| The Wall (disc 2) |
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| 1- Hey You Written by: Waters Running Time: 4:42 Other Versions: Is There Anybody Out There?, Live In Berlin, P*U*L*S*E RANKING (different version): #17 (this version *****) Comments: This is a brilliant song, with some of the best lyrics on the album, and with one of the best melodies. It comes in so gently with a few notes repeated on a guitar, than a few more instruments, then Gilmour comes in with the first verse as more instruments join him. After the second verse, it goes into a great instrumental, and then a bridge with one of the most famous Pink Floyd lines ever written. Waters belts out the last verse with the same high level of emotion he gives the whole time he's singing. This is one of the best songs of this album Lyrics: hey you, out there in the cold getting lonely, getting old, can you feel me? 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 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 but it was only a 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 always doing what your 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 |
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| 2- Is There Anybody Out There? Written by: Waters Running Time: 2:40 Other Versions: Is There Anybody Out There?, Live In Berlin Rating: **** Comments: This is a haunting track, beginning with eerie background sound and the title lyrics repeated over and over again. This gives way to a gentle guitar solo that's so beautiful and sad, it makes you feel the same quiet desperation it is conveying. Lyrics: is there anybody out there? is there anybody out there? is there anybody out there? aaah... is there anybody out there? |
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| 3- Nobody Home Written by: Waters Running Time: 3:24 Other Versions: Is There Anybody Out There?, Live In Berlin Rating: **** Comments: This may be one of the weaker songs musically, but it is underrated. The lyrics so simple and true, and the piano speaks strongly the message the words are saying so softly. The words and emotion behind them make this incredibly touching. Lyrics: got a little black book with my poems in got a bag with a toothbrush and a comb 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 got thirteen channels of shit on the tv to choose from i got electric light and i got second sight i got amazing powers of observation and that is how i know when i try to get through on the telephone to you there'll be nobody home i got the obligatory hendrix perm and the inevitable pin-hole burns all down the front of my favourite satin shirt i got nicotine stains on my fingers i got a silver spoon on a chain got a grand piano to prop up my mortal remains i got wild staring eyes and i got a strong urge to fly but i got nowhere to fly to, fly to, fly to... ooh babe, when i pick up the phone there's still nobody home i got a pair of go-hills boots and i got fading roots Words: oi...i've got a little black book wi' me poems in... |
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| 4- Vera Written by: Waters Running Time: 1:33 Other Versions: Is There Anybody Out There?, Live In Berlin Rating: *** Comments: Perhaps this song has more meaning if you know who Vera Lynn was before you hear it, but to me it's nothing more than a nice little song about memories past. I consider it a weak link, but it adds more to the concept than it takes away. Lyrics: does anybody here remember vera lynn? remember how she said that we would meet again some sunny day? vera, vera, what has become of you? does anybody else in here feel the way i do? |
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| 5- Bring The Boys Back Home Written by: Waters Running Time: 1:27 Other Versions: Is There Anybody Out There?, The Wall (film), Live In Berlin Rating: **** Comments: This is another song that can affect some people deeply and others not at all. I didn't feel anything for awhile, but all at once it hit me, and now I love this song, and the intensity with which Waters sings it. One of the highlights of the track is the montage of sound effect that comes on at the end, building up to the awesome power of the next track. Lyrics: 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 aaah... is there anybody out there? Words: (schoolmaster): wrong, do it again!...<knocking> (manager): time to go!...(girlfriend): are you feeling okay?...(operator): it's a man answering, he keeps hanging up... |
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| 6- Comfortably Numb Written by: Gilmour, Waters Running Time: 6:24 Other Versions: Is There Anybody Out There?, Live In Berlin, P*U*L*S*E, In The Flesh RANKING (different version): #1 (this version ******) Comments: This is the greatest song of all time, and it all started right here, on this track. Since the recording of this song, it has out-done itself many times in live versions through a prolongued guitar solo, the best of which being from P*U*L*S*E. This track, however, is still perfection made music, and the only thing wrong with it is that it isn't long enough. This song has lyrics that really speak, and they are sung by Roger Waters and David Gilmour, who are only together in 2 versions of this maginificent song. But the heart of this beautiful song is the instrumental that begins once the singing is finished. It speaks down to the very soul of your being, wrenching at every emotion you have. This will forever be the best Pink Floyd song of all time, and to me, it is the best song of all time. Lyrics: hello...hello...hello is there anybody in there? just nod if you can hear me is there anyone home? come on...come on...now i hear you're feeling down well i can ease your pain and get you on your feet again relax...relax...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 a distant ship's 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 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 i have become comfortably numb okay...okay...okay just a little pin-prick there'll be no more aaaaaah but you may feel a little sick can you stand up...stand up...stand up? i do believe it's working, good 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's 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 caught a fleeting glimpse out of the corner of my eye i turned to look, but it was gone i cannot put my finger on it now the child is grown, the dream is gone i have become comfortably numb... |
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| 7- The Show Must Go On Written by: Waters Running Time: 1:35 Other Versions: Is There Anybody Out There? Rating: ***** Comments: This is the most underrated song of the album. This is such a short and beautiful piece of music, and it says more than it's given credit for. In most versions of this album, this song is not present, but it really helps the story and the transition from the previous track to the next. It is one of the most beautifully sung pieces on the album. Lyrics: aah ah...aah ah...aah ah ooh ma ah ooh pa must the show go on? oooh pa, take me home, take me home, take me home oooh ma, let me go, let me go, let me go there must be some mistake i didn't mean to let them take away my soul am i too old, is it too late? ooh ma ah ooh pa where's the feeling gone? ooh ma ah ooh pa will i remember the songs? oooh ah the show must go on |
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| 8- In The Flesh Written by: Waters Running Time: 4:17 Other Versions: Is There Anybody Out There?, The Wall (film), Live In Berlin, In The Flesh Rating: ***** Comments: It's an elongated reprise of the first track of the album. This is where the story begins to go deeper into the instanity of the character. He sees himself as a heartless demagogue, and removes himself from his own personality. It's something all of us do, and this song just takes it to the extreme, in a very powerful way. Lyrics: so you thought you might like to go to the show to feel the warm thrill of confusion, that space-cadet glow i got some bad news for you, sunshine pink isn't well, he stayed back at the hotel and they've 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? get 'em up again the wall ('gainst the wall) now there's one in the spotlight, he don't look right to me get him up against the wall ('gainst the wall) and that one looks jewish! and that one's a coon! who let all this riff-raff into the room? there's one smoking a joint! and another with spots! if i had my way, i'd have all of you shot! |
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| 9- Run Like Hell Written by: Gilmour, Waters Running Time: 4:24 Other Versions: Is There Anybody Out There?, Live In Berlin, P*U*L*S*E Rating: **** Comments: I think this is a good song, but I also think it's a little overrated. The music is strong, and the beat is heavy, but it's not the best melody on the album by far. The lyrics, however, are excellent. The opening is strong, but once the main melody comes in, it loses it's strength except for the parts where Waters belts out those intense lyrics. The end of the song is a little drawn out, too. But all things considered, it is a good song, and it works well on its own, too. Lyrics: run, run, run, run...run, run, run, run...run, run, run... you'd better make your face up in your favourite disguise with your button-down lips and your roller-blind eyes with your empty smile, and your hungry heart feel the fire rising from your guilty past with your tongue in tatters as the cockle-shell shatters and the hammers batter down your door! you'd better run... run, run, run, run...run, run, run, run...run, run, run... you'd better run all day and run all night and keep your dirty feelings deep inside and if you're taking your girlfriend out tonight you'd better park the car well out of sight 'cause 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! you'd better run... Words: (croud): pink floyd, pink floyd, pink floyd...hammer, hammer, hammer... |
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| 10- Waiting For The Worms Written by: Waters Running Time: 3:58 Other Versions: Is There Anybody Out There?, Live In Berlin Rating: ***** Comments: This is another underrated song from this album. This is a great, angry song, that ties several great melodies together. The highlight is a highly intense instrumental at the end that just keep getting heavier and heavier as the music is slowly drowned out by the sound of heavy breathing, and is then suddenly cut off by the first word of the next track. This is a great, powerful song that sums everything up before the climax. It's a perfect musical interpretation of the frustration an insane mind is going through. Brilliant. Lyrics: oooh, you cannot reach me now oooh, no matter how you try goodbye, cruel world, it's over, walk on by 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 waiting...to cut out the deadwood 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 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 and fire the ovens waiting...for the queers, and the coons, and the reds, and the jews waiting...to follow the worms would...would you like to see brittania rule again? my friend, all you have to do is follow the worms... would...would you like to send our coloured cousins home again? my friend, all you need to do is follow the worms... Words: we're waiting to succeed and going to convene outside brixton town hall where we're going to be...the worms will convene outside brixton bus station, we'll be moving along at about twelve o'clock down stockwell road...twelve minutes to three we'll be moving along lambeth road towards vauxhall bridge...now when we get to the other side of vauxhall bridge, we're in westminster borough area...it's quite possible we may encounter some jew boys by the way we go... |
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| 11- Stop! Written by: Waters Running Time: 0:30 Other Versions: Is There Anybody Out There?, The Wall (film), Live In Berlin Rating: ***** Comment: A song doesn't have to be long to be a masterpiece. This song makes me shivver every time I hear it. It's so haunting, with that soft yet rigid background music, and the way Waters sings it. It sounds like you're really hearing the inside of a crazed man's mind. The lyrics are also true to everyone, if you look deeper into them. They say more than one would think after hearing them only once, but the message is so powerful that it can deeply affect you. Lyrics: stop! i wanna go home take off this uniform and leave the show but i'm waiting in this cell because i have to know have i been guilty all this time? |
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| 12- The Trial Written by: Waters & Bob Ezrin Running Time: 5:20 Other Versions: Is There Anybody Out There?, Live In Berlin Rating: ***** Comments: This song ties everything together in a track that sounds like the climax of an opera. This is a lyrical masterpiece, and the music backs it up strongly. This song has power, in that it can drag you into the mind of a mad man, and make you feel the sickening feeling that the insanity brings, and the horror of seeing everyone as being against you. We often feel as if we're on trial, particularly in highly stressful situations. In those situations, we go just a little crazy, and this song magnifies that feeling into a ballad that climaxes the story of one man, and the story of the monster that lies deep inside all of us. Lyrics: (prosecutor): good morning, worm, your honour the crown will plainly show the prisoner who now stands before you was caught red-handed showing feelings showing feelings of an almost human nature this will not do (judge): call the schoolmaster! (schoolmaster): i always said he'd come to no good 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 let him get away with laughter let me hammer him today crazy, toys in the attic, i am crazy truly gone fishing they must have taken my marbles away! crazy, toys in the attic he is crazy (wife): you little shit, you're in it now i hope they throw away the key you should've talked to me more often than you did, but no! you had to go your own way have you broken any homes up lately? just five minutes, worm, your honour, him, me, alone (mother): baaaaaaaaaaaabe come to mother, baby, let me hold you in my arms look, i never wanted him to get in any trouble why'd he ever have to leave me? 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! crazy, over the rainbow, he is crazy (judge): the evidence before the court is incontrovertable there's no need for the jury to retire in all my years of judging, 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 fills me with the urge to defecate! since, my friend, you have revealed your deepest fear i sentence you to be exposed before your peers! tear down the wall!!! tear down the wall, tear down the wall, tear down the wall... Words: go on, judge, shit on him! |
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| 13- Outside The Wall Written by: Waters Running Time: 1:44 Other Versions: Is There Anybody Out There?, The Wall (film) Rating: **** Comments: This is the beautiful ending to this incredible concept album. The lyrics say it all. Lyrics: all alone, or in twos the ones who really love you walk up and down, outside the wall some hand in hand and some gathered together in bands the bleeding hearts and the artists make their stand and when they've given you their all some stagger and fall after all, it's not easy banging your heart against some mad bugger's wall Words: [very faintly at the end]: isn't this is where... |
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| Released: 1979 by Columbia Records Running Time (disc 2): 41:58 Ranking: #2 out of 14 studio albums Album Highlight (disc 2): Comfortably Numb Album Weak Point (disc 2): Vera Average Song Rating (disc 2): ***** Comments: The second half of this album offers some songs that do work well on their own, but they still are best heard in context. The first song is strong, then the album gets slow for awhile, until it comes bursting back with "Comfortably Numb", the best song of "The Wall" and the best song ever written by Pink Floyd. Not one song here isn't necessary, and not one falls short of perfection, although some are more perfect than others. |
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