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"Alright, I'll take care of them part of the time, but there's somebody else that needs taking care of in Washington"
"Who's that?"
"Rose Pilchitt!"
"Rose Pilchitt? Who's that?"
"36-24-36 does that answer your question?"
"Oi! I've got a little black book with me poems in!"
"Who's she?"
"She was 'Miss Armoured Division' in 1961 ... "
I've 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.
I got elastic bands keepin my shoes on.
Got those swollen hand blues.
I got thirteen channels of shit on the T.V. to choose from.
I've got electric light.
And I've 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've got the obligatory Hendrix perm.
And the inevitable pinhole burns
All down the front of my favorite satin shirt.
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.
But I got nowhere to fly to.
Ooooh, babe when I pick up the phone
"Surprise, surprise, surprise..."
There's still nobody home.
I've got a pair of Gohills boots
But I got fading roots.
"Who's that?"
"Rose Pilchitt!"
"Rose Pilchitt? Who's that?"
"36-24-36 does that answer your question?"
"Oi! I've got a little black book with me poems in!"
"Who's she?"
"She was 'Miss Armoured Division' in 1961 ... "
I've 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.
I got elastic bands keepin my shoes on.
Got those swollen hand blues.
I got thirteen channels of shit on the T.V. to choose from.
I've got electric light.
And I've 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've got the obligatory Hendrix perm.
And the inevitable pinhole burns
All down the front of my favorite satin shirt.
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.
But I got nowhere to fly to.
Ooooh, babe when I pick up the phone
"Surprise, surprise, surprise..."
There's still nobody home.
I've got a pair of Gohills boots
But I got fading roots.
Lyrics submitted by Demau Senae
Track duration: 03:26
"Nobody Home" as written by Roger Waters
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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somewhere in the middle of the song:
"Ooooh, babe when I pick up the phone
(Surprise, surprise, surprise...)
There's still nobody home."
it gives me goosebumps every time i hear this part.
the background voice is incredibly sarcastic: there is no surprises. i know that there won't be anybody home.
When I was young (early 80s) and smoking pot we'd listen to this and honestly I heard that many differing "what it's all abouts". I didn't give it too much thought beyond the obvious. I just loved the music, the co-existing and intertwining concepts and later with an added appreciation: as a musician.
About the year 1999 my Nan (that' right) had a listen and just immediately fell in love with it, every bit of it.
I was astounded!
She used to relate a lot of it back to me through her eyes - eyes that had almost been where Roger Water's eyes had been.
She grew up in London through both world wars (in the bombed out areas between the Eastend and Essex) and she too had lost her father when she was very young (4 or 5). He was German. She was English. I can only imagine the crap at school she would've copped. He was deaf and ended up getting run over by a train, so in a nutshell....he never left (or taught) her much.
She put a lot of "The Wall" into perspective for me.
But anyway, I really only wanted to comment on a small fragment of "Nobody Home", that being my interpretation (blah blah blah) of the following lines:
"I've got Electric light, and I got second sight" (a real contrast of the most basic to the extraordinary)
"I've got amazing powers of observation, and that is how I know" (supernatural powers?)
"when I try to get through, on the telephone to you"
"There'll be nobody home" (no, just the cynic in him telling him, in his abandonment by her, she obviously not going to answer)
[Ffwd>>>>]
"I got wild staring eyes, and I got a strong urge to fly" (ambitions,dreams, hopes)
"but I got nowhere to fly to" (the sad realisation that he feels deserted, alone, trapped - and that's just at home!)
"ooooooooooh babe, when I pick up the phone...surprise, surprise, surprise..."
"there's still nobody home" (just further emphasizing what he already "knows" or believes/perceives).
Brilliant work. To have so many pulling it apart and disecting it with their own spin after so long is incredible.
"ELASTIC BANDS KEEPIN MY SHOES ON" is confirmed a reference to Syd Barret, who would fall into a juge depression. Schizoprenia, possibly. His mental state got so bad he stopped tying his shoes and just put elastic bands over them.
The "SWOLEN HAND"s are probably a reference to comfortably numb "MY HANDS FELT JUST LIKE TWO BALLOONS" later in the album. The 13 channels of s***, a TV can be heard in the background many times in the album, apparently Pink's only real passtime. The "electric lights" refering to Pink's, and Pink Floyd's rockstar life (becoming a burden). "SECOND SIGHT" & "AMAZING POWERS OF OBSERVATION" refer to the realization that life and society are entirly screwed up, and he realizes more than others.
The "TELEPHONE" and "NOBODY HOME" either refer to Pink's adultaerous wife, or the beggeing stages of the first shcizophrenic fantasy that Pink falls into, including "NOBODY HOME", "VERA" & "BRING THE BOYS BACK HOME"
The second verse seems to be about the luxury's of being a rockstar, and how they mean nothing. The "WILD STARING EYES" refer to Schizophrenia, one of the symptoms being rare or incosistant blinking when in deep thought. All in all a somg preluding to Pink's Schizoprnia
I've got a bag with a toothbrush and a comb in
I got elastic bands keeping my shoes on
I've got electric light
I've got amazing powers of observation
I've got the obligatory Hendrix perm
And I've got the inevitable pinhole burns
All down the front of my favorite satin shirt
I've got wild staring eyes
...Syd Barrett right thur
Waters' tribute to his once close and now lost friend.
Sad, sad, sad.
The act of listing the physical objects and attributes of the current environment, can feel like it's working on the problem, by taking stock of the situation. In a way, the list is also building a case for self abuse. Inevitably, in depression, the list has negative emotional charge, leading in this case to the overt branding of loneliness.
There are moments of enthusiastic energy ("urge to fly"), but it's not sustained enough to follow through, or to have a life that provides people "to fly to".
With a final contrast ("fading roots"), the tune ends by more explicitly acknowledging the growing distance between himself and the loving relationships he used to be able to engage with.
I get chills at "amazing powers of observation", with the dramatic hinting of hope, only to resolve into the theme of disconnected love. For me, it's strangely validating.
I alway loved this song, cause it's almost like a break from all the intensity of the album and it sets you up for Vera. But I just recently saw the Wall live in Toronto, first show of the tour, and I'm still a bit in awe of it. Amazing. He sings it laying down in a couch, in a makeshift living room set up on a brick that has popped out of the wall, resembling the scene from the movie. The whole show will be a highlight in my life , for sure. And during the show I just kept thinking, man I wish every Floyd fan could see this.
"I've got a silver spoon on a chain"
He's a rich kid.
"I've got a grand piano to prop up my mortal remains"
This line is about Rick Wright.