"The Bravery of Being Out of Range" is the fifth song and second single from the album, ''

Amused to Death ''Amused to Death'' is the third studio album by English musician Roger Waters, released 7 September 1992 on Columbia. Produced by Waters and Patrick Leonard, it is mixed in QSound to enhance its spatial feel. The album features Jeff Beck o ...

'', released by former Pink Floyd bassist, Roger Waters. According to Waters, the song was written as a criticism of the neoliberal policies adopted by Ronald Reagan and

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...

Overview

The song follows the point of view of a politician fighting the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

from afar, as though it is a game, continuing the theme explored in the album's previous song,

Perfect Sense ''Perfect Sense'' is a 2011 science fiction romantic drama film directed by David Mackenzie (director), David Mackenzie, written by Kim Fupz Aakeson and starring Eva Green and Ewan McGregor. In the film, a chef (McGregor) and a scientist (Gree ...

, where live transmissions of wars are a form of entertainment.White 1992, p. 5 The song includes a reference to a song written by Waters on Pink Floyd's 1977 album ''

Animals Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and go through an ontogenetic stage in ...

'', "

Sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated ...

", and to the 1909 song " Swing Low, Sweet Chariot". In "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot", the lyrics say, "I looked over Jordan and what did I see? Coming for to carry me home". In "Sheep" Waters sings, "I've looked over Jordan and I have seen, things are not what they seem"; in "The Bravery of Being Out of Range," he sings "I looked over Jordan and what did I see? I saw a U.S. Marine in a pile of debris". The song was part of the 2015 re-released and remastered edition of the album, this version featured a new lead guitar part performed by Jeff Beck.

Personnel

Amused to Death version

The following people are credited with the original 1992 version, and the 2015 reissue: * Roger Waters –

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

twelve-string guitar A twelve-string guitar (or 12-string guitar) is a steel-string guitar with 12 strings in six courses, which produces a thicker, more ringing tone than a standard six-string guitar. Typically, the strings of the lower four courses are tuned in o ...

Patrick Leonard Patrick Ray Leonard (born March 14, 1956) is an American songwriter, keyboardist, film composer, and music producer, best known for his longtime collaboration with Madonna. His work with Madonna includes her albums '' True Blue'' (1986), ''Who's ...

–

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

s, Hammond organ,

synthesisers A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

Tim Pierce Tim Pierce (born 1959 in Albuquerque) is an American session guitarist. He has worked for artists such as Joe Cocker, Crowded House, Goo Goo Dolls, Michael Jackson, Beth Hart, Roger Waters, Alice Cooper, Johnny Hallyday, Phil Collins, and the ...

–

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

* Jeff Beck –

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featu ...

(2015 reissue only) *John Pierce – bass *Denny Fongheiser – drums *Lynn Fiddmont-Linsey –

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are ...

*Natalie Jackson –

In the Flesh – Live version

From video and album credits * Roger Waters – electric guitar, vocals *

Doyle Bramhall II Doyle Bramhall II (born December 24, 1968) is an American guitarist, producer and songwriter best known for his work with Eric Clapton and Roger Waters. He is the son of the songwriter and drummer Doyle Bramhall. Early life Bramhall was born i ...

– electric guitar *

Andy Fairweather Low Andrew Fairweather Low (born 2 August 1948) is a Welsh guitarist and singer. He was a founding member and lead singer of 1960s pop band Amen Corner, and in recent years has toured extensively with Roger Waters, Eric Clapton and Bill Wyman's R ...

– bass guitar *

Snowy White Terence Charles "Snowy" White (born 3 March 1948, Barnstaple, Devon) is an English guitarist, known for having played with Thin Lizzy (permanent member from 1980 to 1982) and with Pink Floyd (as a backing guitarist; he was first invited to tour ...

– electric guitar * Andy Wallace – Hammond organ *

Jon Carin Jon Carin (born October 21, 1964) is a musician, singer, songwriter and producer who has been a longtime collaborator with the bands Pink Floyd and The Who, and the solo careers of David Gilmour and Roger Waters, Pete Townshend, Eddie Vedder, ...

– keyboards *

Katie Kissoon Mac and Katie Kissoon are a pop soul duo, consisting of brother and sister Mac Kissoon (born Gerald Farthing, November 11, 1943, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago) and Katie Kissoon (born Katherine Farthing, March 11, 1951, Port of Spain). E ...

– backing vocals *

Susannah Melvoin Susannah Melvoin (born January 26, 1964) is an American vocalist and songwriter. Melvoin is best known for her association with Prince in the mid-1980s. Melvoin comes from a musical family and is the twin sister of musician Wendy Melvoin, sister ...

– backing vocals * P. P. Arnold – backing vocals *

Graham Broad Graham Broad (born 10 March 1957) is an English drummer who has been playing professionally since the age of fifteen, after attending the Royal College of Music in 1970. He is a former pupil of drumming educator Lloyd Ryan, who also taught Ph ...

– drums, percussion

Lockdown sessions version

From YouTube video and description * Roger Waters –

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 keybo ...

, vocals *

Dave Kilminster David Kilminster (born 25 January 1962) is a British guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, producer and music teacher, who has toured as a sideman to several prestigious musicians, including progressive rock artists Steven Wilson and Roger Waters. ...

– guitar *

Joey Waronker Jon Joseph Waronker (born May 20, 1969) is an American drummer and music producer. He is best known as a regular drummer of both Beck and R.E.M., and as member of the experimental rock bands Atoms for Peace and Ultraísta. Background Waronke ...

– drums *

Lucius Lucius ( el, Λούκιος ''Loukios''; ett, Luvcie) is a male given name derived from '' Lucius'' (abbreviated ''L.''), one of the small group of common Latin forenames ('' praenomina'') found in the culture of ancient Rome. Lucius derives from ...

- Jess Wolfe and

Holly Laessig Lucius is an American four-piece indie pop band. The group was founded by lead vocalists Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig, joined by drummer Dan Molad, guitarist Peter Lalish, and, formerly, multi-instrumentalist Andrew Burri. Originating in Brooklyn, ...

– vocals * Gus Seyffert – bass * Jonathan Wilson – guitar *

– piano, keyboards, acoustic guitar (uncredited) * Bo Koster – Hammond organ

Live performances

The song was performed as part of Waters'

In the Flesh In the Flesh may refer to: Books * ''In the Flesh'' (2009 graphic novel), a collection of stories by Koren Shadmi Film and TV * ''In the Flesh'' (1998 film), an American gay-themed murder mystery film * ''In the Flesh'' (2003 film), an Indian ...

tour, playing a similar part to his original 12 string part on an electric guitar. In 2000, a recording of this was released as the sixth track of the second disk of the live album,

In the Flesh – Live ''In the Flesh – Live'' is a two-disc live album that captures performances from Roger Waters' three-year In the Flesh tour. Overview "My view is that I've been involved in two absolutely classic albums – ''The Dark Side of the Moon'' an ...

. This track has a length of 5:05, and features additional vocals by

, P. P. Arnold, and

. Like other songs from ''Amused to Death'' performed on the In the Flesh tour, it featured differences, like a new

part played by

. this new lead guitar part is similar to the parted added by Jeff Beck to the 2015 re-release. Waters performed the song at the

Newport Folk Festival Newport Folk Festival is an annual American folk-oriented music festival in Newport, Rhode Island, which began in 1959 as a counterpart to the Newport Jazz Festival. It was one of the first modern music festivals in America, and remains a foca ...

in 2015, for the first time in 13 years. Waters played the acoustic guitar on this version with

My Morning Jacket My Morning Jacket is an American rock band formed in Louisville, Kentucky in 1998. The band consists of vocalist/guitarist Jim James, bassist Tom Blankenship, drummer Patrick Hallahan, guitarist Carl Broemel, and keyboardist Bo Koster. The ...

and G.E Smith performing the rest of the instrumentation. Waters subsequently performed the song as an encore at some shows during the

Us + Them tour The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. When performed, Waters sang an additional new verse, created to express his feelings of despair at the lack of change, regarding politics and war, in subsequent years, Waters later used the same verse during the Lockdown re-recording.

References

;Citations ;Sources * Roger Waters songs 1992 singles Songs written by Roger Waters 1992 songs {{DEFAULTSORT:Bravery of Being Out of Range