Goodbye Blue Sky
| "Goodbye Blue Sky" | |
|---|---|
| Song |
Goodbye Blue Sky is a song by the British progressive rock band Pink Floyd. It was released on The Wall album in 1979. Future Sound of London covered it with the title "Goodbye Sky". Armenian-American alternative metal band System Of A Down has also covered the song live on four separate occasions.
Composition
The piece is fairly quiet in terms of dynamics, although the tone does change several times throughout. It is about 2 minutes, 49 seconds in length. In the introduction section, there is an innocent childish voice stating, "Look, mummy, there's an aeroplane up in the sky!". This particular section is calm and tranquil initially, but quickly grows more sinister in tone. Shortly after the tone change, the main lyrical section commences. The song bears some similarity to Ummagumma's "Grantchester Meadows".
Plot
As with the other songs on The Wall, Goodbye Blue Sky tells a portion of the story of Pink, the album's protagonist. This particular song makes the observation that Pink and his like are living in a post-war world, and suffering; it draws reference to "pain lingering on" - significant in the case of Pink, whom the war has left fatherless. Some argue that the song makes a reference to the German bombing campaign over England during World War II.
Film Version
In the film version, this segment is animated by Gerald Scarfe. It shows a dove exploding revealing a Nazi eagle, which grabs at the earth and leaves a trail of blood. It glides around England creating a warlord releasing planes. We see naked people wearing gas masks hiding from the danger ("the frightened ones") and a flag turning into a bleeding cross. This is the most dramatic animation segment in the film. [citation needed] Unlike the album, this comes in after When The Tigers Broke Free Part 2.
Personnel
- David Gilmour - vocals, acoustic guitars, bass, synthesizer
- Roger Waters - synthesizer
- Richard Wright - synthesizer
- Harry Waters - child's voice
References
- Fitch, Vernon. The Pink Floyd Encyclopedia (3rd edition), 2005. ISBN 1-894959-24-8