Wow, I only read this first page of comments, but have any of you listen to the ENTIRE album? Every Pink Floyd album is a story.
This track focuses on the dead gunner from WWII and the Veteran Teacher from the Wall who was with him. It speaks of the teacher's overflowing depression and struggle.
Through the fish-eyed lens of tear stained eyes
I can barely define the shape of this moment in time
And far from flying high in clear blue skies
I'm spiralling down to the hole in the ground where I hide
The person speaking is the Veteran teacher from The Wall, who is crying over his life and the memory of the Gunner who fell from his plane to his death over hostile German territory. (Listen to Gunners Dream) This is what "Far from flying high in clear blue skies" is referring to, however he is FAR from them because the war is in the past and he's no longer there, yet he is still falling into great depression over it. Hence the spiraling hole. (The hole in the ground could also be a double meaning for the trenches used in the war, adding more imagery to the memory of the gunner.)
If you negotiate the minefield in the drive
And beat the dogs and cheat the cold electronic eyes
And if you make it past the shotgun in the hall
Dial the combination open the priesthole
And if I'm in I'll tell you what's behind the wall
The teacher has become such an introvert over time with the memories of his fallen comrades and depression that he has built a wall around himself (listen to Paranoid Eyes). The first half of the stanza is a metaphorical defense system that a person would have to fight through in order for him to open up to them. Mines in his driveway, guard dogs, security systems, shot guns in his hallway, then to open a tiny preisthole in a door and if by some miracle he is in that day, THEN they MIGHT get to know what is in his head.
There's a kid who had a big hallucination
Making love to girls in magazines
He wonders if you're sleeping with your new found faith
Could anybody love him
Or is it just a crazy dream?
The kid is him, obviously, idk if the masturbation is referring to the loneliness he is currently in with his abusive wife (known from songs on The Wall album), or the loneliness soldiers feel while at war.
He wonders if this ungrateful world is at peace with what they have done and find comfort in all the people dying and in what the war stood for.
Then he returns to himself wondering if anyone could love a man such as him, or is it all just a crazy dream, referring to the Post war and Gunners dream, both separate tracks on the album.
And if I show you my dark side
Will you still hold me tonight?
And if I open my heart to you
And show you my weak side
What would you do?
Would you sell your story to Rolling Stone?
Would you take the children away
And leave me alone?
And smile in reassurance
As you whisper down the phone
Would you send me packing?
Or would you take me home?
This is a rather self-explanatory verse, obviously he is scared that if anyone finds his dark side with all it's troubles and torment, that they will reject him or take advantage of him and abuse his trust by making him a tabloid.
Thought I oughta bare my naked feelings
Thought I oughta tear the curtain down
I held the blade in trembling hands
Prepared to make it but just then the phone rang
I never had the nerve to make the final cut
The last stanza is him swallowing and resisting his raw feelings and fear. I'm not sure what the curtain is, perhaps it's going back to his metaphor of his overly guarded house, and by taking the curtains down he is exposing himself a little by committing suicide. The last two lines are easy.
If anyone really wants to understand this song, or any other Pink Floyd song for that matter, you have to listen to the ENTIRE ALBUM. They are all stories and all the songs and even albums have similarities and references to each other. You cannot just listen to them separately.
@Stryder16 A very commendable interpretation. You\'re correct in the story aspect of their albums. It\'s obviously about the Falklands War. \r\nThe album\'s title is actually named as it is because originally it was a proposed \'final cut\' of The Wall, with all the songs and remixes that were in the film - A director\'s cut, of sorts
@Stryder16 A very commendable interpretation. You\'re correct in the story aspect of their albums. It\'s obviously about the Falklands War. \r\nThe album\'s title is actually named as it is because originally it was a proposed \'final cut\' of The Wall, with all the songs and remixes that were in the film - A director\'s cut, of sorts
Wow, I only read this first page of comments, but have any of you listen to the ENTIRE album? Every Pink Floyd album is a story.
This track focuses on the dead gunner from WWII and the Veteran Teacher from the Wall who was with him. It speaks of the teacher's overflowing depression and struggle.
Through the fish-eyed lens of tear stained eyes I can barely define the shape of this moment in time And far from flying high in clear blue skies I'm spiralling down to the hole in the ground where I hide
The person speaking is the Veteran teacher from The Wall, who is crying over his life and the memory of the Gunner who fell from his plane to his death over hostile German territory. (Listen to Gunners Dream) This is what "Far from flying high in clear blue skies" is referring to, however he is FAR from them because the war is in the past and he's no longer there, yet he is still falling into great depression over it. Hence the spiraling hole. (The hole in the ground could also be a double meaning for the trenches used in the war, adding more imagery to the memory of the gunner.)
If you negotiate the minefield in the drive And beat the dogs and cheat the cold electronic eyes And if you make it past the shotgun in the hall Dial the combination open the priesthole And if I'm in I'll tell you what's behind the wall
The teacher has become such an introvert over time with the memories of his fallen comrades and depression that he has built a wall around himself (listen to Paranoid Eyes). The first half of the stanza is a metaphorical defense system that a person would have to fight through in order for him to open up to them. Mines in his driveway, guard dogs, security systems, shot guns in his hallway, then to open a tiny preisthole in a door and if by some miracle he is in that day, THEN they MIGHT get to know what is in his head.
There's a kid who had a big hallucination Making love to girls in magazines He wonders if you're sleeping with your new found faith Could anybody love him Or is it just a crazy dream?
The kid is him, obviously, idk if the masturbation is referring to the loneliness he is currently in with his abusive wife (known from songs on The Wall album), or the loneliness soldiers feel while at war. He wonders if this ungrateful world is at peace with what they have done and find comfort in all the people dying and in what the war stood for. Then he returns to himself wondering if anyone could love a man such as him, or is it all just a crazy dream, referring to the Post war and Gunners dream, both separate tracks on the album.
And if I show you my dark side Will you still hold me tonight? And if I open my heart to you And show you my weak side What would you do? Would you sell your story to Rolling Stone? Would you take the children away And leave me alone? And smile in reassurance As you whisper down the phone Would you send me packing? Or would you take me home?
This is a rather self-explanatory verse, obviously he is scared that if anyone finds his dark side with all it's troubles and torment, that they will reject him or take advantage of him and abuse his trust by making him a tabloid.
Thought I oughta bare my naked feelings Thought I oughta tear the curtain down I held the blade in trembling hands Prepared to make it but just then the phone rang I never had the nerve to make the final cut
The last stanza is him swallowing and resisting his raw feelings and fear. I'm not sure what the curtain is, perhaps it's going back to his metaphor of his overly guarded house, and by taking the curtains down he is exposing himself a little by committing suicide. The last two lines are easy.
If anyone really wants to understand this song, or any other Pink Floyd song for that matter, you have to listen to the ENTIRE ALBUM. They are all stories and all the songs and even albums have similarities and references to each other. You cannot just listen to them separately.
@Stryder16 A very commendable interpretation. You\'re correct in the story aspect of their albums. It\'s obviously about the Falklands War. \r\nThe album\'s title is actually named as it is because originally it was a proposed \'final cut\' of The Wall, with all the songs and remixes that were in the film - A director\'s cut, of sorts
@Stryder16 A very commendable interpretation. You\'re correct in the story aspect of their albums. It\'s obviously about the Falklands War. \r\nThe album\'s title is actually named as it is because originally it was a proposed \'final cut\' of The Wall, with all the songs and remixes that were in the film - A director\'s cut, of sorts