Stay (Pink Floyd song)
| "Stay" | ||||||||||
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| Single by Pink Floyd | ||||||||||
| from the album Obscured by Clouds | ||||||||||
| A-side | "Free Four" (US single) | |||||||||
| Released | June 3, 1972 (UK) June 15, 1972 (US) July 10, 1972 (US single) |
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| Recorded | February–March 1972 Château d'Hérouville, Pontoise, France |
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| Genre | Progressive rock | |||||||||
| Length | 4:07 | |||||||||
| Label | Harvest | |||||||||
| Writer(s) | Roger Waters, Richard Wright | |||||||||
| Producer | Pink Floyd | |||||||||
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"Stay" is a song from Pink Floyd's 1972 album Obscured by Clouds.[1][2] It is known for being one of the album's particularly slow-moving, lyrical songs. The song was also issued as the B-side of "Free Four".[citation needed]
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[edit] Lyrics
The lyrics, written by Roger Waters and music written and sung by Richard Wright, vacillate between frustration and indifference felt towards a casual sex partner (perhaps a groupie).[3] In this regard it is not unlike Wright's own "Summer '68".[citation needed]
[edit] Music
Musically, the main theme and verse of the song stays on a pedal point of G in the bass, while the chords above it change in a typical I-IV-V progression (G, C, and D major). The D major over the G bass results in the appearance of a G major ninth chord, evoking a "melancholy" or "bittersweet" feeling. The chorus modulates to the parallel minor, with a chord change of G minor to C major, a common progression in Wright's compositions. (See "Pow R. Toc H.", the "Funky Dung" section of the "Atom Heart Mother" suite, or "The Great Gig in the Sky".) Because this chord change evokes a ii-V-I progression left unfinished (it would have to resolve to F major), the effect is appropriately dissatisfying, as the chorus delves into a profusion of barely-related chords, a convoluted but eventually successful attempt to resolve back to G major.[4]
[edit] Instrumentation
The instrumentation is mostly Wright's piano and Waters' bass guitar, with a solo and other ornamental touches from guitarist David Gilmour making heavy use of a clean wah-wah pedal.
[edit] References
- ^ Strong, Martin C. (2004). The Great Rock Discography (7th ed.). Edinburgh: Canongate Books. p. 1177. ISBN 1-84195-551-5.
- ^ Mabbett, Andy (1995). The Complete Guide to the Music of Pink Floyd. London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-4301-X.
- ^ Mabbett, Andy (2004). "Obscured by Clouds" (in German). Pink Floyd — Story und Songs kompakt. Berlin: Bosworth Edition. p. 47. ISBN 3-937041-92-3.
- ^ "Stay". Pink Floyd Anthology. Hal Leonard Corporation. February 1, 1986. pp. 62–65. ISBN 978-0881884456.
[edit] External links
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