Empty Spaces
| "Empty Spaces" | |
|---|---|
| Song |
"Empty Spaces" is a song by the British progressive rock band Pink Floyd. It was released on The Wall album in 1979, and, like most of the album, was written by Roger Waters.
Composition
The song is 2 minutes and 8 seconds in length and features a long introductory section. Around 48 seconds into the song, the tone changes, and the piece becomes slightly louder. After another 26 seconds, a hidden message can be heard within the track. Immediately after, the lyrical portion commences. The song ends abruptly, as the last word of the song, "wall" isn't completed until the beginning of next track, "Young Lust", For this reason, they are often played together on the radio, and sometimes are incorrectly referred to as just "Young Lust". On XM Satellite Radio, it is the opposite scenario, as the two songs are billed on the radio's song ID as simply Empty Spaces, with no mention of Young Lust.
Plot
As with the other songs on The Wall, "Empty Spaces" tells a portion of the story of "Pink", the album's protagonist. Pink is now grown up and married, but he and his wife are having relationship problems because of his distance as a result of his halfway built wall. Pink wonders what he should use to complete its construction.
Adaptations and other versions
On both the film adaptation and the recording of the live performance of this album, an extended version of the song is used, entitled "What Shall We Do Now?"
Hidden message
Directly before the lyrical section, there is a hidden message. It is isolated on the left channel of the song. When heard normally, it appears to be nonsense. If played backwards, the following can be heard: [1][2]
- -Hello, hunter(s)... Congratulations. You've just discovered the secret message. Please send your answer to Old Pink, care of the Funny Farm, Chalfont...
- -Roger! Carolyn's on the phone!
- -Okay.
It is believed that this backward message is a comical reference to former lead singer/guitarist Syd Barrett. Roger Waters congratulates you for finding this message, and jokes that you can send your answer to Syd (the 'Old Pink'), who lives somewhere in a funny farm ( a term to describe an Psychiatric hospital)in Chalfont . Before he can tell the exact location however, he gets interrupted by someone (engineer James Guthrie) in the background who says Carolyn (Waters' wife) is on the phone.
Covers
- The song was covered by Mushroomhead for the Universal re-release of XX.
Personnel
- David Gilmour - guitars[3], [4]clavinet[5], Prophet-5 and ARP Quadra synthesizers[6]
- Roger Waters - vocals[7], bass[8], VCS3[9]
- Richard Wright - piano[10]
- James Guthrie - ARP Quadra synthesizer[11]
References
- Fitch, Vernon. The Pink Floyd Encyclopedia (3rd edition), 2005. ISBN 1-894959-24-8
Notes
- ^ Pink Floyd Empty Spaces Backwards Message Isolated - Putfile.com
- ^ Stairway to Heaven Backwards
- ^ Fitch, Vernon and Mahon, Richard, Comfortably Numb - A History of The Wall 1978-1981, 2006, p.82
- ^ Fitch, Vernon and Mahon, Richard, Comfortably Numb - A History of The Wall 1978-1981, 2006, p.82
- ^ Fitch, Vernon and Mahon, Richard, Comfortably Numb - A History of The Wall 1978-1981, 2006, p.82
- ^ Fitch, Vernon and Mahon, Richard, Comfortably Numb - A History of The Wall 1978-1981, 2006, p.82
- ^ Fitch, Vernon and Mahon, Richard, Comfortably Numb - A History of The Wall 1978-1981, 2006, p.82
- ^ Fitch, Vernon and Mahon, Richard, Comfortably Numb - A History of The Wall 1978-1981, 2006, p.82
- ^ Fitch, Vernon and Mahon, Richard, Comfortably Numb - A History of The Wall 1978-1981, 2006, p.82
- ^ Fitch, Vernon and Mahon, Richard, Comfortably Numb - A History of The Wall 1978-1981, 2006, p.82
- ^ Fitch, Vernon and Mahon, Richard, Comfortably Numb - A History of The Wall 1978-1981, 2006, p.82