"The Final Cut" is the title track from Pink Floyd's 1983 album '' The Final Cut''.

Background

This song tells of a man's isolation, depression,

sexual repression Sexual repression is a state in which a person is prevented from expressing their own sexuality. Sexual repression is often linked with feelings of guilt or shame being associated with sexual impulses. Defining characteristics and practices ass ...

and rejection. At the end of the song he attempts suicide but "never had the nerve to make the final cut". Additionally, the song may be told from its main character of Pink. "The Final Cut" is one of four songs (along with " The Hero's Return", " One of the Few", and "

Your Possible Pasts "Your Possible Pasts" (mislabeled as "Your Impossible Pasts" on a radio promo single) is a song from Pink Floyd's 1983 album '' The Final Cut''. This song was one of several to be considered for the band's "best of" album, '' Echoes: The Best of Pi ...

") used in ''The Final Cut'' that had been previously rejected 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 ...

''. This song is in the video version of the album '' The Final Cut Video EP''. The song made an appearance as the B-side of the "Selections from the Final Cut" radio promo single (with "Your Possible Pasts" on the A-side.) It also appears in the film '' Strange Frame''.

Personnel

* Roger Waters – vocals, bass guitar, acoustic guitar, tape effects * David Gilmour – guitar, backing vocals * Nick Mason – drums, tambourine with: *

Michael Kamen Michael Arnold Kamen (April 15, 1948 – November 18, 2003) was an American composer (especially of film scores), orchestral arranger, orchestral conductor, songwriter, and session musician. Biography Early life Michael Arnold Kamen was born ...

– piano,

harmonium The pump organ is a type of free-reed organ that generates sound as air flows past a vibrating piece of thin metal in a frame. The piece of metal is called a reed. Specific types of pump organ include the reed organ, harmonium, and melodeon. Th ...

, orchestrations

Cultural references

* The album '' The Dark Side of the Moog VI'' (1997) by

Klaus Schulze Klaus Schulze (4 August 1947 – 26 April 2022) was a German electronic music pioneer, composer and musician. He also used the alias Richard Wahnfried and was a member of the Krautrock bands Tangerine Dream, Ash Ra Tempel, and The Cosmic Jokers ...

and

Pete Namlook Pete Namlook (born 25 November 1960 as Peter Kuhlmann in Frankfurt, West Germany, died on 8 November 2012) was an ambient and electronic music producer and composer. In 1992, he founded the German record label FAX +49-69/450464, which he oversa ...

is subtitled "The Final DAT".

References

1983 songs Pink Floyd songs Rock ballads Anti-war songs Songs about suicide Songs about mental health Songs written by Roger Waters Song recordings produced by Roger Waters {{1980s-rock-song-stub