The Dogs of War (Pink Floyd song)

"The Dogs of War" is the third song from Pink Floyd's 1987 album, A Momentary Lapse of Reason and was the third US single from the album. It was performed at every show on the band's 1987-1989 tours, and featured on the CD and video releases of Delicate Sound of Thunder. When the Momentary Lapse album was played in concert, this track was the eighth track performed from the album. The live versions would have an extended intro, an extended middle solo for the saxophone, a guitar and sax duel and a longer outro as compared to the album version. The track was a minor rock radio hit in the US and reached #16 on MTV's Video Countdown in May 1988.

This song is about war on the highest level, the political level. The dogs of war describe how politicians orchestrate wars that the public does not know about. Also, the major influence behind war is money. This song was written about the covert wars of the 80's where millions of American dollars went to Afghanistan to fight off the Soviet threat of communism.

[edit] Composition

Musically, the song follows a twelve-bar blues structure in C minor, only with significantly different chord changes. A standard blues song in C minor would progress as C minor, F minor, C minor, G (Major or minor), F minor, and back to C minor. "The Dogs of War", instead, progresses thusly: C minor, E flat minor, C minor, A flat seventh, F minor, and back to C minor. All minor chords include the seventh.

Singer David Gilmour often approaches the C minor chord by singing on the diminished fifth, G flat, before descending to the fourth, minor third, and root. This melody is also compatible with the next chord, E flat minor, in which G flat is the minor third. It also appears in the A flat seventh chord, as the dominant seventh.

The majority of the song is in a slow 12/8 time. After an appropriately bluesy guitar solo, the song switches to a fast 4/4 tempo for the saxophone solo. This is not unlike what happens in the highly popular "Money", a minor-key blues-based song from The Dark Side of the Moon, in which a saxophone solos over the song's predominant 7/4 tempo before switching to a faster 4/4 tempo for the guitar solo. "The Dogs of War" also imitates "Money" in its ending sequence, with a "call and response" between Gilmour's voice and his guitar.

[edit] Video

The video for the track composed of the backdrop film directed by Storm Thorgerson which depicted German Shepherds with yellow eyes running through a war zone plus a live recording and concert footage filmed during the band's three night run at the The Omni in Atlanta, Georgia in November 1987 directed by Lawrence Jordan (who has directed concert films for Rush, Mariah Carey and Billy Joel). Videos for "On the Turning Away" and "One Slip" were also filmed from this concert where the video for The Dogs of War was filmed.

[edit] Personnel

David Gilmour – Guitar, Vocals and Vocalisations

with

Tony Levin – Bass
Scott Page and Tom Scott – Saxophone
Carmine Appice – Drums and Percussion
Jon Carin – Keyboard and Effects
Colin McPhee – Synthesisers
Bill Payne – Organ
Darlene Koldenhaven, Carmen Twillie (actress), Phyllis St. James, Donnie Gerrard – Backing vocals