The Gunner's Dream

[Modem Butterfly]

Floating down
Through the clouds
Memories come rushing up to meet me now
And in the space between the heavens
And the corner of some foreign field
I had a dream.

I had a dream.

Good-bye Max
Good-by Ma
After the service when you're walking slowly to the car
And the silver in her hair shines in the cold November air
You hear the tolling bell
And touch the silk in your lapel
And as the tear drops rise to meet the comfort of the band
You take her frail hand
And hold on to the dream

A place to stay
Enough to eat
Somewhere old heroes shuffle safely down the street
Where you can speak out loud about your hopes and fear
And what's more- no one ever disappears
You never hear their standard issue kicking in the door
You can relax on both sides of the tracks
And maniacs don't blow holes in bandsmen by remote control
And everyone has recourse to the law
And no one kiills the children anymore

No one kills the children anymore.

Night after night, going round inside my brain
His dream is driving me insane!

In the corner of some foreign field
The gunner sleeps tonight
What's done is done
We cannot just write off his final scene
Take heed of his dream

Take heed

[Capt_Nemo]

1. Two Suns in the Sunset

In my rear view mirror the sun is going down
Sinking behind bridges in the road
And I think of all the good things
That we have left undone
And I suffer premonitions
Confirm suspicions
Of the holocaust to come.

The rusty wire that holds the cork
That keeps the anger in
Gives way
And suddenly it's day again.
The sun is in the east
Even though the day is done.
Two suns in the sunset
Hmmmmmmmmmm
Could be the human race is run.

Like the moment when the brakes lock
And you slide towards the big truck
You stretch the frozen moments with your fear.
And you'll never hear their voices
And you'll never see their faces
You have no recourse to the law anymore.

And as the windshield melts
My tears eveaporate
Leaving only charcoal to defend.
Finally I understand the feelings of the few.
Ashes and diamonds
Foe and friend
We were all equal in the end.

[Modem Butterfly]

2. Thank-you for posting that

I first heard "The Final Cut" at the North Bend, OR public library in in 1985. My mother had heard that Pink Floyd were a bunch of Satanists and had forbidden their music, thereby ensuring my interests. I listened to the album in one sitting. It literally changed my life. It was the first time music and lyrics really resonated with me. I think of that album more and more with each day we spend mired in Iraq.

Tell me true, tell me why, was Jesus crucified
Is it for this that Daddy died?
Was it for you? Was it me?
Did I watch too much T.V.?
Is that a hint of accusation in your eyes?
If it wasn't for the nips
Being so good at building ships
The yards would still be open on the clyde.
And it can't be much fun for them
Beneath the rising sun
With all their kids committing suicide.
What have we done, Maggie what have we done?
What have we done to England?
Should we shout, should we scream
"What happened to the post war dream?"
Oh Maggie, Maggie what have we done?

[jandrok]

3. The Final Cut - Floyd's (mostly) forgotten masterpiece

Waters went solo not long afterwards. There was no way that it could have lived up the expectations that "The Wall" generated.

Still a great disk, though.

[Modem Butterfly]

4. It's an amazing piece of anti-war art

The first side of the album deals with the aftermath of WWII, the second side deals with the run-up to the next world war. Many of the lyrics of the album deal with the emotional toll the returning soldiers carry for the rest of our lives. War is the least natural thing people do- it simply goes against our mammalian better judgement. Yet we expect these people to just come back to society all fine and hunky-dory. It's crazy.


Button your lip. Don't let the shield slip.
Take a fresh grip on your bullet proof mask.
And if they try to break down your disguise with their questions
You can hide, hide, hide,
(sounds of a card game)
Behind paranoid eyes.

You put on our brave face and slip over the road for a jar.
Fixing your grin as you casually lean on the bar,
Laughing too loud at the rest of the world
With the boys in the crowd
You hide, hide, hide,
Behind petrified eyes.

You believed in their stories of fame, fortune and glory.
Now you're lost in a haze of alcohol soft middle age
The pie in the sky turned out to be miles too high.
And you hide, hide, hide,
Behind brown and mild eyes.

[jandrok]

5. Absolutely

The imagery was firmly rooted in the cold-war ethos of the time, but it doesn't feel too dated.

From a band perspective, it wasn't much of a group effort. Final Cut was basically a Waters solo album, and it split what was left of Floyd down the seams. Gilmour threw in the towel and reformed Floyd a few years later sans Waters, who had gone on to some level of solo success.

Still, it was a great listen. All of the songs still reverberate today. I have a vague memory of some videos from that disk, especially "Not Now, John". MTV didn't give the sparse and depressing videos much play.

A group named Planet P, formed by ex-Rainbow keyboardist Tony Carey, was also gaining play with similar themes. The disk, called "Pink World", was a Floyd-inspired science-fiction concept album about a boy with enhanced powers who saves his village from nuclear war by putting up a mental barrier. Had a Harlon Ellison feel to it.

[LibertyorDeath]

6. Satanic LOL she must have considered telling the unvarnished truth

satanic. :) I'm glad she turned you on to Pink Floyd
and the brilliant lyrics of Mr Waters.

The Final Cut is simply amazing.

[jmowreader]

7. "The Hero's Return"

Jesus Jesus what's it all about
Trying to clout these little ingrates into shape
When I was their age all the lights went out
There was no time to whine and mope about

And even now part of me flies over
Dresden at angels one five
Though they'll never fathom it behind my
Sarcasm desperate memories lie

Sweetheart sweetheart are you fast asleep good
'cos that's the only time that I can really talk to you
and there is something that I've locked away
a memory that is too painful
to withstand the light of day

When we came back from the war the banners and
flags hung on everyone's door
we danced and we sang in the street and

the church bells rang
but burning in my heart
my memory smoulders on
of the gunner's dying words on the intercom

[Modem Butterfly]

10. I love the way that song leads into The Gunner's Dream

NT

[NMMNG]

8. I love that song

It is the best song on that album.

[ChaoticSilly]

9. The Final Cut

I love this song...

through the fish eyed lens of tear stained eyes
i can barely define the shape of this moment in time
and far from flying high in clear blue skies
i'm spiralling down to the hole in the ground where i hide
if you negotiate the minefield in the drive
and beat the dogs and cheat the cold electronic eyes
and if you make it past the shotgun in the hall
dial the combination. open the priesthole
and if i'm in i'll tell you what's behind the wall
there's a kid who had a big hallucination
making love to girls in magazines
he wonders if you're sleeping with your new found faith
could anybody love him
or is it just a crazy dream
and if i show you my dark side
will you still hold me tonight
and if i open my heart to you
and show you my weak side
what would you do
would you sell your story to rolling stone
would you take the children away
and leave me alone
and smile in reassurance
as you whisper down the phone
would you send me packing
or would you take me home
thought i oughta bare my naked feelings
thought i oughta tear the curtain down
i held the blade in trembling hands
prepared to make it but just then the phone rang
i never had the nerve to make the final cut

Alot of people will disagree with me, but, in my opinion, this is one of the best PF albums.