[I3eyond]

i have some of my own thoughts, mostly on dark side of the moon, but i'm curious as to what others think of/picture when they listen to floyd's music.. any particular song(s).....

 

[forsberg]

the message i got from dsotm was the cycle of life, from birth til death

i kinda felt that "us and them" is outta place in the album tho..

 

[humanflyz]

I wrote this a while back for a class, and I can't remember what class it was for. Anyways, it was something I wrote on a whim and didn't even bother to revise at the time, so there might be some errors

But it's my take on Wish You Were Here:

To say that I've memorized every nuance of the song is an understatement: I can pretty much tell you exactly what happens where. First there is the gentle strumming of the guitar in the right channel of the speakers/headphone, with barely audible hissing sounds, followed by a throat-clearing, nose-sniffing, and breath inhaling. And then, the beginning notes play so clearly, and you can hear the guitarist sliding his hands down the neck of the guitar, and then the strumming begins. And the song ends with wind blowing in the background, conjuring up a sense of loneliness and desolation.

But it's the words of the song, in combination with its musical qualities, that ultimately sold me. To me, it is the most beautiful, elegiac, tragic, and affecting song ever written about disillusionment, loneliness, and longing ever written. To me, the song is one person's view of another person's life. The first verse is about youthful confidence viewed through the jaded and cynical eyes of experience. It starts with a question, "So, so you think you can tell Heaven from Hell, blue skies from pain. Can you tell a green field from a cold steel rail? A smile from a veil? Do you think you can tell?" This question is obviously rhetorical, and it shows the narrator's cynical view of youthful confidence and naivete about life.

The second verse shows the disillusionment of youth and the change to an adult, cynical, amoral life. The youthful idealism and naivete disappear, replaced by betrayed dreams, failed ideals, and stagnation. The person that the narrator is examining has traded his heroes for ghosts, cold comfort for change, and a walk-on part in a war with a lead role in a cage. The idealistic and confident youth has now become a jaded adult who gave up his ideals and instead settled for conformity, materialism, and moral emptiness.

The last verse is also the most revealing one, because the narrator reveals something about himself: he too has taken the same path as the person he is talking to. They have both become two lost souls, "swimming in a fish bowl, year after year, running over the same old ground." And they have only found the "same old fears." It is in this last verse that the song offers up its most interpretive substance: the line "wish you were here". There are multiple ways to interpret this line. On one level, the narrator could be saying that he longs for the person that used to be, the innocent, idealistic, and confident youth; that he wishes the youth would be here instead of the cynical adult. On another level, it could be that the narrator wishes the cynical adult to be here because he is now gone. The narrator could then be longing for a companion whose life took a similar turn, possibly because he feels that even though their lives have taken a turn for the worse, he still wants companionship and that this relationship would give their lives some meaning. Yet on another level, the narrator could be argued as wishing and longing for his former self. Taking this line of interpretation would change the entire meaning of the song. Now the song becomes an introspective self-examination, with the jaded adult questioning, sneering, and most importantly, yearns for, who he was in the past.

But no matter on which the level the song is being taken, the end result and mood is one of regret, loneliness, and yearning. It is a story about one man's tragic tale of lost innocence and loneliness. It is a story about one man's affectionate, elegiac eulogy to a friend and to himself. It ends on a somber and pensive tone, but it is not melodramatic; it is simply tragically beautiful. I think the song has an element of universality due to its multiple interpretive points and its universal theme about the loss of innonence and loneliness. Whether one is reflecting on one's own life, or thinking about a beloved friend, the emotionally impact of the song comes through, making this song at once both beautiful and sad.

 

[dhp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by forsberg the message i got from dsotm was the cycle of life, from birth til death i kinda felt that "us and them" is outta place in the album tho..

how can dsotm be about life? if it is, then it's all out of order. I thought it was about the faults and bad things about human nature/humanity. The Dark Side of Human Life, which is why it's called the dark side of the moon. On the Run is very paranoid, Time focuses on aging, great gig in the sky focuses on death, us and them is about war, brain damage is about insanity... i love the part where the moon is all dark... from my interpretation, it's kind of implying that human nature is all dark...

of course, that's my opinion. I could be wrong.

 

[shplorgh]

Stooooooooooonneeeeeeeeers....

 

[I3eyond]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hungrych Stooooooooooonneeeeeeeeers....

i don't do drugs, and i'm really curious as to why floyd is often considered music for "stoners".

i'll admit, i was in my bed last night, lights off and eyes closed. i was listening to dsotm, and by the time i was to track 3 (time) i was honestly scared. i don't know why, but there was just something about the music. i felt like if i opened my eyes someone or something was going to be there.

 

[shplorgh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by I3eyond i don't do drugs, and i'm really curious as to why floyd is often considered music for "stoners". i'll admit, i was in my bed last night, lights off and eyes closed. i was listening to dsotm, and by the time i was to track 3 (time) i was honestly scared. i don't know why, but there was just something about the music. i felt like if i opened my eyes someone or something was going to be there.

I dunno, it's just fun to say.

 

[forsberg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DieInAFire how can dsotm be about life? if it is, then it's all out of order. I thought it was about the faults and bad things about human nature/humanity. The Dark Side of Human Life, which is why it's called the dark side of the moon. On the Run is very paranoid, Time focuses on aging, great gig in the sky focuses on death, us and them is about war, brain damage is about insanity... i love the part where the moon is all dark... from my interpretation, it's kind of implying that human nature is all dark... of course, that's my opinion. I could be wrong.

the album starts off with breathe, which is like birth, you take ur 1st breath on earth, not giving much thought for anything....

then u hear the music, then time comes in and talk about aging... and how life is passing by..

then of course the last few tracks go into insanity and death....

but.. heh, yeah, its all bout stoooonnnners...........!! then u dun care what the lyrics say...!

 

[forsberg]

o the topic of stoners though... the piper at the gates of dawn pretty much takes the cake .... i dunno What is going on in that album sometimes...!

 

[K2Grey]

People on crack playing with sound effects in a studio.

 

[fikete]

I think Wots...Uh the deal on Obscured by Clouds is basically saying that it's difficult to make sense out of life.

When you're young you start out expecting the best but you end up doing a lot of nothing and then you grow old and it all gets taken away from you, so, Wots...Uh the deal basically.

 

[Dusty Chalk]

I didn't figure this out until I saw the documentary DVD, but DSOTM is definitely about life:

Speak To Me -- communication
Breathe -- sort of the "title track", not really about any one aspect
On The Run -- transportation
Time -- uh...time
Great Gig in the Sky -- religion
Money -- uh...'commerce'
Us & Them -- war/violence/crime/politics
Any Colour You Like -- visuals
Brain Damage/Eclipse -- left as exercises for the reader

Note: the words I use are the closest to the concept in the English language, the songs aren't that specifically about those things, the songs themselves are more canonical than that.

It's like if you were to divide life up into a pie chart, then they tried to encapsulate every major piece of the pie. They forgot, however, eating/food/olifactory satisfaction/whatever.

And sex. Well, maybe.

 

[dhp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dusty Chalk I didn't figure this out until I saw the documentary DVD, but DSOTM is definitely about life: Speak To Me -- communication Breathe -- sort of the "title track", not really about any one aspect On The Run -- transportation Time -- uh...time Great Gig in the Sky -- religion Money -- uh...'commerce' Us & Them -- war/violence/crime/politics Any Colour You Like -- visuals Brain Damage/Eclipse -- left as exercises for the reader Note: the words I use are the closest to the concept in the English language, the songs aren't that specifically about those things, the songs themselves are more canonical than that. It's like if you were to divide life up into a pie chart, then they tried to encapsulate every major piece of the pie. They forgot, however, eating/food/olifactory satisfaction/whatever. And sex. Well, maybe.

i thought great gig in the sky was about dying?

 

[PsychoZX]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DieInAFire i thought great gig in the sky was about dying?

I actually believe it to be a little bit of both.

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Perhaps 'afterlife' is more appropriate. There is definitely religious content there -- they specifically mention it having lyricless vocals so that they didn't explicitly reference Christianity. I.E. to minimize "baggage".