"What God Wants, Part I" is the first song in a series of songs written and released by former Pink Floyd bassist, Roger Waters on his third solo 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 ...

''. "What God Wants" is separated into three parts, similar to Pink Floyd's earlier "

Another Brick in the Wall "Another Brick in the Wall" is a three-part composition on Pink Floyd's 1979 rock opera '' The Wall,'' written by bassist Roger Waters. "Part 2", a protest song against corporal punishment, and rigid and abusive schooling, features a chil ...

". "What God Wants, Part I" was released as a lead single from the album b/w Part III.

Lyrics and music

"What God Wants, Part I" deals with the contradictory duality and hypocrisy perceived by Waters in dogmatic

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...

and its power over man. The following parts, along with other songs on the album, deal with worship in religion and in regard to materialism and

consumption Consumption may refer to: *Resource consumption *Tuberculosis, an infectious disease, historically * Consumption (ecology), receipt of energy by consuming other organisms * Consumption (economics), the purchasing of newly produced goods for curren ...

. All together, its viewpoint is on the power of simplistic conformity; how people adhere to something, not entirely by volition, but out of submission. "I'm very upset by religious

dogma Dogma is a belief or set of beliefs that is accepted by the members of a group without being questioned or doubted. It may be in the form of an official system of principles or doctrines of a religion, such as Roman Catholicism, Judaism, Isla ...

," Waters remarked. "I get angry – gobsmacked, in fact – when I hear George Bush saying that God was on their side during 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, ...

. It's amazing that, in 1992, one of the most powerful men in the world can reduce political rhetoric to that level." The song features the guitar playing of Jeff Beck.

Music video

A video was released, featuring gorillas watching TV, CGI and

stop motion Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames i ...

animation of a frog skeleton picking at a piece of cheese on a mouse trap, only to be subdued by electrical wiring and fused with the cheese to create a small television set. The video was directed by Tony Kaye and produced by Sarah Whistler. Animation for the video was contracted out to several studios, including Pacific Data Images (CG) and Will Vinton Studios (stop-motion). Crew members for Pacific Data Images include Raman Hui, the stop-motion animation artists included Chuck Duke, Scott Nordlund, Webster Colcord and Schell Hickel. On July 21, 2015, Waters and ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' premiered a remastered version of the original video, featuring updated computer graphics and an all-new transfer of the original 35mm footage of Waters in the studio with guitarist Jeff Beck. The video is being presented exclusively through ''

'' by

VEVO Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, ...

and

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainme ...

Release

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

refused to play the single as it was too much of a "touchy" song to be played with such frequency, which angered Waters.

Personnel

* Roger Waters - vocals, EMU synthesizer, bass * Jeff Beck - lead guitar *

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 ...

- keyboards, choir arrangement *

Geoff Whitehorn Geoffrey Charles Whitehorn (born 29 August 1951, London, England) is a guitarist and singer-songwriter, who has played as a member of If, Crawler and Procol Harum. History In August 1973, Whitehorn joined the pioneering British jazz-rock ba ...

- "Arpeggio" 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' ...

- rhythm electric and acoustic guitars *

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 ...

- "Chorus" guitar * Randy Jackson - bass * Graham Broad - drums *

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 ...

, Doreen Chanter,

N'Dea Davenport N'Dea Davenport (born September 22, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer and producer. She was the lead vocalist in the UK acid jazz band the Brand New Heavies and made pioneering contributions to the genre of acid jazz. Career He ...

, and Natalie Jackson - backing vocals *

London Welsh Chorale London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major se ...

conducted by Kenneth Bowen All credits are according to 2015 reissue liner notes.

Chart performance

References

{{Authority control Roger Waters songs 1992 singles Songs critical of religion Songs written by Roger Waters 1992 songs Columbia Records singles