THE GREAT GIG IN THE SKY (Wright)
And I am not frightened of dying, any time will do I don’t mind. Why
should I be frightened of dying? There’s no reason for it, you’ve gotta go
sometime.
I never said I was frightened of dying.
The themes of old age and religion lead us into the
next song on the album, ‘The Great Gig in the Sky.” This next “pressure”
explored is death. Waters was quoted, "Are you afraid of dying? The fear of
death is a major part of many lives, and as the record was at least partially
about that, that question was asked, but not specifically to fit into this
song.” This song was initially called “The Mortality Sequence,” and has no
lyrics, but with vocals by Clare Torry. ‘The Great Gig in the Sky’ is also
the last song on the first side of the LP, which some believe furthers the
representation of death.
It is interesting that the sound clips chosen for the song both state that
they are not frightened of dying. This is in line with what seems to be the
message of the song. The title also ‘The Great Gig in the Sky’ seems to be a
positive portrayal of death. The name certainly has religious undertones,
suggesting an afterlife in heaven. This may imply that the end of ‘Breathe’
(Reprise) is not a criticism of people’s tendency to use religion to seek
comfort from the fear of death. Conversely, the title could also be
interpreted sarcastically, as a further mockery of religion. The idea of a
‘Great Gig in the Sky’ does seem to trivialize heaven, which most religious
people take too seriously to call ‘The Great Gig in the Sky.’
The music of the song respresents the spectrum of emotions associated with
death. It is both somber and uplifting and even pained at times. The vocals
were improvised by Clare Torry with some guidance from the band. One fan
writes, "The words in the piece are what we say; the vocals are what we feel.
I think the song is about how we are extremely frightened and saddened by
death and even the thought/concept of death, but cannot admit it." This is a
very interesting interpretation. This highlights more generally the contrast
between what we say and what we truly feel; people's tendency to keep their
true feelings buried, hiding behind an emotional wall.
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