The Show Must Go On (Pink Floyd song)

"The Show Must Go On" (working titles "Who's Sorry Now", "(It's) Never Too Late") is a song by English rock band Pink Floyd, from their 1979 album The Wall.[1][2] It was written by Roger Waters and sung by David Gilmour.[2]

This article is about the song by Pink Floyd. For the Queen song of the same name, see The Show Must Go On (Queen song). For other uses, see The show must go on (disambiguation).

"The Show Must Go On"
Song by Pink Floyd
from the album The Wall
PublishedPink Floyd Music Publishers Ltd
Released
  • 30 November 1979 (1979-11-30) (UK)
  • 8 December 1979 (US)
RecordedApril – November 1979
GenreArt rock, progressive rock, rock opera
Length1:36
Label
Songwriter(s)Roger Waters
Producer(s)

Recording and lyrics

Roger Waters wanted to create a "Beach Boys" type sound for the backing vocals, and got Bruce Johnston to come and help create it, but this was only after the Beach Boys themselves had agreed to do so, only to cancel at the last possible moment (the morning of the session, 2 October 1979). The song's chord patterns closely resemble those found in "Mother", "In the Flesh", and "Waiting for the Worms".

The track does not appear in the 1982 film version of The Wall[2] nor in Waters' post-Pink Floyd 1990 concert The Wall – Live in Berlin.[2] It also has an extra verse that was cut from the studio album, but is nevertheless included in the lyrics printed on its sleeve.

  Do I have to stand up
   Wild eyed in the spotlight
   What a nightmare
  Why don't I turn and run

After this, the line "There must be some mistake..." starts.

The full song was performed live in concert, and as such appears on Is There Anybody Out There? The Wall Live 1980–81.[2]

It's the only song from the album which Waters does not perform any kind of instrument and vocal, although his voice is audible on unofficially released recordings of the demo. He is heard singing a verse that was cut from the final version and has never been played live, located right before David Gilmour's bridge:

  Am I really unsure,
   Wild eyed in the spotlight?
   Fuck me, what a nightmare
   Who's there?
   Have they all gone?
  It's okay, now you're in luck,
   The worms have fled the rising sun.
   Their evil power is on the way.
   Forget the past and start again.
  There must be some mistake...[3]

Plot

As with the other songs on The Wall, "The Show Must Go On" tells a segment of the story of Pink, the story's protagonist. This song leads into "In the Flesh", where the show is performed by Pink as he begins to mentally unravel and hallucinate that he is a fascist dictator.

Personnel

Music & lyrics by Roger Waters

with:

Personnel per Fitch and Mahon.[4]

References
  1. Strong, Martin C. (2004). The Great Rock Discography (7th ed.). Edinburgh: Canongate Books. p. 1177. ISBN 1-84195-551-5.
  2. Mabbett, Andy (1995). The Complete Guide to the Music of Pink Floyd. London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-4301-X.
  3. "Pink Floyd - 22) The Show Must Go On (Who's Sorry Now? Its Never Too Late)". YouTube. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  4. Fitch, Vernon and Mahon, Richard, Comfortably Numb — A History of The Wall 1978–1981, 2006, p. 103.

Further reading
  • Fitch, Vernon. The Pink Floyd Encyclopedia (3rd edition), 2005. ISBN 1-894959-24-8.
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