Breathe (Pink Floyd song)
| "Breathe" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Pink Floyd from the album The Dark Side of the Moon | |
| Released | 1973 |
| Recorded | June 1972 – January 1973 |
| Genre | Progressive rock |
| Length | 2:47 |
| Writer | David Gilmour, Roger Waters, Richard Wright |
| The Dark Side of the Moon track listing | |
|
Side one
Side two
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"Breathe" (also known as "Breathe (In The Air)") is a song by progressive rock band Pink Floyd and appears on their album The Dark Side of the Moon.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Authorship and composition
The authorship and composition of this song is credited to David Gilmour and Richard Wright for the music, and Roger Waters for the lyrics.[1] The song is slow-paced and rich in texture, and features David Gilmour playing the lush electric guitar with a Uni-Vibe and lap steel guitar with a volume pedal and several overdubs.[2] On the original album, it is a separate track from "Speak to Me", the sound collage which opens the album.[1] Since this track segues directly into "Breathe" through the use of a sustained backwards piano chord, the two are conjoined on most CD versions of the album.[3] A one-minute reprise is featured at the end of the song "Time",[1] without the slide guitar and with a more subdued organ.
Along with the other Pink Floyd tracks, "Time" and "The Great Gig in the Sky", "Breathe" is seen as Gilmour "carving out a more distinctive style" with the introduction of blues-based chords and solos.[4] "Breathe" has also been seen to "embrace ecology".[5]
It was one of twenty songs that had to be cut from Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd due to pacing. The reprise, however, is included on the album following with "Time" (though not on the tracklisting or lyric sheet).
[edit] Alternative and live versions
- The P·U·L·S·E CD and DVD features a live version of the song[1] with a run time of 2:33.
- The song was played at the Live 8 concert and features on the DVD. For that performance, "Breathe" and "Breathe (Reprise)" were combined to form one song. Although Pink Floyd themselves had never done this before, Sea of Green had previously covered the song in this manner on their 2001 album Time to Fly.
- The solo Roger Waters DVD and CD, In the Flesh – Live, features a version of the song sung by Doyle Bramhall and Jon Carin.
- Roger Waters originally recorded a song called "Breathe" for Music from The Body, a soundtrack album which he recorded with Ron Geesin.[1] Although the two are largely different in lyrics, chords and subject matter,[1] this version can be seen as an early version of the song. Although the song is still available through a CD release of this soundtrack album, it often appears on Pink Floyd bootlegs, most notably on A Tree Full of Secrets.
- Live versions with Rick Wright appear on the David Gilmour solo Remember That Night DVD and Live in Gdańsk CD. The Live in Gdańsk version is titled "Breathe (In the Air)" rather than just "Breathe".
[edit] Personnel
- David Gilmour — music, lead guitar, slide guitar, lead vocals, backing vocals
- Roger Waters — lyrics, bass guitar
- Richard Wright — music, organ, electric piano, backing vocals
- Nick Mason — drums, percussion
[edit] Cover versions
- "Breathe" is covered on Pink Floyd tribute album An All Star Lineup Performing the Songs of Pink Floyd featuring McAuley Schenker Group vocalist Robin McAuley and Steely Dan/Doobie Brothers guitarist Jeff "Skunk" Baxter.
- An orchestrated version, arranged by Jaz Coleman appears on the 1995 London Philharmonic Orchestra album Us and Them: Symphonic Pink Floyd.[6]
- Sea of Green cover Breathe and Breathe (Reprise) on their album Time to Fly.
- Breathe is also covered by the southern metal band Hognose on their album ¡El Sombrero!, released by Arclight Records.
- A version of Breathe by The Shins is included on the 2007 compilation album The Saturday Sessions: The Dermot O'Leary Show.[7]
- Flaming Lips included a version of "Breathe" in their act at the Glastonbury Festival in 2003[8] and performed a live version for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon in 2010.[9] Flaming Lips also covered the song with Stardeath and White Dwarfs on the band's 2009 album The Flaming Lips and Stardeath and White Dwarfs with Henry Rollins and Peaches Doing The Dark Side of the Moon.
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g Mabbett, Andy (1995). The Complete Guide to the Music of Pink Floyd. London: Omnibus,. ISBN 071194301x.
- ^ Richard Chapman (1994), Guitar: Music History Players, Dorling Kindersley, ISBN 078949700X.
- ^ Allmusic
- ^ Gulla, Bob (2008). Guitar Gods: The 25 Players Who Made Rock History. Greenwood Press (Westport, Conn.). p. 93. ISBN 0-313-35806-0.
- ^ Schinder, Scott; Schwartz, Andy (2008). Icons of Rock. Greenwood Press (Westport, Conn.). p. 447.
- ^ "Us and Them: Symphonic Pink Floyd by London Philharmonic Orchestra; Alibris UK". Alibris.co.uk. 1995-10-10. http://www.alibris.co.uk/musicsearch?qsort=&page=1&matches=6&browse=1&qwork=400229271&mtype=M&full=1. Retrieved 2010-06-02.
- ^ "The Saturday Sessions: The Dermot O'Leary Show'". allmusic. 2007-07-09. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r1110994. Retrieved 2010-06-02.
- ^ "Saturday Review - Glastonbury Festival 2003". Efestivals.com. 2003-07-08. http://www.efestivals.com/festivals/glastonbury/2003/review-saturday1.shtml. Retrieved 2010-06-02.
- ^ "Video: The Flaming Lips Do Pink Floyd's "Breathe" on "Jimmy Fallon"". Pitchfork. http://pitchfork.com/news/38532-video-the-flaming-lips-do-pink-floyds-breathe-on-jimmy-fallon/. Retrieved 2010-06-02.
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