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. It features a long introductory section. Around 48 seconds into the song, the tone changes slightly, and the piece becomes slightly louder. After another 26 seconds, a hidden message can be heard within the track; once this is over, the lyrical portion commences. The song ends abruptly; if played directly before the next track, "Young Lust", the songs move directly into each other. For this reason, they are often played together on the radio (and sometimes incorrectly referred to as just "Young Lust").
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.
Adaptations & 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]
- 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.
Note: Just before the "Congratulations..." part, Roger says something, possibly gibberish.
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 Chalfont (the 'funny farm' in Chalfont). Before he can tell the exact location however, he gets interrupted by someone in the background who says Carolyn (Waters' wife) is on the phone.
Personnel
- David Gilmour - guitars, clavinet, synthesizers
- Roger Waters - vocals, bass, synthesizer
- Richard Wright - piano
- James Guthrie - synthesizer
References
- Fitch, Vernon. The Pink Floyd Encyclopedia (3rd edition), 2005. ISBN 1-894959-24-8
Covers
- The song was covered by Mushroomhead for the Universal rerelease of XX.