Us and Them
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| "Us and Them" | ||
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| Single by Pink Floyd | ||
| from the album The Dark Side of the Moon | ||
| B-side(s) | "Time (edited version)" | |
| Released | 1973 | |
| Format | 7" | |
| Recorded | Abbey Road June 1972-January 1973 |
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| Genre | Progressive rock | |
| Length | 7:50 | |
| Label | Harvest, EMI (UK) Harvest, Capitol (US) |
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| Writer(s) | Wright, Waters | |
| Producer(s) | Pink Floyd | |
| Pink Floyd singles chronology | ||
| "Money" (1973) |
"Us and Them"/"Time" (1973) |
"Have a Cigar"/"Welcome to the Machine" (1975) |
| The Dark Side of the Moon | ||
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| Tracks | ||
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- For the Shinedown album, see Us and Them (album).
"Us and Them" is the seventh track[1] from English progressive rock band Pink Floyd's 1973 album, The Dark Side of the Moon. It was written by Richard Wright and Roger Waters and sung by David Gilmour (harmonies by Wright). It is 7 minutes, 50 seconds in length, making it the longest song on the album. However, when performed live throughout the 70s, it was slightly longer, though in later tours, as evidenced in bootlegs and the releases P*U*L*S*E and Delicate Sound of Thunder, it was sometimes up to a minute shorter.
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[edit] Composition
"Us and Them" is rather quiet in tone and dynamics. It has two saxophone solos in it, one at the beginning and another towards the end of the song. Rick Wright introduces the song with harmonies on his Hammond organ and put a piano chordal backing and short piano solo afterwards on the arrangement. The verses have a unique almost jazzy chord sequence: D sus 2, D 6, D minor major 7 and G (with D in the bass sustained as a pedal point throughout) Especially the D minor chord with a major 7 is a rarity in 1970s pop music. In the middle, there is a break during which several characters including Pink Floyd roadie "Roger the Hat" speak (during the recording of this a number of interviews were laid down, including with Paul and Linda McCartney who were recording in the same studio). Before its release, the song was known as "The Violent Sequence" which is available on bootlegs.
The song describes the tendency of people to partition themselves from those who are different, in cases such as war, politics, and social class. Moreover, it is a description of the battle between citizens desires and their government; the battle between, "us and them." Some fans believe the song was influenced by Roger Waters' father dying in World War II, and this is created by the fact that the music has the slow jazz style, which is usually related to the 40s. Hence, the song is in fact a time warp to the 40s culture in Britain, and the rise of the pacifists.
The tune was originally written on the piano by Rick for the movie Zabriskie Point in 1969; this is where the "Violent Sequence" title came from. Director Michelangelo Antonioni rejected it on the grounds that it was too unlike their "Careful with That Axe, Eugene"-esque work; as Waters recalls it in impersonation, Antonioni's response was, "It's beautiful, but too sad, you know? It makes me think of church." [1]. The song was shelved until Dark Side Of The Moon.
It was also re-released on the 2001 greatest hits album, Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd, where it is the seventh track of the second disc.
[edit] Cover versions
The song has been covered by Between the Buried and Me on the album The Anatomy Of.
[edit] Alternative and Live versions
- The P*U*L*S*E and Delicate Sound Of Thunder CD and videos feature this track. Both versions are shorter than the original studio recording, and the latter features a slightly altered saxophone solo.
- On the bands' 2001 compilation album, Us and Them segues from One of These Days into Learning to Fly.
[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.
