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Pink Floyd, The Wall (Part 3 of 4)

As we flip to side 2 of the Wall, we are re-introduced to Pink's story in "Hey You." Though Hey You does not appear in the film, it is still one of the most recognizable songs from the album, and by Pink Floyd. In Hey You, Pink is speaking to us "out there beyond the wall," as he is now firmly behind his wall. From behind the wall, Pink realizes how large the wall really is, and how he has lost all contact with the ouside world, and appears to regret his decision, pleading for us to tell him "there's no hope alone." Pink is basically panicking, searching for something to give his new life meaning. What's different about this song is how it is interrupted by a narrator, claiming that all of this was "only fantasy," that the "the wall was too high[]...no matter how he tried, he could not break free, and the worms ate into his brain." With this, the worms are introduced, a symbol for the mad thoughts that enter Pink's head, and aid in his decay.

The next song, though with only one real line of lyrics, the name of the song, "Is There Anybody Out There" has perhaps the most action and is maybe the most important part of the film. The song picks up where "Goodbye Cruel World" left off. Four times, Pink, trapped behind the wall, asks "is there anybody out there?" and is not answered. Following this, the song is all instrumental, but much takes place. In the film, we see Pink reorganizing all the things he destroyed during "One of My Turns" and "Another Brick in the Wall, Part 3." This odd reorganization seems to represent the reorganization of all the fragmented pieces in Pink's head, perhaps at the behest of the worms. As the music ends, in the movie, we turn to one of the most difficult scenes to watch, as Pink lathers his chest with shaving cream, which he shaves. We see blood on the razor and dripping into the sink, with Pink numb to it all. We then see Pink press himself against the glass bathroom door, and see a new Pink. He exits the bathroom with his hair slicked down, and his eyebrows gone. A new, terrifying, alter ego of Pink emerges.

After this crazy scene, the music returns, with my favorite song from the album, "Nobody Home." In the song, a lone grand piano "props up [Pink's] mortal remains" as he lists the possessions he has around him, realizing that all he has come to know is gone. Pink has the bleak realization that he can't reach those outside the wall, especially his estranged ex-wife. With the worms consuming Pink, and as he is totally isolated behind the wall, he still can't drive away his "strong urge to fly," but these forces supress him, and he has "nowhere to fly to." It's also the realization that he needs help, but this is combined with the fact that he's not sure he really wants that help. So Pink continues to sit behind his wall, with what he believes all he has left, himself and those possessions around him.

As Pink sits idlely, he flashes back to his childhood in the song "Vera," which refers to Vera Lynn, who I have come to learn was a popular singer from the 1940s, especially during WWII. Vera was famous for her optimistic songs during the war. Despite Vera's real life optimism, "Vera" is mostly a song of lost hope. Though Vera assured us that "we would meet again some sunny day," that hope has passed. This mood created by the song is reflected by young Pink waiting at the train station to "meet" his father coming back from the war, but of course he does not come back. This short and simple song ends abruptly as Pink asks if "anybody else in here, feels the way [he does]," hopeless and dejected.

The theme of coming back from war continues on with "Bring the Boys Back Home," probably my least favorite song on the album, though apparently Roger Waters has stated it's the backbone of the album. While on it's face, "Bring the Boys Back Home" is a call for the return of troops from the destructive forces of war, it is also about human connection, something Pink lacked as a child, and has completely cut himself off from. The song ends as Pink's manager tries to enter his room, knocking and stating, in a voice similar to the teacher, "time to go," and once again, Pink asking "is there anybody out there?"

The transition from this question leads directly into one of Pink Floyd's more famous, and amazing songs, "Comfortably Numb." The song begins from the perspective of a doctor, attending to the unresponsive Pink. This doctor, though, is merely serving the interests of Pink's manager who wants to get him "going for the show." Pink feels like there's nothing wrong with him though, and his state of numbness is welcome, hence comfortably numb. The song has some haunting verses, my favorites being, "When I was a child, I caught a fleeting glimpse, out of the corner of my eye. I turned to look, but it was gone. I cannot put my finger on it now, the child has grown, the dream is gone." This fleeting glimpse, I believe anyways, refers to the innocence of childhood, and the beliefs one has as a child of how perfect life can be, but before one has a chance to relize it, you turn to look, and that ideal is gone. Pink's glimpse is long gone, and he can't even remember what it is. At the end of the song, Pink tears away his catatonic exterior to reveal a black-clad, slick back haired, new haunting Pink. This personality will spiral Pink into a new abyss...

Full post as published by The Present Tense on June 13, 2007 (boomark / email).