The Show Must Go On (Pink Floyd song)
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"The Show Must Go On" (working titles "Who's Sorry Now", "(It's) Never Too Late") is a song by English rock band Pink Floyd, from their 1979 album The Wall.[1][2] It was written by Roger Waters and sung by David Gilmour.[2]
Recording and lyrics
Roger Waters wanted to create a "Beach Boys" type sound for the backing vocals, and got Bruce Johnston to come and help create it, but this was only after the Beach Boys themselves were approached to provide the backing vocals and had agreed, only to cancel at the last possible moment (the morning of the session, 2 October 1979). The song also closely resembles chord patterns found in "Mother", "In the Flesh", and "Waiting for the Worms".
The track does not appear in the 1982 film version of The Wall[2] nor in Waters' post-Pink Floyd 1990 concert The Wall – Live in Berlin.[2] It also has an extra verse that was cut from the studio album, but nevertheless appears on its sleeve.
Do I have to stand up
Wild eyed in the spotlight
What a nightmare
Why don't I turn and run
After this, the line "There must be some mistake..." starts.
The full song was performed live in concert, and as such appears on Is There Anybody Out There? The Wall Live 1980–81.[2]
It's the only song from the album which Waters does not perform any kind of instrument and vocal, although his voice is audible on unofficially released recordings of the demo. He is heard singing a verse that was cut from the final version and has never been played live, located right before David Gilmour's bridge.
Plot
As with the other songs on The Wall, "The Show Must Go On" tells a segment of the story of Pink, the story's protagonist. This song leads into "In the Flesh", where the show is performed by a surrogate band in place of Pink, as is stated in the lyric, "Pink isn't well, he stayed back at the hotel. And they sent us along as a surrogate band."
Personnel
- David Gilmour — vocals, guitars, bass guitar, roto toms[3]
- Nick Mason — drums[3]
- Richard Wright — synthesiser[3]
with:
- Bob Ezrin — synthesiser, piano[3]
- Bruce Johnston — backing vocals[3]
- Joe Chemay — backing vocals[3]
- Stan Farber — backing vocals[3]
- Jim Haas — backing vocals[3]
- John Joyce — backing vocals[3]
- Toni Tennille — backing vocals[3]
References
- ^ Strong, Martin C. (2004). The Great Rock Discography (7th ed.). Edinburgh: Canongate Books. p. 1177. ISBN 1-84195-551-5.
- ^ a b c d e Mabbett, Andy (1995). The Complete Guide to the Music of Pink Floyd. London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-4301-X.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Fitch, Vernon and Mahon, Richard, Comfortably Numb — A History of The Wall 1978–1981, 2006, p. 103.
Further reading
- Fitch, Vernon. The Pink Floyd Encyclopedia (3rd edition), 2005. ISBN 1-894959-24-8.
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