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| 1- Pigs On The Wing (Part One) Written by: Waters Running Time: 1:25 Other Versions: In The Flesh Rating: ***** Comments: This is a simple, acoustic guitar-driven melody with simple lyrics. It's a great song, but also incredibly short. It is reprised on the last track, and serves to tie the concept of the entire album together. Lyrics: if you didn't care what happened to me and i didn't care for you we would zig-zag away through the boredom and pain occasionally glancing up through the rain wondering which of the buggers to blame and watching for pigs on the wing |
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| 2- Dogs Written by: Waters, Gilmour Running Time: 17:08 Other Versions: In The Flesh RANKING: #5 ******** Comments: This is a fantastic song. It's long, but not too long, and the music is strong, but not too strong. It's driven by both acoustic and electric guitar, and the rhythm is great. The lyrics are among the best ever written. This album is about people, and this song is is about a certain type of people, whom Roger Waters classifies as Dogs. It's in the 2nd person, but it has 1st person qualities, in that the speaker is probably talking to himself. Either way, the lyrics are absolutely brilliant, and the music is top-quality. If for no other reason, this song makes the album worth buying. Water's brilliant lyrics and Gilmour's excellent guitar playing make for one spectacular song. Lyrics: you got to be crazy, you gotta have a real need gotta sleep on your toes, and when you're on the street you got to be able to pick out the easy meat with your eyes closed then moving in silently, downwind and out of sight you got to strike when the moment is right without thinking then after awhile, you can work on points for style like the club tie, and the firm hand-shake a certain look in the eye, and an easy smile you have to be trusted by the people that you lie to so that when they turn their backs on you you'll get the chance to put the knife in you gotta keep one eye looking over your shoulder you know it's gonna get harder and harder and harder as you get older, yeah and in the end you'll pack up, fly down south and hide your head in the sand just another sad old man all alone, and dying of cancer and when you lose control, you'll reap the harvest you have sewn and as the fear grows, the bad blood slows and turns to stone and it's too late to lose the weight you used to need to throw around so have a good drown, as you go down all alone dragged down by the stone got to admit, that i'm a little bit confused sometimes it seems to me as if i'm just being used got to stay awake, got to try and shake off this creeping malaise if i don't stand my own ground how can i find my way out of this maze? deaf, dumb, and blind, you just keep on pretending that everyone's expendable, and no one has a real friend and it seems to you the thing to do would be to isolate the winner and everything's done under the sun and you believe at heart, everyone's a killer who was born in a house full of pain? who was trained not to spit in the fan? who was told what to do by the man? who was broken by trained personnel? who was fitted with collar and chain? who was given a pat on the back? who was breaking away from the pack? who was only a stranger at home? who was ground down in the end? who was found dead on the phone? who was dragged down by the stone? who was dragged down by the stone? |
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| 3- Pigs (Three Different Ones) Written by: Waters Running Time: 11:28 Rating: ***** Comments: This song is driven by a great succession of minor chords from an electric guitar, and synthesized background music and pig sound effects. This is where the famous "big pink pig" comes from that the band would use in all of their concerts following this album. This song is good anger music, and has a good, long instrumental. It has a similar meaning to "Dogs" in that it is talking about people, only this time, the speaker is most definitely not talking to himself. The type of people described in these lyrics are self-righteous idiots, and the music describes a mood of being "fed-up". Lyrics: big man, pig man, ha ha charade you are you well-heeled big wheel, ha ha charade you are and when your hand is on your heart you're nearly a good laugh almost a joker with your head down in the pig bin saying, keep on digging pig stain on your fat chin what do you hope to find? down in the pig mine? you're nearly a laugh you're nearly a laugh but you're really a cry bus stop ratbag, ha ha charade you are you fucked up old hag, ha ha charade you are you radiate cold shafts of broken glass you're nearly a good laugh almost worth a quick grin you like the feel of steel you're hot stuff with a hat-pin and good fun with a hand-gun you're nearly a laugh you're nearly a laugh but you're really a cry hey you, whitehouse, ha ha charade you are you house-proud town-mouse, ha ha charade you are you're trying to keep our feelings off the street you're nearly a real treat all tight lips and cold feet and do you feel abused? .....! ......! ......! ......! you've got to stem the evil tide and keep it all on the inside mary, you're nearly a treat mary, you're nearly a treat but you're really a cry |
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| 4- Sheep Written by: Waters Running Time: 10:20 Rating: ***** Comments: This is yet another incredible song on this heavily underrated album. It starts out with some easy keyboard playing, with some soft bass playing in the background, and then the drums come in, and the lyrics burst in with high intensity. The lyrics refer to the type of person who just follows along in life, and ends up getting stepped on by the "Dogs" of the world. The second half of the song is about a revolution, in which the sheep rise up and kill the dogs, but they are still pathetic followers. This is great music with a great meaning. Lyrics: harmlessly passing your time in the grassland away only dimly aware of a certain unease in the air you better watch out there may be dogs about well i've looked over jordan and i have seen things are not what they seem what do you get for pretending the danger's not real? meek and obedient you follow the leader down well-trodden corridors into the valley of steel what a surprise a look of terminal shock in your eyes now things are really what they seem no, this is not a bad dream bleating and babbling, we fell on his neck with a scream wave upon wave of demented avengers march cheerfully out of obscurity into the dream have you heard the news? the dogs are dead you better stay home and do as you're told get out of the road if you want to grow old Words: the lord is my shepherd, i shall not want; he makes me down to lie; through pastures green he leadeth me the silent waters by; with bright knives he releaseth my soul; he maketh me to hang on hooks in high places; he converteth me to lamb cutlets; for lo, he hath great power and great hunger; when cometh the day we lowly ones; through quiet reflection and great dedication; master the art of karate; lo, we shall rise up; and make the bugger's eyes water |
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| 5- Pigs On The Wing (Part Two) Written by: Waters Running Time: 1:25 Rating: ***** Comments: This song is all but identical to the first track. It serves to wrap it all together and sum everything up. It also contains the speaker's confession that he considers himself a "dog", and puts a positive spin on the whole thing. The lyrics are touching, and the guitar strumming is excellent. This is the perfect song to wrap everything up. Lyrics: you know that i care what happens to you and i know that you care for me too so i don't feel alone, or the weight of the stone now that i've found somewhere safe to bury my bone and any fool knows, a dogs needs a home and shelter from pigs on the wing |
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| Released: 1977 by Columbia Records Running Time: 41:56 Ranking: #4 out of 14 studio albums Album Highlight: Dogs Album Weak Point: (none) Average Song Rating: ****** Comments: Not one weak second of music can be found on this brilliant album. Like "Wish You Were Here" before it, this album opens and closes with the same song in different parts, but "Pigs On The Wing" is not the major force of this album. Instead, just as "Echoes" makes "Meddle", "Dogs" makes this album. It has the most lyrics of any Floyd song, yet more of it is instrumental than sung. The other two tracks are merely supplements to its genius, yet they are both of magnificent genius themselves. Each song on this album works perfectly on its own, but together they form one incredible and highly underrated piece of music. |
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