"Speak to Me" is the first track on
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
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 ...
's 1973 album, ''
The Dark Side of the Moon
''The Dark Side of the Moon'' is the eighth studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 1 March 1973 by Harvest Records. The album was primarily developed during live performances, and the band premiered an early version of ...
'', on which it forms an
overture
Overture (from French ''ouverture'', "opening") in music was originally the instrumental introduction to a ballet, opera, or oratorio in the 17th century. During the early Romantic era, composers such as Beethoven and Mendelssohn composed overt ...
.
Nick Mason
Nicholas Berkeley Mason, (born 27 January 1944) is an English drummer and a founder member of the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. He is the only member to feature on every Pink Floyd album, and the only constant member since its formation in ...
receives a rare solo writing credit for the track, though recollections differ as to the reasons for this. Mason states that he created the track himself, whereas
Richard Wright and
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 ...
stated the credit was a "gift" to Mason to give him some publishing income (subsequently regretted by the latter, following his acrimonious departure from the band). Live versions are included on ''
Pulse
In medicine, a pulse represents the tactile arterial palpation of the cardiac cycle (heartbeat) by trained fingertips. The pulse may be palpated in any place that allows an artery to be compressed near the surface of the body, such as at the nec ...
'' (1995) and ''The Dark Side of the Moon Live at Wembley 1974'' (2023).
Recording
On 23 June 1972 a brief sound collage had been pieced together featuring parts recorded from completed songs by that date; not much work would continue.
Waters later began to compile a series of questions that tied to the concept of the album; he wrote the questions on cards and paced them in the recording booth where sat those who were to answer the questions - they would read the question silently and then speak their answer which would be recorded. One of these questions was “What’s your favourite colour?", which was intended to ease the interviewee into the conversation. The questions would then escalate to questions like, “When was last time you thumped someone?", "Why did you do it?", "Were you in the right?", "Are you afraid of dying?", “Do you think you’re going mad?”, and "What do you think of the dark side of the moon?".
On 1 November 1972, whilst
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
was in one of the other studios recording ''
Red Rose Speedway
''Red Rose Speedway'' is the second studio album by the British–American rock band Wings, although credited to "Paul McCartney and Wings". The album was released by Beatles-owned label Apple Records in April 1973, preceded by its lead single, t ...
'', Waters decided to ask McCartney and his wife,
Linda
Linda may refer to:
As a name
* Linda (given name), a female given name (including a list of people and fictional characters so named)
* Linda (singer) (born 1977), stage name of Svetlana Geiman, a Russian singer
* Anita Linda (born Alice Lake i ...
to take part in the questions, recording their answers. The song would be worked on during the same day. Later, while mixing the album in late January 1973, the inclusion of the McCartneys was vetoed. This was because Waters felt his responses were too defensive and professional. Clary Torry's vocal on "The Great Gig in the Sky", which was recorded on 21 January 1973, would also be added to the collage.
Composition
The song itself is a
sound collage
In music, montage (literally "putting together") or sound collage ("gluing together") is a technique where newly branded sound objects or compositions, including songs, are created from collage, also known as montage. This is often done throug ...
, which features no
lyrics
Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, a ...
(although it contains parts of the conversation tapes that Pink Floyd recorded, as well a short snippet of
Clare Torry
Clare H. Torry (born 29 November 1947) is a British singer, well known for writing and performing the wordless vocals on the song " The Great Gig in the Sky" by the group Pink Floyd on their 1973 album '' The Dark Side of the Moon''. She also c ...
's vocal performance on "
The Great Gig in the Sky
"The Great Gig in the Sky" is the fifth track on ''The Dark Side of the Moon'', the 1973 album by the English progressive rock band Pink Floyd. The song features music by Richard Wright and non-lexical vocals by Clare Torry, being one of only ...
"), and consists of a series of sound effects. It leads into the first performance piece on the album, "
Breathe". As a result, they are usually played together on the radio, and most later re-releases merge the two songs.
Sound effects
Noticeable sound and instrument effects include:
*Heartbeat; this can also be heard at the end of "
Eclipse
An eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when an astronomical object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. This alignment of three ce ...
"
*Clock ticking, also heard in "
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
"
*Manic laughter of
Peter Watts, also heard in "
Brain Damage
Neurotrauma, brain damage or brain injury (BI) is the destruction or degeneration of brain cells. Brain injuries occur due to a wide range of internal and external factors. In general, brain damage refers to significant, undiscriminating t ...
"
*Cash register, paper tearing, and coins falling, also heard in "
Money
Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money are as ...
"
*Helicopter noise, also heard in "
On the Run
On the Run may refer to:
* "On the run", a phrase often used to describe a fugitive, a person fleeing custody
Literature
* ''On the Run'' (novel), by Nina Bawden
* On the Run (novel series), by Gordon Korman
* ''On the Run'', a novel in the S ...
"
*
Clare Torry
Clare H. Torry (born 29 November 1947) is a British singer, well known for writing and performing the wordless vocals on the song " The Great Gig in the Sky" by the group Pink Floyd on their 1973 album '' The Dark Side of the Moon''. She also c ...
's scream, also heard in "
The Great Gig in the Sky
"The Great Gig in the Sky" is the fifth track on ''The Dark Side of the Moon'', the 1973 album by the English progressive rock band Pink Floyd. The song features music by Richard Wright and non-lexical vocals by Clare Torry, being one of only ...
"
*Backwards piano chord, which leads into "
Breathe"
Spoken parts
Personnel
*
Nick Mason
Nicholas Berkeley Mason, (born 27 January 1944) is an English drummer and a founder member of the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. He is the only member to feature on every Pink Floyd album, and the only constant member since its formation in ...
–
percussion
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...
,
tape effects,
tape loop
In music, tape loops are loops of magnetic tape used to create repetitive, rhythmic musical patterns or dense layers of sound when played on a tape recorder. Originating in the 1940s with the work of Pierre Schaeffer, they were used among cont ...
s
*
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 ...
– tape effects, tape loops
*
Richard Wright –
reversed piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
References
;Footnotes
;Citations
{{Authority control
1973 songs
Pink Floyd songs
Experimental music compositions
Rock instrumentals
Songs written by Nick Mason
Song recordings produced by David Gilmour
Song recordings produced by Roger Waters
Song recordings produced by Richard Wright (musician)
Song recordings produced by Nick Mason
he:The Dark Side of the Moon#Speak to Me