The Post War Dream
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| "The Post War Dream" | ||
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| Song by Pink Floyd | ||
| from the album The Final Cut | ||
| Released | March 21, 1983 (UK) April 2, 1983 (US) |
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| Recorded | July-December 1982 | |
| Genre | Progressive rock | |
| Length | ~3:00 | |
| Label | Harvest Records (UK) Capitol Records (US) |
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| Writer(s) | Roger Waters | |
| Producer(s) | Roger Waters, James Guthrie and Michael Kamen | |
| The Final Cut track listing | ||
| "The Post War Dream" (1) |
Your Possible Pasts (2) |
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"The Post War Dream" is the first song on The Final Cut, an album by the English progressive rock band, Pink Floyd.
[edit] Intro
The songs intro features a car radio being tuned in and out of different stations and can be seen on the short film for 'The Final Cut'.
- "...a group of business men announced plans to build a nuclear fallout shelter at Peterborough in Cambridgeshire..."
- [radio tuning]
- "...three high court judges have cleared the way..."
- [radio tuning]
- "...It was announced today, that the replacement for the Atlantic Conveyor the container ship lost in the Falklands conflict would be built in Japan, a spokesman for..."
- [radio tuning]
- "...moving in. They say the third world countries, like Bolivia, which produce the drug are suffering from rising violence..."
[edit] Composition
The song is 3 minutes in length and consists of many sound effects, such as row boats and screaming, typical of the album that it was released on. The music itself begins with a quiet and sparse section composed of synthesizers and Waters' hushed vocal, in addition to the quiet sounds of certain orchestral instruments. This part of the song is rather reminiscent of gospel music partly because of its use of the common, soulful I-IV-V chord progression. This segues into a louder, more theatrical section dominated by electric guitars. During this particular section, Waters vocal is hoarsly shouted, a definite contrast from his manner of singing during the previous part of the song.
The melody of the first part bears a strong resemblance to John Prine's 1971 song "Sam Stone", about a war veteran's tragic fate.
