MONEY (Waters)
[Gilmour]
Money, get away
Get a good job with more pay and you're O.K
Money it's a gas
Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash
New car, caviar, four star daydream,
Think I'll buy me a football team.
Money get back
I'm all right Jack keep your hands off of my stack.
Money it's a hit
But don't give me that do goody good bullshit
I'm in the hi-fidelity first class traveling set
And I think I need a Lear jet.
Money it's a crime
Share it fairly but don't take a slice of my pie
Money so they say
Is the root of all evil today
But if you ask for a rise it's no surprise that they're giving none away
[Laughing] I was in the right!
Yes, absolutely in the right!
I certainly was in the right!
I was definitely in the right. That geezer was cruising for a bruising!
Why does anyone do anything?
Yeah!
I don’t know, I was really drunk at the time!
I was just telling him, he couldn’t get into number two. He was asking why he
wasn’t coming up on freely, after I was yelling and screaming and telling him
why he wasn’t coming up on freely. It came as a heavy blow, but we sorted the
matter out.
The next “pressure” explored on the album is ‘Money.’
The song opens the next side of the LP with the sound of cash registers
chiming and opening, similar to the clock introduction to ‘Time.’ Most of the
song is written in 7/4 time which is quite rare; this was a result of Waters’
writing the main riff of the song first.
I believe the lyrics of this song are quite straightforward and do not
require much explanation. While the song ‘Money’ is clearly narrated from the
point of view of someone who greatly desired money and material possessions,
I am confident that the song is satirical in nature and not truly encouraging
such behavior. In other songs and interviews Waters has shown his
disenchantment with the cutthroat nature of the capitalist system. Waters has
said “[I am] sure that the free market isn't the whole answer. My hope is
that mankind will evolve into a more cooperative and less competitive beast
as the millennia pass. If he doesn't ...disappearing in a puff of smoke.” The
technique of using satire to show what not to do or believe is a technique
Waters also used on “The Wall” in a way, where the main character Pink
becomes a fascist neo-Nazi. Whether having one song that is sarcastic in the
middle of “Dark Side of the Moon” seems out of place or not is certainly
debatable however.
Another Floyd fan writes, "With the whole theme of life and death in the album, I think it shows the sarcastic, up beat side of life. Sarcasm is the humorous part of life - perhaps the song dictates a discussion amongst friends of what they would do with all the money they wanted, then the final conclusion of 'Oh well, despite the fact most of society dispises money, and what it brings, no one is willing to hand it over to those who need it.' The mood of the song lends to the fact that even for people in the worst situation, rich or poor, there are times when you have to let go and be upbeat and just act like the world is at your fingertips - you have no cares or worries except the moment in which you are. The morning is when you can go back to reality, but for one night, you can totally release. People need this in order to not completely hate their own lives. Focusing on the bad part of life every single second would drive a person crazy. The purpose of life is to enjoy what little time we have, and appreciate all the good things - whether it is something materialistic like a jet, or the good times and memories you can have with friends, you have a light in the darkness. In relation to the rest of the album, you have to maintain that balance between work and fun, and Money provides this for the album. The sound clip at the end supports this; the man is laughing as he remenisses on a part of his life - good memories and good times with friends are what keeps us going."
Back to 'The Great Gig in the Sky'
Contact me with your feedback.