Us and Them (song)
| "Us and Them" | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| A-side | "Time (edited version)" |
"Us and Them" is the sixth (on the 1994 CD version) or seventh track[1] from English progressive rock band Pink Floyd's 1973 album, The Dark Side of the Moon. It was written by Richard Wright and Roger Waters and sung by David Gilmour (harmonies by Wright). It is 7 minutes, 51 seconds in length, making it the longest song on the album. When performed live throughout the 70s, it was even slightly longer, though in later tours, as evidenced in bootlegs and the releases P•U•L•S•E and Delicate Sound of Thunder, it was sometimes up to a minute shorter.
Composition
"Us and Them" is rather quiet in tone and dynamics. It has two saxophone solos in it, one at the beginning and another towards the end of the song. Richard Wright introduces the song with harmonies on his Hammond organ, and put a piano chordal backing and short piano solo afterwards on the arrangement. The tune was originally written on the piano by Richard Wright for the movie Zabriskie Point in 1969; this is where the "Violent Sequence" title came from. Director Michelangelo Antonioni rejected it on the grounds that it was too unlike their "Careful with That Axe, Eugene"-esque work, which was the style of music he wanted to use. As Waters recalls it in impersonation, Antonioni's response was, "It's beautiful, but is it too sad, you know? It makes me think of church." [2]. The song was shelved until Dark Side of the Moon where Waters put some vocals in to it.
The verses have a unique, jazz-influenced chord progression: Dsus2, D6(add9), D minor major 7,(or Faug/D) and G (with D in the bass, sustained as a pedal point throughout). The D6 with an added 9th is not unlike an Esus2 with a D in the bass, but because the bass line also provides the fifth, it is more accurately described as a kind of D chord. The D minor chord with a major seventh is a rarity in 1970s rock music.[3]
In the middle, there is a break during which roadie "Roger the Hat" speaks (during the recording of the album a number of interviews were laid down, including with Paul and Linda McCartney who were recording in the same studio). Before its release, the song was known as "The Violent Sequence" which is available on bootlegs.
It was also re-released on the 2001 greatest hits album, Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd, where it is the seventh track of the second disc.
Spoken parts
I mean, they're not gonna kill ya, so if you give 'em a quick short, sharp, shock, they won't do it again. Dig it? I mean he got off lightly, 'cause I would've given him a thrashing, I only hit him once. It was only a difference of opinion, but really, I mean good manners don't cost nothing do they, eh?
Cover versions
- The song has been covered by Between the Buried and Me on the album The Anatomy Of.
- The song was also covered by the Scissor Sisters for their first album, but was cut. More recently, the song was covered by Swedish band, A Camp, and appeared as a b-side for their single Love Has Left The Room
Alternative and Live versions
- The original 1973 mix of the album includes a few more saxophone notes from Dick Parry, right before the first lines are sung. On later reissues of the album, the notes are inaudible. Nevertheless, this mix has been used to this day.
- 1972 versions did not include any saxophone and the lead vocals were performed by Roger Waters and Richard Wright, with David Gilmour providing backing vocals. The vocals by Gilmour sounded like those found on the celestial voices section of A Saucerful of Secrets.
- It occasionally featured as an encore during the band's 1977 "In the Flesh" tour (this was performed at most shows on the band's 1977 US tours during the encore). It was often used to intentionally calm the often rowdy stadium audiences.
- The P*U*L*S*E and Delicate Sound of Thunder CD and videos feature this track. Both versions are shorter than the original studio recording, and the latter features a slightly altered saxophone solo.
- On Echoes, the song has a different ending: instead of segueing into what would be the next track on The Dark Side of the Moon ("Any Colour You Like"), engineer and Floyd collaborator James Guthrie gave the song a cold ending, before adding a backwards piano note that would lead into the collection's next track, "Learning To Fly".[4]
- Roger Waters included the song in his recent 2006/2007 The Dark Side of the Moon Live tour, with Jon Carin replacing Gilmour on lead vocals.
- In the novelization of Terminator: Salvation, this song is playing on CD when marcus Wright gets the Jeep started.
Personnel
- David Gilmour - Guitar, vocals
- Roger Waters - Bass guitar,lyrics.
- Richard Wright - Organ, piano and backing vocals
- Nick Mason - Percussion, drums
- Dick Parry - Saxophone
Notes
- ^ The track number depends upon the edition of the album; some releases merge the two tracks "Speak to Me" and "Breathe", for instance.
- ^ "The Making of The Dark Side of the Moon" Pt. 5 (Us and Them)
- ^ Pink Floyd: The Dark Side of the Moon 1973 Pink Floyd Music Publishers Ltd., London, England, ISBN: 0 7119 1028 6 (USA ISBN: 0 8256 1078 8)
- ^ Floydian Slip(tm) : The Pink Floyd Experience
