Remember how she said that we would meet again, some sunny day. Vera, what has become of you? Does anybody else in here feel the way I do?
One of the things I love about the album The Wall by Pink Floyd is the sheer emotion with which the album is constructed. It retains the famous psychedelic element that Pink Floyd fans are addicted to, but the vocal style on this album is unique from every other album, save The Final Cut, which is an album of songs that didn't make The Wall. In so many of the songs on the album, the vocalist, who I just learned was mostly Roger Waters, sounds almost in pain, barely singing the notes in pitch with more of a yell than a standard singing voice. This, however, preceded the era of screamy-music, and really wasn't the same sound.
The topics discussed in The Wall are so various, the listener is practically engulfed in a sea of mixed emotions, all of which boil down to a figurative, and at the shows, a literal, wall. Issues like war, racism and religious prejudice, overbearing mothers, child abuse, dead fathers, and abandonment litter the contents of the album, and the listener's heart is broken every time he or she hears Water's broken voice.
One of the most interesting lyrical elements of The Wall is found in the two songs Empty Spaces and Young Lust. If you have the time, check out the lyrics for Empty Spaces; it really is heartbreaking and personal to Water's experiences. The last four lines (and possibly the only audible lyrics of the song) are:
What shall we use to fill the empty spaces
Where we used to talk?
How shall I fill the final places?
How shall I complete the wall?
These lines transitional seamlessly into the song Young Lust, which of course is all about having lots and lots of sex ("Ooo, I need a dirty woman"). What does this mean?
Maybe
That lust is the final brick in the wall. What isolates a person more from the world than objectification of the most intimate act possible?
Some things with this album speak so closely to home, I wonder how they could be anything but god inspired. Such is the timeless beauty of art and language, the power it has over our lives despite the erosion of centuries (or decades).
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2 comments:
Interesting analysis Wes. Some of it i've never thought of before. The Wall was always my least favorite Floyd album (um...CD) because it was the most popular. I always liked Wish You Were Here and Dark Side of the Moon better. But you've given me some things to think about.
Funny you should say that, because people who love the weird stuff like Animals or Meddle say Dark Side and Wish You Were Here were too mainstream for them too. :)
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