Brain Damage (song)
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| The Dark Side of the Moon | ||
|---|---|---|
| Album by Pink Floyd | ||
| Released | March 2, 1973 | |
| Recorded | Abbey Road June 1972-January 1973 |
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| Genre | Progressive rock, electronic music, musique concrète, song cycle | |
| Length | 43:00 | |
| Label | Harvest (UK) Capitol (US) |
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| Producer(s) | Pink Floyd | |
| Professional reviews | ||
| Tracks | ||
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"Brain Damage" is the ninth track (or eighth, depending on the album release)[1] from British progressive rock band Pink Floyd's 1973 album, The Dark Side of the Moon. It was sung by Roger Waters. David Gilmour took over as lead vocalist when the band performed it live on the band's 1994 tour (as can be seen on P*U*L*S*E).
The song is often mistakenly labelled "Dark Side of the Moon" alongside "Eclipse" because the two run together and are commonly played together on the radio, giving the impression that they are one song. The incorrect title is derived from a recurring lyric in "Brain Damage," and the title of the album.
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[edit] Composition
When the band reconvened after the American leg of the Meddle tour, Roger Waters brought with him a prototype version of "Brain Damage" along with other songs such as "Money". He had been playing the song during the recording of the Meddle album in 1971, when it was called the "Dark Side of the Moon". Eventually this title would be used for the album itself. The song seemed to be partially inspired by their former band member Syd Barrett who had endured mental breakdown. After road testing the new suite entitled "A Piece for Assorted Lunatics", the song was recorded in October along with "Any Colour You Like". The piece represents Waters association with acoustic-tinged ballads, and along with "If" and "Grantchester Meadows", "Brain Damage" uses a simple melody and delivery. David Gilmour actively encouraged Waters to sing the song, even though at this time he wasn't particularly confident about his vocal abilities. In fact, the song is the only track on the album to exclusively feature Waters as a lead vocalist. However, from this point onwards he would soon become a main singer in the group. Richard Wright found the track overly simple, suggesting that the song represented the album's "weakest link". Toby Manning states that the song is actually the album's "emotional core" and that this disagreement between Waters and Wright, further fueled their acrimonious separation. The song was played regularly live throughout the rest of the decade, and Waters continued to play it in conjunction with "Eclipse" on every solo tour since 1984.
The song is somewhat slow, with a melody similar to The Beatles "Dear Prudence", and features a recurring lyrical pattern and chorus. It is approximately 3 minutes, 50 seconds in length.
[edit] Themes
Roger Waters has stated that the insanity-themed lyrics are based on former Floyd frontman Syd Barrett's mental instability, with the line "I'll see you on the dark side of the moon" indicating that Waters felt that he related to Barrett in terms of mental idiosyncrasies. The line "And if the band you're in starts playing different tunes..." is referential to Syd Barrett's behavior towards the end of his tenure with the band; due to his mental problems, there were more than a few occasions where Barrett would actually play a different song than the rest of the band in the middle of a performance. It is also said that maybe it's a reference to when Pink Floyd started playing different music that the songs found on The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. The song features a rather famous opening line, "The lunatic is on the grass...".
[edit] Alternative and Live versions
- It was performed by Pink Floyd from 1972-1975 and during the 1994 post-Waters Division Bell tour.
- On the P*U*L*S*E concert DVD and CD, the song is sung by David Gilmour instead of Roger Waters.
- In the Flesh: Live features the song and it was played as an encore at the end of the concert along with Eclipse which was segued into as on the album. Roger also performed the song along with Eclipse during the 1987 Radio K.A.O.S (tour).
- An alternative mix version of the song can be found on the compilation album, Works.
- This song was covered on the Echoes of Pink tribute album in 2002 by Nikki Boyer.
- Was played by Roger Waters in New York at the environment-awareness concert, Live Earth
- David Gilmour put different guitar on it on Pink Floyd Live At Pompeii but you don't hear it
- The Austin Lounge Lizards perform a bluegrass cover of the song on their 1991 live album Lizard Vision.
[edit] Personnel
- Roger Waters – Bass, vocals
- David Gilmour – electric guitar, and additional vocals
- Richard Wright – Organ and synthesizer
- Nick Mason – Drums and percussion
with
- Lesley Duncan – Vocals (background)
- Doris Troy – Vocals (background)
- Barry St. John – Vocals (background)
- Liza Strike – Vocals (background)
[edit] Notes
- ^ The track number depends upon the edition of the album; some releases merge the two tracks "Speak to Me" and "Breathe", for instance.
