days Of Our Lives (Waters)

[Schoolmaster] You! Yes, you! Stand still laddy!

When we grew up and went to school

There were certain teachers who would 35

Hurt the children in any way they could

OOF!! [someone being hit]

[sound of mocking laughter]

By pouring their derision

Upon anything we did

And exposing every weakness

However carefully hidden by the kids 40

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

Another Brick In The Wall, part 2 (Waters)

We don’t need no education 45

We don’t need no thought control

No dark sarcasm in the classroom

Teacher leave them kids alone

Hey teacher leave them kids alone

All in all it’s just another brick in the wall 50

All in all you’re just another brick in the wall

We don’t need no education

We don’t need no thought control

No dark sarcasm in the classroom

Teacher leave them kids alone 55

Hey teacher leave those kids alone

All in all you’re just another brick in the wall

Geddy 48

All in all you’re just another brick in the wall

[Schoolmaster] 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?

[through megaphone] You! Yes, you behind the bikesheds, stand still laddy!

Mother (Waters)

Mother do you think they’ll drop the bomb

Mother do you think they’ll like this song 60

Mother do you think they’ll try to break my balls

Ooooo Mother should I build the wall

Mother should I run for president

Mother should I trust the government

Mother will they put me in the firing line 65

Oooooh aaah is it just a waste of time

Hush now baby, baby don’t you cry

Mamma’s gonna make all your

Nightmares come true

Mamma’s gonna put all of her fears into you 70

Mamma’s gonna keep you right here

Under her wing

She won’t let you fly but she might let you sing

Mama’s gonna keep baby cozy and warm

Ooooh babe ooooh babe oooooh babe 75

Of course mama’s gonna help build the wall

Mother do you think she’s good enough for me

Mother do you think she’s dangerous to me

Mother will she tear your little boy apart

Ooooh aaah Mother will she break my heart 80

Hush now baby, baby don’t you cry

Mama’s gonna check out all your girlfriends for you

Mama won’t let anyone dirty get through

Mama’s gonna wait up until you get in

Mama will always find out where 85

You’ve been

Mama’s gonna keep baby healthy and clean

Ooooh babe oooh babe oooh babe

You’ll always be baby to me

Mother did it need to be so high. 90

Geddy 49

SIDE 2

Goodbye Blue Sky (Waters)

[Child’s voice] Look, mummy. There’s an aeroplane up in the sky!

Ooooooh oooooh ooooooh

Did you see the frightened ones

Did you hear the falling bombs

Did you ever wonder

Why we had to run for shelter 95

When the promise of a brave, new world

Unfurled beneath the clear blue sky

Ooooooh oooooh ooooooh

Did you see the frightened ones

Did you hear the falling bombs 100

The flames are all long gone

But the pain lingers on.

Goodbye blue sky

Goodbye 105

Goodbye

[Station Announcer] The 11:15 from Newcastle is now approaching. The 11:18

arrival . . .

Empty Spaces (Waters)

[backward message] Congratulations. You have just discovered the secret

message. Please send your answer to Old Pink, care of the funny farm, Chalfont...

[Voice 1] Roger, Caroline’s on the phone…

What shall we use to fill the empty

Spaces where we used to talk

How should I fill the final places

How should I complete the wall 110

Young Lust (Gilmour, Waters)

I am just a new boy

A stranger in this town

Where are all the good times

Who’s gonna show this stranger around?

Ooooh I need a dirty woman 115

Ooooh I need a dirty girl

Geddy 50

Will some woman in this desert land

Make me feel like a real man

Take this rock and roll refugee

Oooh babe set me free 120

Ooooh I need a dirty woman

Ooooh I need a dirty girl

[Phone rings. Click of receiver being lifted]

[Male Voice] Hello . . . ?

[Operator] Yes, a collect call for Mrs. Floyd from Mr. Floyd. Will you accept the

charges from United States?

[clunk! of phone being put down]

[Operator] Oh, He hung up! That’s your residence, right? I wonder why he hung

up? Is there supposed to be someone else there besides your wife there to answer?

[Phone rings again . . . clunk of receiver being picked up]

[Male Voice] Hello?

[Operator] This is United States calling, are we reaching . . .

[interrupted by phone being put down]

[Operator] See he keeps hanging up, and it’s a man answering”

[whirr of connection being closed]

One Of My Turns (Waters)

[Groupie] Oh my God! What a fabulous room! Are all these your guitars?

[TV in background] I’m sorry sir, I didn’t mean to startle you!

[Groupie] This place is bigger than our apartment!

[TV] Let me know when you’re entering a room. Yes sir!

[Groupie] erm . . . Can I get a drink of water?

[TV: I was wondering about ...]

[Groupie] You want some, huh?

[TV] Yes

[Groupie] Oh wow, look at this tub? Do you wanna take baaaath?”

[TV] I’ll have to find out from Mrs. Bancroft what time she wants to meet us, for

her main . . .

[Groupie] What are watching?”

[TV] If you’ll just let me know as soon as you can . . . Mrs Bancroft . . . Mrs

Bancroft . . .

[Groupie] Hello?

[TV] I don’t understand . . .

[Groupie] Are you feeling okay?

Day after day, love turns grey

Like the skin on a dying man

And night after night, we pretend it’s all right 125

Geddy 51

But I have grown older and

You have grown colder and

Nothing is very much fun any more.

And I can feel one of my turns coming on

I feel, cold as a razor blade 130

Tight as a tourniquet

Dry as a funeral drum

Run to the bedroom, in the suitcase on the left

You’ll find my favorite axe

Don’t look so frightened 135

This is just a passing phase

One of my bad days

Would you like to watch TV?

Or get between the sheets?

Or contemplate the silent freeway? 140

Would you like something to eat?

Would you like to learn to fly?

Would ya?

Would you like to see me try?

Would you like to call the cops? 145

Do you think it’s time I stopped?

Why are you running away?

Don’t Leave Me Now (Waters)

Ooooh Babe

Don’t leave me now.

Don’t say it’s the end of the road 150

Remember the flowers I sent

I need you Babe

To put through the shredder

In front of my friends

Ooooh Babe 155

Don’t leave me now

How could you go?

When you know how I need you

To beat to a pulp on a Saturday night

Ooooh Babe 160

Don’t leave me now

How can you treat me this way

Running away

Ooooh Babe

Why are you running away? 165

Oooooh Babe!

Geddy 52

[Sound of many TV’s coming on, all on different channels]

[TV] The Bulls are already out there.

Another Brick In The Wall, part 3 (Waters)

[Pink] Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrgh!

[TV] . . . this Roman Meal bakery; thought you’d like to know.

I don’t need no arms around me

And I don’t need no drugs to calm me

I have seen the writing on the wall

Don’t think I need anything at all 170

No don’t think I’ll need anything at all

All in all it was all just bricks in the wall

All in all you were all just bricks in the wall

Goodbye Cruel World (Waters)

Goodbye cruel world

I’m leaving you today 175

Goodbye

Goodbye all you people

There’s nothing you can say 180

To make me change

My mind

Goodbye.

SIDE 3

Hey You (Waters)

Hey you! Out there in the cold

Getting lonely, getting old, can you feel me 185

Hey you! Standing in the aisles

With itchy feet and fading smiles, can you feel me

Hey you! Don’t help them to bury the light

Don’t give in without a fight.

Hey you! Out there on your own 190

Sitting naked by the phone would you touch me

Hey you! With your ear against the wall

Waiting for someone to call out would you touch me

Hey you! Would you help me to carry the stone

Open your heart, I’m coming home 195

Geddy 53

But it was only fantasy

The wall was too high, as you can see

No matter how he tried he could not break free

And the worms ate into his brain.

Hey you! Out there on the road 200

Always doing what you’re told, can you help me

Hey you! Out there beyond the wall

Breaking bottles in the hall, can you help me

Hey you! Don’t tell me there’s no hope at all

Together we stand, divided we fall. 205

Is There Anybody Out There? (Waters)

[Click of TV being turned on]

[Marshall Dillon] Well, we got only about an hour of daylight left. We better get

started.

[Miss Tyson] Is it unsafe to travel at night?

[Dillon] It'll be a lot less safe to stay here. Your father's gonna pick up our trail

before long.

[Tyson] Can Lorca ride?

[Dillon] He'll have to ride. Lorca, time to go! Chengra, thank you for everything.

Let's go.

[Tyson] Goodbye, Chengra!

[Chengra] Goodbye, Missy!

[Tyson] I'll be back . . .

Is there anybody out there?

Nobody Home (Waters)

[Sgt. Carter] All right, I'll take care of them part of the time.

[Sgt. Carter] But there's somebody else that needs taking care of in Washington.

[Cpl. Chuck Boyle] Who's that?

[Carter] Rose Pilchek.

[Boyle] Rose Pilchek? Who's that?

[Carter] 36-24-36. Does that answer your question?

[foreground] Oi! I’ve got a little black book with me poems in!

[Boyle] Who is she?

[Carter] She was Miss Armoured Division in 1961. And she was still growing.

[Boyle] How'd you get to meet her?

Geddy 54

I’ve got a little black book with my poems in 210

Got a bag with a toothbrush and a comb in

When I’m a good dog they sometimes throw me a bone in

I got elastic bands keeping my shoes on

Got those swollen hand blues

I’ve got thirteen channels of shit on the T.V. to choose from 215

I’ve got electric light

And I’ve got second sight

I’ve got amazing powers of observation

And that is how I know

When I try to get through 220

On the telephone to you

There’ll be nobody home

I’ve got the obligatory Hendrix perm

And the inevitable pinhole burns

All down the front of my favorite satin shirt 225

I’ve got nicotine stains on my fingers

I’ve got a silver spoon on a chain

I’ve got a grand piano to prop up my mortal remains

I’ve got wild staring eyes

And I’ve got a strong urge to fly 230

But I’ve got nowhere to fly to

Ooooh babe when I pick up the phone

[Gomer Pyle] Surprise, surprise, surprise...

There’s still nobody home

I’ve got a pair of Gohills boots

And I’ve got fading roots. 235

[TV Voice 1] Where the hell are you?

[TV Voice 2] Over 47 German planes were destroyed with the loss of only 15 of

our own aircraft

[TV Voice 1] Where the hell are you Simon?

[Machine gun sound, followed by plane crashing]

Vera (Waters)

Does anybody here remember Vera Lynn

Remember how she said that

We would meet again

Geddy 55

Some sunny day

Vera! Vera! 240

What has become of you

Does anybody else in here

Feel the way I do?

Bring The Boys Back Home (Waters)

Bring the boys back home

Bring the boys back home 245

Don’t leave the children on their own, no, no

Bring the boys back home

[Schoolmaster] Wrong! Do it again!

[Doctor] Time to go! [knock, knock, knock, knock]

[Groupie] Are you feeling okay?

[Operator] There’s a man answering, but he keeps hanging up!

[Pink] Is there anybody out there?

Comfortably Numb (Gilmour, Waters)

Hello,

Is there anybody in there?

Just nod if you can hear me 250

Is there anyone home

Come on now,

I hear you’re feeling down

Well I can ease your pain

And get you on your feet again 255

Relax,

I’ll need some information first

Just the basic facts

Can you show me where it hurts

There is no pain you are receding 260

A distant ship smoke on the horizon

You are only coming through in waves

Your lips move but I can’t hear what you’re saying

When I was a child I had a fever

My hands felt just like two balloons 265

Now I’ve got that feeling once again

I can’t explain, you would not understand

This is not how I am

I have become comfortably numb -

O.K. 270

Geddy 56

Just a little pinprick

There’ll be no more aaaaaaaaah!

But you may feel a little sick

Can you stand up?

I do believe it’s working, good 275

That’ll keep you going through the show

Come on it’s time to go.

There is no pain, you are receding

A distant ship smoke on the horizon

You are only coming through in waves 280

Your lips move but I can’t hear what you’re saying

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 285

I cannot put my finger on it now

The child is grown

The dream is gone

I have become

Comfortably numb. 290

SIDE 4

The Show Must Go On (Waters)

Ooooh Ma oooh Pa

Must the show go on

Ooooh Pa take me home

Ooooh Ma let me go

There must be some mistake 295

I didn’t mean to let them

Take away my soul

Am I too old is it too late

Ooooh Ma ooooh Pa

Where has the feeling gone? 300

Ooooh Ma ooooh Pa

Will I remember the song?

The show must go on.

In The Flesh (Waters)

So ya

Geddy 57

Thought ya 305

Might like to

Go to the show

To feel that warm thrill of confusion

That space cadet glow

I’ve got some bad news for you sunshine 310

Pink isn’t well he stayed back at the hotel

And they sent us along as a surrogate band

We’re gonna find out where you fans

Really stand

Are there any queers in the theater tonight 315

Get them up against the wall

There’s one in the spotlight

He don’t look right to me

Get him up against the wall

That one looks Jewish 320

And that one’s a coon

Who let all of this riff-raff into the room

There’s one smoking a joint and

Another with spots

If I had my way 325

I’d have all of you shot

Run Like Hell (Gilmour, Waters)

[Crowd] Pink Floyd! Pink Floyd!

You better make your face up in

Your favorite disguise

With your button down lips and your

Roller blind eyes 330

With your empty smile

And your hungry heart

Feel the bile rising from your guilty past

With your nerves in tatters

As the cockle shell shatters 335

And the hammers batter

Down the door

You better run

You better run all day

And run all night 340

And keep your dirty feelings

Deep inside. And if you’re

Geddy 58

Taking your girlfriend

Out tonight

You better park the car 345

Well out of sight

’Cos if they catch you in the back seat

Trying to pick her locks

They’re gonna send you back to mother

In a cardboard box 350

You better run.

[Voice 1] Hey, open up! HaHaHaHaHaaaaaaaaaa!

[sound of car skidding, followed by loud scream]

[Crowd] Hammer! Hammer!

Waiting For The Worms (Waters)

[The Worm] Eins, zwei, drei, alle!

Ooooh you cannot reach me now

Ooooh no matter how you try

Goodbye cruel world it’s over

Walk on by 355

Sitting in a bunker here behind my wall

Waiting for the worms to come

In perfect isolation here behind my wall

Waiting for the worms to come

[Voice in megaphone] We’re waiting to succeed and going to convene outside

Brixton Town Hall where we’re going to be . . .

Waiting to cut out the deadwood 360

Waiting to clean up the city

Waiting to follow the worms

Waiting to put on a black shirt

Waiting to weed out the weaklings

Waiting to smash in their windows 365

And kick in their doors

Waiting for the final solution

To strengthen the strain

Waiting to follow the worms

Waiting to turn on the showers 370

And fire the ovens

Waiting for the queers and the coons

and the reds and the Jews

Waiting to follow the worms

Geddy 59

Would you like to see Britannia 375

Rule again my friend

All you have to do is follow the worms

Would you like to send our colored cousins

Home again my friend

All you need to do is follow the worms. 380

[Voice in megaphone] We will convene at Brixton Bus station. We'll be moving

along at about 12 o'clock down Stockwell Road. And then pull in ... to Lambeth

Road where comrades will assist us. Keeping close abreast in threes, as we move

along Lambeth Road towards Vauxhall Bridge. Now when we get to the other side

of Vauxhall Bridge, and we're in the Westminster Borough area, it's quite possible

we may encounter some Jew boys from the royal . . .

[Crowd] Hammer! Hammer!

Stop (Waters)

Stop!

I wanna go home

Take off this uniform

And leave the show

But I’m waiting in this cell 385

Because I have to know

Have I been guilty all this time

The Trial (Waters)

Good morning Worm your honour

The crown will plainly show

The prisoner who now stands before you 390

Was caught red-handed showing feelings

Showing feelings of an almost human nature

This will not do

Call the schoolmaster!

I always said he’d come to no good 395

In the end your honour

If they’d let me have my way I could have

Flayed him into shape

But my hands were tied

The bleeding hearts and artists 400

Let him get away with murder

Let me hammer him today

Geddy 60

Crazy, toys in the attic I am crazy

Truly gone fishing

They must have taken my marbles away 405

Crazy, toys in the attic he is crazy

You little shit, you’re in it now

I hope they throw away the key

You should have talked to me more often

Than you did but no you had to 410

Go your own way. Have you broken any

Homes up lately?

“Just five minutes Worm your honour

Him and Me alone”

Babe 415

Come to mother baby let me hold you

In my arms

M’Lud I never wanted him to

Get in any trouble

Why’d he ever have to leave me 420

Worm your honour let me take him home

Crazy over the rainbow I am crazy

Bars in the window

There must have been a door there in the wall

When I came in 425

Crazy, over the rainbow he is crazy

The evidence before the court is

Incontrovertible there’s no need for

The jury to retire

In all my years of judging 430

I have never heard before of

Someone more deserving

Of the full penalty of law

The way you made them suffer

Your exquisite wife and mother 435

Fills me with the urge to defecate

[Voice] Hey Judge! Shit on him!

Since my friend you have revealed your

Deepest fear

I sentence you to be exposed before

Your peers 440

Geddy 61

Tear down the wall.

[Crowd chanting] Tear down the wall!!

Outside The Wall (Waters)

All alone, or in twos

The ones who really love you

Walk up and down outside the wall

Some hand in hand 445

And some gathered together in bands

The bleeding hearts and artists

Make their stand

And when they’ve given you their all

Some stagger and fall, after all it’s not easy 450

Banging your heart against some mad buggers

Wall.

[Voice 1] Isn’t this where . . .

What Shall We Do Now (Waters)

What shall we use to fill the empty spaces

Where waves of hunger roar?

Shall we set across a sea of faces

In search of more and more applause?

Shall we buy a new guitar? 5

Shall we drive a more powerful car?

Shall we work straight through the night?

Shall we get into fights?

Leave the lights on?

Drop bombs? 10

Do tours of the east?

Contract diseases?

Bury bones?

Break up homes?

Send flowers by phone? 15

Take to drink?

Go to shrinks?

Give up meat?

Rarely sleep?

Keep people as pets? 20

Train dogs?

Geddy 62

Race rats?

Fill the attic with a cash?

Bury treasure?

Store up leisure? 25

But never relax at all

With our backs to the wall.