"One of the Few" is a song by the British

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

band

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...

. It was released as the third track on '' The Final Cut'' album in 1983. The song is 1 minute and 12 seconds long. It features a ticking clock in the background and a steady drumbeat. The melody features most of the

D minor D minor is a minor scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has one flat. Its relative major is F major and its parallel major is D major. The D natural minor scale is: Changes needed for t ...

scale. The lyrics describe a war veteran's return from the battlefield (specifically a pilot from the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...

, commonly known as

The Few The Few were the airmen of the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the aviators of the Fleet Air Arm, Royal Navy (RN) who fought the Battle of Britain in the Second World War. The term comes from Winston Churchill's phrase "Never was so much owed by so ma ...

) to pursue teaching. The ticking clock continues to the next track, " The Hero's Return", which is sung from the veteran's perspective. This is one of the rejected songs from ''

The Wall ''The Wall'' is the eleventh studio album by the English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released on 30 November 1979 by Harvest/EMI and Columbia/CBS Records. It is a rock opera that explores Pink, a jaded rock star whose eventual self-imp ...

,'' and its working title was "Teach". The lyrics "''Make 'em laugh, Make 'em cry''" in the third and final verse of the song is reprised in the third verse of "

Not Now John "Not Now John" is a song by the progressive rock band Pink Floyd, written by Roger Waters. It appears on the album '' The Final Cut'' (1983). The track is the only one on the album featuring the lead vocals of David Gilmour, found in the verses, ...

" which is the twelfth track on ''The Final Cut''. The title, "One of the Few," is a reference to Winston Churchill’s speech before the House of Commons on August 20, 1940 in which he stated “Never was so much owed by so many to so few” in reference to the Royal Air Force's defence of Great Britain. The song was also covered by British rock band ''

Anathema Anathema, in common usage, is something or someone detested or shunned. In its other main usage, it is a formal excommunication. The latter meaning, its ecclesiastical sense, is based on New Testament usage. In the Old Testament, anathema was a cr ...

'' on their album ''

Alternative 4 Alternative 4 is a band formed by Duncan Patterson, known for his work with Antimatter, Íon, and Anathema. The band's name is taken from the Anathema album '' Alternative 4'', an album written largely by Patterson, whose title in turn derive ...

''.

Reception

In a retrospective review for ''The Final Cut'', Rachel Mann of ''

The Quietus ''The Quietus'' is a British online music and pop culture magazine founded by John Doran and Luke Turner. The site is an editorially independent publication led by Doran with a group of freelance journalists and critics. Content ''The Quiet ...

'' described "One of the Few" as "plaintive and consciously echoes

Wilfred Owen Wilfred Edward Salter Owen MC (18 March 1893 – 4 November 1918) was an English poet and soldier. He was one of the leading poets of the First World War. His war poetry on the horrors of trenches and gas warfare was much influenced by ...

's poem ''The Send Off'', with its talk of siding sheds and the trains ready to take young men to their deaths."

Personnel

Roger Waters George Roger Waters (born 6 September 1943) is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. In 1965, he co-founded the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. Waters initially served as the bassist, but following the departure of singer-so ...

– vocals, acoustic guitar, synthesizer, bass guitar

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:One Of The Few 1983 songs Pink Floyd songs Songs written by Roger Waters Song recordings produced by Roger Waters