An in-depth analysis of Roger Waters' Masterpiece - The Final Cut, A Requiem for the Post War Dream. Music by Pink Floyd and lyrics by Roger Waters.
Friday, July 23, 2010
The Post War Dream
The album begins with the sound of a radio broadcast in an album full of sound effects. Roger Waters' somber voice then laments in a childlike way "Tell me true, tell me why was Jesus crucified? Was it for this that Daddy died?" The young Waters is searching for some reason, some unfathomable, justifiable cause for his father's death in the second World War. Unable to find one, he then points the finger at himself . "Was it you? Was it me? Did I watch too much TV? Is that a hint of accusation in your eyes?" The child Waters is so confused at why his father had to die that he worries that he is somehow responsible, that he has to deal with this misfortune as a sort of bad karma, in this instance for watching too much TV, something he was no doubt told he should not do as a child. The second, somewhat controversial verse shifts in a different direction, now focusing on the state of Britain itself following WWII. "If it wasn't for the nips being so good at building ships, the yards would still be open on the Clyde" refers to the "nips," a British derogatory term for the Japanese, overtaking the British in naval and shipmaking ability, painful for the British, who were once the most powerful naval force in the world. The radio broadcast at the beginning of the track includes an announcement that a lost British ship will be built in Japan, not the U.K., which nicely explains the verse. Waters then continues "And it can't be much fun for them, beneath the rising sun, with all their kids committing suicide." It's important to remember that Waters isn't suggesting here that all Japanese teenagers are suicidal, nor would he likely refer to Japanese people as "nips," but is reinforcing that things aren't any better in Japan than in Britain following the war. In these lyrics, Waters is commenting that the "Post War Dream" the album is a requiem for, and that his father died for, was never achieved, connecting the two verses. As if to confirm this, the guitars break in next in a sudden crescendo as Waters displays the "whining scream" prominent in the song's more explicit cousin, "The Gunner's Dream" as he sings "Should we shout? Should we scream? What happened to the post war dream? Oh Maggie, Maggie what will we do?" "Maggie" refers to Margaret Thatcher, the British Prime Minister at the time who Waters was heavily critical of for the Falklands Conflict, which is mentioned several times on the album. Here, Waters is challenging her to aim for the post war dream instead of needlessly sending more men to their deaths "to make him give it back," as he sings on "Get Your Filthy Hands Off My Desert," with the "it" referring to the Falklands. If all politicians would take Waters' words on this album into consideration before launching a war or "conflict," we would be one step closer to the peaceful world of the post war dream. Maybe.
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Thank you for this quite useful and elaborate analysis! It's very enlightening!
ReplyDeleteKeep it up!
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