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The sweet smell of a great sorrow lies over the land
plumes of smoke rise and merge into the leaden sky:
a man lies and dreams of green fields and rivers
but awakes to a morning with no reason for waking
He's haunted by the memory of a lost paradise
in his youth or a dream, he can't be precise
he's chained forever to a world that's departed
It's not enough, It's not enough
His blood has frozen & curled with fright
his knees have trembled & given way in the night
his hand has weakened at the moment of truth
his step has faltered
One world, one soul
Time pass, the river roll
And he talks to the river of lost love and dedication
and silent replies that swirl invitation
flow dark and troubled to any oily sea
a grim intimation of what is to be
There's an unceasing wind that blows through this night
and there's dust in my eyes, that blinds my sight
and silence that speaks so much louder than words
of promises broken.
plumes of smoke rise and merge into the leaden sky:
a man lies and dreams of green fields and rivers
but awakes to a morning with no reason for waking
He's haunted by the memory of a lost paradise
in his youth or a dream, he can't be precise
he's chained forever to a world that's departed
It's not enough, It's not enough
His blood has frozen & curled with fright
his knees have trembled & given way in the night
his hand has weakened at the moment of truth
his step has faltered
One world, one soul
Time pass, the river roll
And he talks to the river of lost love and dedication
and silent replies that swirl invitation
flow dark and troubled to any oily sea
a grim intimation of what is to be
There's an unceasing wind that blows through this night
and there's dust in my eyes, that blinds my sight
and silence that speaks so much louder than words
of promises broken.
Lyrics submitted by Demau Senae
Track duration: 09:21
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This song is about a man suffering depression due to severe loss who is about to commit suicide via means of drowning himself.
'flow dark and troubled to an oily sea
of grim intimation of what is to be'
Think that line pretty much sums it up.
And I will add that this is one of my greatest songs of all time and have listened to it a thousand times since getting Delicate Sound of Thunder at the age of 5 (and I'm now 27). It is one of Gilmour's best lyrically and musically - and anyone who says that Gilmour can't write lyrics just as meaningful/powerful as Roger Waters does not know what they are talking about :-)
and according to Gilmour this song is his greater lyrical effort even if he doesen't seem to think that it's the best he's ever written.
I haven't read Steinbeck's book but maybe the whole song was inspired by it.
Anyway IMHO it's a beautiful song, except for the chorus.
Shine On
"a man lies and dreams of green fields and rivers"
"He's haunted by the memory of a lost paradise"
"And he talks to the river of lost love and dedication"
what do you think?
Grind838, the answer to your question is also there, on Delicate Sound of Thunder, try it.
The meaning, well, the title and the sound is pretty self explanatory, even if you don't understand one word of it, you'll get the feeling. Gilmour says a lot more with his guitar than with words anyway. But still "and silence that speaks so much louder than words
of promises broken" is beautifully poetic.
One of the greatest songs ever, and one that got me into the music in a very early stage of my life. My sincere thanks to David Gilmour for that.