As you noted, this song was added to later releases of 'The Final Cut', where it sits perfectly amid that album's narrative progression. It's a hugely under appreciated album in my opinion and I highly recommend you give it a listen. 'The Gunner's Dream' is a particular favourite of mine.
The title track has always been my favorite. Amazing lyricist. Daddy issues, though and well, now he's... well, not on the right side of history this time, for sure.
@@christopherwhite7347there’s some fantastic guitar work by Gilmour too on the album. Perhaps not as much as fans would have liked, but I’m not sure the album would have had the same impact with the “traditional” Floyd sound.
@@christopherwhite7347 Yes, where they go into the next section of "shall we buy some new guitars/drive more powerful cars" etc. I never liked the way Empty Spaces cut off and Young Lust began, once I heard some of the live versions of The Wall, where the full version was always played. Never understood why they would cut less than 2 minutes of music, when there was space left on the vinyl
And in this case it was it worth it... I sound like a terrible person but it helped create Pink Floyd. Made for one hell of a message to the world, our children, and boy it sounded good!
@@Jay-iq5zu First heard this at a showing of The Wall film 17/07/1982. Made me cry then, and still does today. I now understand why I was so upset when I received a "rubber stamp" letter denying me access to something about 30 years ago.
It's more like" I hurt in such a way that I dedicated my whole life and my whole attitude to make sure no one anywhere in the world ios ever going to be hurt that way!"@@gregmoldovan5921
Ohhh this is one few people have even heard. This came out as a 7" single, I actually own that. I often play this on acoustic and sing, it's a perfect song for Remembrance Day. "And my eyes still grow damp to remember his Majesty signed with his own.... rubber stamp" Brutal.
I've always preferred the single version over the film one. I was disappointed when they released Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd and then the re-vamped The Final Cut because they used the film version. The single version is only available on CD on a promo for The Wall Live in Berlin '90. It's the drummers that make the single version more powerful for me. And like you I still have my gatefold single of it with a purchase receipt in it. 😀
I got it as a standard 45 rpm single, however with the triple-sleeve cover, back in the 80's. The B-side contains the choir version of "Bring the Boys Back Home".
Notice the duality of the lyric "...it came as I recall in the form of a scroll with gold leaf and all...." indicating the formality and at the same time the triviality of the communication with what Waters perceives to be the establishment`s obvious (in his eyes) attitudes. I just realized Waters intentionally placed scroll in rhyme with all and recall. He implies the official scroll was to him a trivial scrawl. The gold leaf was to him a gawdy dime store treatment to him of a symbol for his father's sacrifice. The weight of the lyric never occurred to me until I heard Doug read it.
As a former RAF serviceman, I thank you for your commentary this very powerful song about the waste of human life that war brings! Although I don't always agree with some of Rodgers views and comments. he has every right to write and perform this piece of music as he has. Bless you Mr Waters and shame on the politicians!
I highly encourage a listen to the entire album of The Final Cut. Especially the version that includes this song. It’s an incredible commentary on war, and still rings true 40 years later.
I completely disagree. This album is great, but NOT with this song included. It wasn't on the original album. And it kills the awesome transition between the original two songs it was spliced in between on subsequent remastered versions. This song should have remained as it originally was. Part of the movie The Wall and an obscure single.
Doug, You are so right about Roger's support of all veterans of war. I have a good friend who's son was killed in Desert storm. When Roger brought The Wall to San Diego, He invited my friend to come backstage before the concert with other loved ones of fallen Warriers. Roger talked to each one of them for a lot of time, never giving the impression that he didn't want to be there. Later in the concert, That I was at. Roger showed a picture of my friend's son in his uniform, I about lost my shit!!! it was so amazing.
Thanks for listening to this track Doug. I sure hope you take a dive into Roger Water's solo career. Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking, Radio Kaos, Amused to Death are fantastic albums.
Thank you Doug for doing this video. My dad fought in the entire Italian campaign, including Cassino and Anzio. Those battles were horrific. I am lucky, my dad survived the war. How terrible it is for a child to lose his or her father in a war (or any situation) and grow up without their father. Just goes to show how pointless and stupid wars are. I am reminded of a couple of antiwar songs. John Lennon's Give Peace a Chance and ELP's Farewell to Arms.
Interestingly, in Roger's solo concert film of The Wall there is a scene where he does, in fact, lay out the entire offensive that his father died in. It really does make the song that much more poignant.
@@richardkeeler2347 it's really "Roger Waters presents... The Wall Part 2" and that's why it's not often regarded as a Pink Floyd album at all. It's great but lacking the other members' contributions.
I love the inclusion in the movie as part one and part two. The build up of the story line after part one and the child finding his fathers gun, uniform and letter from king george during part 2 of the song really makes a difference to how this song resonates.
I'm always impressed with the economy of the lyrics for the song. It's like one of those three sentence short stories that can be devastating in their simplicity. The beginning and middle verse are all very prim and proper; they make the sacrifice of Roger's father sound noble and worthy. The final verse tells the truth; it was cold and dark, they were scared, the enemy broke through, and everyone was slaughtered. There was no glory just senseless death.
It's so even-keeled all the way through until Waters practically spits out the word "daddy" (rather than "father"). That's why it hits me so hard. I also thought about his line about the king's rubber stamp. And while I don't want to take away from Roger's righteous anger, I also had to think about the king -- who did not send those men to war, that was Churchill -- and what it would be like to sign so many scrolls. It would have been about 175 per day. Think about hand-signing 175 scrolls per day for six years.
Heartbreaking, bitter, sarcastic, majestic, emotional......and wonderful in the context of the story. Should have been on the album but I daresay original vinyl time constraints.
Nearly 80 years on and the world is still full of hatred and killing. 😢 In the words of the great American song writer Tom Paxton, ‘Peace, peace will come and let it begin with me’ 🙏
Such a powerful, raw song! The climax is basically Roger's primal scream of pain and fury. Thank you for sharing this for Veteran's/Armistice Day. Now, go get a DVD of "The Wall" and strap in!
Thank you for evaluating this. This piece is one of the most poignant he ever did. Doug, you absolutely must experience 'The Wall'. As others have mentioned, 'The Final Cut' is a must - hear as well.
The Pontardulais Male Voice Choir, conducted by Noel Davies who was my Primary school headmaster. Was a very musical school and I'm so grateful for that, as an ageing musician.
P.S. Have you done _One of These Days_ ? I'd get a kick out of you reacting to that, I think. I recommend you not pull up a lyric sheet for it, though, and be careful when reading in (try to avoid much info on the structure of the song). You'll understand why later.
It's a remarkably affecting track which still gets me more often than not. I think The Final Cut was an apt album to eventually shoehorn it into as it fits better with the emotional theme of that work, some of them more similar such as "The Gunner's Dream" and some more subtle, "Paranoid Eyes" and "Southampton Dock".
I hate it on The Final Cut. It just doesn't belong. And it kills the transition between 'One of the few' and 'The hero's return' on the original album. Southampton Dock, though... brilliant
@@rmyikzelf5604 Yeah, you're not wrong. On the odd occassion when I listen to the album I still expect the original trasition, adding it into the running order 20 years later makes it inevitable that it will disrupt the flow of an album you may have been listening to for all that time. I stand by my opinion that the track is of the same stuff as the others on the album and if it had been on there in the first place it may have sat better.
Thanks for doing this Doug...I shed tears every time hearing this: I do not often hear this track. As a vet, this encapsulates what service to your country entails.
Listening to it, I had the images of the movie in my head, it crushed my heart. I cried at the "And that's how the high command took my Daddy, from me"... War is stupid. Although personal, we can all relate what it is or what it could be to grow without ever seen once your "Daddy"...
I first watched The Wall in 87 and heard tigers early in my RAF career and it moved me but I didn't really feel it. Now I did 23 years service and know some names carved in stone I cannot hear this and not sob uncontrollably.
The movie The Wall will be well worth your time. As movies go, there isn't much dialogue. But the music more than carries it, with the lyrics saying more than the actors could. There is some absolutely breathtaking animation, all hand drawn...pre CGI, that will blow your mind.
Thanks for this Doug!! Great reaction. I first heard this song when watching The Wall. Immediately felt it's impact, and was sad that it wasn't part of the album, but it completely fit the narrative of The Wall concept (especially knowing Roger's past - understood it was biographical). It truly is such a fitting piece for Remembrance Day! Thank you to ALL the service members, present & past, living or passed. Your sacrifices are what's made our way of life possible - never lose sight of that!! Lest we forget.
There was also something signed with some kind of stamp, in our country there was just a "funeral" for my great-grandfather's family, a typed letter came that he died with the stamp of the local military enlistment office...
Not sure if this comment has been previously said. The deep drums in the beginning is to symbolise shelling (cannon shells?) in the distance. In the movie, you have the added sound of the shells moving though the air as they pass over Roger's dad in a bunker.
Not just me then. I used to love having this so loud, the shelling sound would make the double glazing shake. Not sure the neighbours appreciated it though.
his grandfather died in WWI in the tunnels under the trenches. His father's father. BTW: the Wall is all about war and the influence on Roger's life and that of 100's of millions of others who adore his music
Ive never heard this before. What a powerful song and so fitting for today. GOD bless all those who gave their lives, and those serving today for our freedom. Let it not be in vain. 🙏
One of my favorite Floyd songs, but I think it's kinda understood that bring the boys back home is the 2nd chapter of this & together they make a movement.
I'm surprised no one mentions this, but the horrific German Tiger tank was deployed at Anzio. Though inefficient and subject to maintenance issues, it had a 90mm gun that could decimate allied tanks and 100cm frontal armor that easily deflected allied tank shots. It truly struck terror into allied troops. R.I.P. Mr. Waters. Thanks for the reaction, Doug.
"Day After Tomorrow" from Tom Waits. Another masterpiece that presents us with the point of view of a soldier who doesn't want to be out there in the war. Absolutely brilliant song. Here's part of the lyrics: "...I close my eyes every night And I dream that I can hold you They fill us full of lies, everyone buys 'Bout what it means to be a soldier I still don't know how I'm supposed to feel 'Bout all the blood that's been spilled Will god on this throne Get me back home On the day after tomorrow You can't deny, the other side Don't want to die anymore then we do What I'm trying to say is don't they pray To the same god that we do? And tell me how does god choose? Whose prayers does he refuse? Who turns the wheel? Who throws the dice? On the day after tomorrow I am not fighting, for justice I am not fighting, for freedom I am fighting, for my life And another day in the world here I just do what I've been told We're just the gravel on the road And only the lucky ones come home On the day after tomorrow"
Absolutely love this piece. It’s very powerful. Equally powerful is The Final Cut album, which I really think you should listen to in its entirety. It’s best experienced that way.
Thank you so much for this one! Actually this is my favorite Pink Floyd song. The stark finality of the ending just kills me every time. My own father lost his dad in WWII so it really resonates with me imagining how that must have been. 🥲
Thanks for commenting this beautiful song. Since I also lost my father when I was young (cancer, not war) this song stroke my to the merge of my bones and my eyes still grow damp when I watch this scene where Pink puts on the hat of his father and looks into the mirror, seeing both himself and his daddy. But the film doesn't open with this song. At the very beginning when the cleaning lady of the hotel where Pink stays is working there is a song playing The little boy that Santa Claus forgot by Vera Lynn. Vera Lynn is mentioned later in the story and this song is about a little boy who doesn't have a father.
Would love your reaction to a track from The Final Cut, The Gunners Dream is an incredible song, but Two Suns, The Fletcher Memorial Home and The Final Cut are superb... A much underrated album I think. Two worthy contenders from The Wall I think, Mother and Nobody Home... I love these videos.. Thanks.
As a gen z member we were told the stories of war by our parents and grandparents and this always strikes a chord. My grandfather fought in both world wars and returned, one of the lucky ones, thank you to those that fought and fell for our freedom
Hey Doug, I sent you the single, so you had it in your collection. It will be interesting when you get around to reacting to "The Final Cut" in its entirety. Most folk who are Pink Floyd fans shy away from it because it is very personal and mostly about Roger's life but for me that's what makes it so special ... bring the box of tissues ...
I love that you actually listen to music instead of pausing it every 5 seconds to rant about nothing like some others who react to music on the internet.
Remembrance Day in Canada and I believe the rest of the Commonwealth. I perform in a local concert band, playing string bass, here in my hometown of Sudbury, Ontario, Canada and we'll be performing a concert tomorrow with a variety of RAF marches, swing jazz pieces, arrangements of Lennon's "Imagine", Holst's Second Suite in F and "I Vow to Thee my Country", the theme from "Schindler's List", among other pieces. Music is a fantastic way to pay tribute to the veterans who fought for our freedoms. :)
Thanx so very much Doug for this very special reaction and analysis of "When The Tigers Broke Free" by Pink Floyd. Thanx also for your your poignant thoughts on Veterans Day (USA) and Remembrance Day(Canada) that I heartily agree with you on. I urge you to watch "The Wall", the movie, at your earliest convenience as I think it is an amazing film by Alan Parker and will give you more insight into the music and Roger Waters and Pink Floyd. I ran the premiere of The Wall in Toronto back in August 1982. I will never forget how the first 5-10 minutes of the film changed an audiences demeanor so quickly and so completely. As my good friend would remark, after we saw the press screening, : " I feel like someone flipped open my skull and fondled my brain?" It is a powerful and magnificent film. I hope you enjoy it.
Happy New year Doug, here I am rewatching a bunch of your videos again! I invite you to listen to "Gunners Dream" another emotive and dense pink Floyd masterpiece. Would love to see you react to that one- incredible lyrics, vocal delivery and composition.
"In the early years of the Second World War, Waters' father was a conscientious objector who drove an ambulance during the Blitz. He later changed his stance on pacifism, joined the Territorial Army and was commissioned into the 8th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers as a Second Lieutenant on 11 September 1943. He was killed five months later on 18 February 1944 at Aprilia, during the Battle of Anzio, when Roger was five months old." Wiki
I agree with a comment below... The Final Cut is an AMAZING album. and one of my all time favorites. and it's weird that I can't listen to this song without having it immidately followed by Good By Blue Sky.
I cry every single time. Hundreds and hundreds of listens. I’ve never hardened to this one.
The potency is severe
same here. I never hardened to it either.
@@simontemplar3359
me too, me too
it happens to me all the time too. this song touch every fiber or my being.,
As you noted, this song was added to later releases of 'The Final Cut', where it sits perfectly amid that album's narrative progression. It's a hugely under appreciated album in my opinion and I highly recommend you give it a listen. 'The Gunner's Dream' is a particular favourite of mine.
Final Cut was more like Roger’s first solo album. Rick was non existent. Very little contribution from other members.
The title track has always been my favorite.
Amazing lyricist.
Daddy issues, though and well, now he's... well, not on the right side of history this time, for sure.
@@christopherwhite7347Perhaps, but I enjoy the Final Cut but don't enjoy any of Roger's other work
@@christopherwhite7347there’s some fantastic guitar work by Gilmour too on the album.
Perhaps not as much as fans would have liked, but I’m not sure the album would have had the same impact with the “traditional” Floyd sound.
It's my favorite album of theirs, even though it all Roger and I get the feeling that he's impossible to work with.
An absolutely glaring omission from The Wall album, and probably the strongest moment in the whole movie.
The biggest omission is the full version of Empty Spaces that was used in the movie, and isn’t anywhere I have found.
@@christopherwhite7347 yes they have never released "The Wall OST" which is sad. That version of Empty Spaces is fantastic.
@@christopherwhite7347 ruclips.net/video/CLpR0oBOKWQ/видео.html
@@christopherwhite7347 Yes, where they go into the next section of "shall we buy some new guitars/drive more powerful cars" etc. I never liked the way Empty Spaces cut off and Young Lust began, once I heard some of the live versions of The Wall, where the full version was always played. Never understood why they would cut less than 2 minutes of music, when there was space left on the vinyl
Yeah.... all omissions pale in comparison to not having Hey You in the movie
Whatever ones opinion of Roger, you cant deny his childhood was destroyed by war, and a lot of us can empathize with that. It happens too often.
And in this case it was it worth it... I sound like a terrible person but it helped create Pink Floyd. Made for one hell of a message to the world, our children, and boy it sounded good!
That rubber stamp line was brutal even when I head it as a teenager
@@Jay-iq5zu First heard this at a showing of The Wall film 17/07/1982. Made me cry then, and still does today. I now understand why I was so upset when I received a "rubber stamp" letter denying me access to something about 30 years ago.
It's more like" I hurt in such a way that I dedicated my whole life and my whole attitude to make sure no one anywhere in the world ios ever going to be hurt that way!"@@gregmoldovan5921
@@Jay-iq5zu Waters really spits the word.
Thank you to all the veterans. This song always makes me tear up. The pain and hurt are so visceral.
It gets me from the first note, the first seconds of that movie.
I wish I had never seen The Wall, so I could experience seeing it for the first time again. Masterpiece
Ohhh this is one few people have even heard. This came out as a 7" single, I actually own that.
I often play this on acoustic and sing, it's a perfect song for Remembrance Day.
"And my eyes still grow damp to remember his Majesty signed with his own.... rubber stamp" Brutal.
I saw it on the movie "Pink Floyd The Wall". It was hard to buy for a while.
I've always preferred the single version over the film one. I was disappointed when they released Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd and then the re-vamped The Final Cut because they used the film version. The single version is only available on CD on a promo for The Wall Live in Berlin '90. It's the drummers that make the single version more powerful for me. And like you I still have my gatefold single of it with a purchase receipt in it. 😀
I got it as a standard 45 rpm single, however with the triple-sleeve cover, back in the 80's. The B-side contains the choir version of "Bring the Boys Back Home".
Notice the duality of the lyric "...it came as I recall in the form of a scroll with gold leaf and all...." indicating the formality and at the same time the triviality of the communication with what Waters perceives to be the establishment`s obvious (in his eyes) attitudes. I just realized Waters intentionally placed scroll in rhyme with all and recall. He implies the official scroll was to him a trivial scrawl. The gold leaf was to him a gawdy dime store treatment to him of a symbol for his father's sacrifice. The weight of the lyric never occurred to me until I heard Doug read it.
@@sneakyfox4651 That's the one I have.
I hope to see your reaction to the film some day on Patreon.
As a former RAF serviceman, I thank you for your commentary this very powerful song about the waste of human life that war brings! Although I don't always agree with some of Rodgers views and comments. he has every right to write and perform this piece of music as he has. Bless you Mr Waters and shame on the politicians!
One of my all time favorites songs, and well said Doug.
I highly encourage a listen to the entire album of The Final Cut. Especially the version that includes this song. It’s an incredible commentary on war, and still rings true 40 years later.
That album is nothing but trash.
I like it. Screw the haters.
I completely disagree. This album is great, but NOT with this song included. It wasn't on the original album. And it kills the awesome transition between the original two songs it was spliced in between on subsequent remastered versions.
This song should have remained as it originally was. Part of the movie The Wall and an obscure single.
This song breaks me, every time.
Doug,
You are so right about Roger's support of all veterans of war. I have a good friend who's son was killed in Desert storm. When Roger brought The Wall to San Diego, He invited my friend to come backstage before the concert with other loved ones of fallen Warriers. Roger talked to each one of them for a lot of time, never giving the impression that he didn't want to be there. Later in the concert, That I was at. Roger showed a picture of my friend's son in his uniform, I about lost my shit!!! it was so amazing.
Thanks for listening to this track Doug. I sure hope you take a dive into Roger Water's solo career. Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking, Radio Kaos, Amused to Death are fantastic albums.
Radio KAOS is a fantastic record! I just started listening to his solo stuff and that record is an amazing experience!
I hate radio chaos.... pros and cons and amused are stellar albums though.
The story that is "The Pro's and Con's" puts amazing images in your head... you have to be a special person to create such mastery.
Thank you Doug for doing this video. My dad fought in the entire Italian campaign, including Cassino and Anzio. Those battles were horrific. I am lucky, my dad survived the war. How terrible it is for a child to lose his or her father in a war (or any situation) and grow up without their father. Just goes to show how pointless and stupid wars are. I am reminded of a couple of antiwar songs. John Lennon's Give Peace a Chance and ELP's Farewell to Arms.
Thank you for not stopping this beautiful piece half way. The emotions it forces out are tangible.
Interestingly, in Roger's solo concert film of The Wall there is a scene where he does, in fact, lay out the entire offensive that his father died in. It really does make the song that much more poignant.
There're some amazing songs from The Final Cut like Gunner's dream, Fletcher memorial home and title track
The Gunner's Dream is another Remembrance Day song. I think it's one of Roger's best war songs.
I'd love to see Doug react to the whole album.
Fletcher Memorial Home is one of the great proposals for a new world government that I can really get behind.
The Final Cut is very overshadowed by Pink Floyds other albums
@@richardkeeler2347 it's really "Roger Waters presents... The Wall Part 2" and that's why it's not often regarded as a Pink Floyd album at all. It's great but lacking the other members' contributions.
i never know exactly how to commemorate veteran's day,but being part of the viewing audience of this video makes me feel like i have done so.
I'm not sure why, but I have the sense that this song would be fantastic arranged for and played on bagpipes, along with the original Waters' vocals.
I bet that would sound awesome.
I love the inclusion in the movie as part one and part two. The build up of the story line after part one and the child finding his fathers gun, uniform and letter from king george during part 2 of the song really makes a difference to how this song resonates.
This has always been a favorite for me. What a powerful expression of grief, and the futility of war.
Tears. For the millionth time.
If you don't weep to this song you're an android.
Immediately, as soon as the first notes are played. It's crazy how powerful this song is.
Loved this track when I first heard it in the movie. And to all the veterans, thank you for your service.
It is such pity this song not widely available, great song, always moves me to tears
I'm always impressed with the economy of the lyrics for the song. It's like one of those three sentence short stories that can be devastating in their simplicity. The beginning and middle verse are all very prim and proper; they make the sacrifice of Roger's father sound noble and worthy. The final verse tells the truth; it was cold and dark, they were scared, the enemy broke through, and everyone was slaughtered. There was no glory just senseless death.
It's so even-keeled all the way through until Waters practically spits out the word "daddy" (rather than "father"). That's why it hits me so hard.
I also thought about his line about the king's rubber stamp. And while I don't want to take away from Roger's righteous anger, I also had to think about the king -- who did not send those men to war, that was Churchill -- and what it would be like to sign so many scrolls. It would have been about 175 per day. Think about hand-signing 175 scrolls per day for six years.
But signing scrolls is nothing compared to being killed. Perfunctory condolences can be worse than none at all.
It's the LEAST they could do.
This is so harrowing. I love this song. It always makes me shivers.
This whole album is so underrated two suns in the sunset is one of the best songs ever imo❤ this album makes me cry alot! I relate to roger so much
This song wasn't part of the original version of the very underrated and brilliant The Final Cut.
Heartbreaking, bitter, sarcastic, majestic, emotional......and wonderful in the context of the story. Should have been on the album but I daresay original vinyl time constraints.
Nearly 80 years on and the world is still full of hatred and killing. 😢
In the words of the great American song writer Tom Paxton, ‘Peace, peace will come and let it begin with me’ 🙏
Such a powerful, raw song! The climax is basically Roger's primal scream of pain and fury. Thank you for sharing this for Veteran's/Armistice Day. Now, go get a DVD of "The Wall" and strap in!
Roger's voice here is so powerful and incredible, so overwhelming😮😢❤
Beautiful piece of art.
Thank you for evaluating this. This piece is one of the most poignant he ever did. Doug, you absolutely must experience 'The Wall'. As others have mentioned, 'The Final Cut' is a must - hear as well.
The Pontardulais Male Voice Choir, conducted by Noel Davies who was my Primary school headmaster. Was a very musical school and I'm so grateful for that, as an ageing musician.
Veterans Day 🪖 🇺🇸 🙏 Nov 11 Thank you for serving our country!
The bitterness of this song is so poignant. And so on point.
P.S. Have you done _One of These Days_ ? I'd get a kick out of you reacting to that, I think.
I recommend you not pull up a lyric sheet for it, though, and be careful when reading in (try to avoid much info on the structure of the song). You'll understand why later.
It's a remarkably affecting track which still gets me more often than not. I think The Final Cut was an apt album to eventually shoehorn it into as it fits better with the emotional theme of that work, some of them more similar such as "The Gunner's Dream" and some more subtle, "Paranoid Eyes" and "Southampton Dock".
I hate it on The Final Cut. It just doesn't belong. And it kills the transition between 'One of the few' and 'The hero's return' on the original album.
Southampton Dock, though... brilliant
@@rmyikzelf5604 Yeah, you're not wrong. On the odd occassion when I listen to the album I still expect the original trasition, adding it into the running order 20 years later makes it inevitable that it will disrupt the flow of an album you may have been listening to for all that time. I stand by my opinion that the track is of the same stuff as the others on the album and if it had been on there in the first place it may have sat better.
I was lucky to visit the premiere of the movie The Wall in Utrecht, Netherlands, and got the vinyl single with this song, with beautiful artwork.
Thanks for doing this Doug...I shed tears every time hearing this: I do not often hear this track. As a vet, this encapsulates what service to your country entails.
Listening to it, I had the images of the movie in my head, it crushed my heart. I cried at the "And that's how the high command took my Daddy, from me"... War is stupid. Although personal, we can all relate what it is or what it could be to grow without ever seen once your "Daddy"...
I first watched The Wall in 87 and heard tigers early in my RAF career and it moved me but I didn't really feel it.
Now I did 23 years service and know some names carved in stone I cannot hear this and not sob uncontrollably.
The movie The Wall will be well worth your time. As movies go, there isn't much dialogue. But the music more than carries it, with the lyrics saying more than the actors could. There is some absolutely breathtaking animation, all hand drawn...pre CGI, that will blow your mind.
Nobody quite does emotion and atmosphere like the Floyd.
Thanks for this Doug!! Great reaction. I first heard this song when watching The Wall. Immediately felt it's impact, and was sad that it wasn't part of the album, but it completely fit the narrative of The Wall concept (especially knowing Roger's past - understood it was biographical). It truly is such a fitting piece for Remembrance Day!
Thank you to ALL the service members, present & past, living or passed. Your sacrifices are what's made our way of life possible - never lose sight of that!! Lest we forget.
Only one word: THANKS!
That’s how the high command took my daddy from me.
I was ready for it to go into Goodbye Blue Sky at the end.
Thank You Doug.........as a Veteran agains Thanks
There was also something signed with some kind of stamp, in our country there was just a "funeral" for my great-grandfather's family, a typed letter came that he died with the stamp of the local military enlistment office...
Not sure if this comment has been previously said. The deep drums in the beginning is to symbolise shelling (cannon shells?) in the distance. In the movie, you have the added sound of the shells moving though the air as they pass over Roger's dad in a bunker.
Not just me then. I used to love having this so loud, the shelling sound would make the double glazing shake. Not sure the neighbours appreciated it though.
his grandfather died in WWI in the tunnels under the trenches. His father's father. BTW: the Wall is all about war and the influence on Roger's life and that of 100's of millions of others who adore his music
Well no, the Wall is partially about that. That is one of many "Bricks" in Pink's wall
Cheers for treating us on a Saturday, Doug!
This is the most powerful PF song of many powerful songs.
Ive never heard this before. What a powerful song and so fitting for today. GOD bless all those who gave their lives, and those serving today for our freedom. Let it not be in vain. 🙏
Thanks for this Doug so poinient on this sad day and a brilliant track.
Great vid today Doug, thanks. A lot of the information you gave us, I didn't know. Go and watch the film!!!
Have absolutely always loved this tune, on The Wall movie and later, on The Final Cut.
One of my favorite Floyd songs, but I think it's kinda understood that bring the boys back home is the 2nd chapter of this & together they make a movement.
I'm surprised no one mentions this, but the horrific German Tiger tank was deployed at Anzio. Though inefficient and subject to maintenance issues, it had a 90mm gun that could decimate allied tanks and 100cm frontal armor that easily deflected allied tank shots. It truly struck terror into allied troops. R.I.P. Mr. Waters. Thanks for the reaction, Doug.
"Day After Tomorrow" from Tom Waits. Another masterpiece that presents us with the point of view of a soldier who doesn't want to be out there in the war. Absolutely brilliant song. Here's part of the lyrics:
"...I close my eyes every night
And I dream that I can hold you
They fill us full of lies, everyone buys
'Bout what it means to be a soldier
I still don't know how I'm supposed to feel
'Bout all the blood that's been spilled
Will god on this throne
Get me back home
On the day after tomorrow
You can't deny, the other side
Don't want to die anymore then we do
What I'm trying to say is don't they pray
To the same god that we do?
And tell me how does god choose?
Whose prayers does he refuse?
Who turns the wheel?
Who throws the dice?
On the day after tomorrow
I am not fighting, for justice
I am not fighting, for freedom
I am fighting, for my life
And another day in the world here
I just do what I've been told
We're just the gravel on the road
And only the lucky ones come home
On the day after tomorrow"
I have so much love for this song. Thanks for doing this one. Amaaaaaazing.
Wow that was powerful. Attended a Remembrance Day ceremony here in Canada today. My father's father died in 1941 during WWII.
Not a fan of Roger, but I can't deny how effective and powerful this song is. Nicely done, Doug.
Tyvm indeed😢, you looked like hiding your tears, I couldnt
The movie is worth your time.
Brilliant track.
Absolutely love this piece. It’s very powerful. Equally powerful is The Final Cut album, which I really think you should listen to in its entirety. It’s best experienced that way.
A long loved song. Newer listeners can be forgiven for not realizing the Tigers are German Army tanks.
I recommend The Fletcher Memorial Home. It’s the best song off The Final Cut
Thank you so much Doug. Great respect on this day.
Thank you so much for this one! Actually this is my favorite Pink Floyd song. The stark finality of the ending just kills me every time. My own father lost his dad in WWII so it really resonates with me imagining how that must have been. 🥲
My father was there at Anzio with the US Amy 3rd Infantry Division. I asked him what it was like. His reply: "Loud."
Thanks for commenting this beautiful song. Since I also lost my father when I was young (cancer, not war) this song stroke my to the merge of my bones and my eyes still grow damp when I watch this scene where Pink puts on the hat of his father and looks into the mirror, seeing both himself and his daddy.
But the film doesn't open with this song. At the very beginning when the cleaning lady of the hotel where Pink stays is working there is a song playing The little boy that Santa Claus forgot by Vera Lynn. Vera Lynn is mentioned later in the story and this song is about a little boy who doesn't have a father.
Nice. Well Put.
Would love your reaction to a track from The Final Cut, The Gunners Dream is an incredible song, but Two Suns, The Fletcher Memorial Home and The Final Cut are superb... A much underrated album I think.
Two worthy contenders from The Wall I think, Mother and Nobody Home... I love these videos.. Thanks.
What a powerful message and performance. WOW.
Sir, one of the best reastions I have seen and heard. You have my respect. Just an Englishman, no one that matters.
Brilliant piece of music well done Roger
As a gen z member we were told the stories of war by our parents and grandparents and this always strikes a chord. My grandfather fought in both world wars and returned, one of the lucky ones, thank you to those that fought and fell for our freedom
Hey Doug, I sent you the single, so you had it in your collection. It will be interesting when you get around to reacting to "The Final Cut" in its entirety. Most folk who are Pink Floyd fans shy away from it because it is very personal and mostly about Roger's life but for me that's what makes it so special ... bring the box of tissues ...
I love that you actually listen to music instead of pausing it every 5 seconds to rant about nothing like some others who react to music on the internet.
"He's taken it personally." Excellent summary of The Wall.
Anyone else noticed how the bass line sounds like artillery shells being fired? Best experienced pretty loud on speakers to get the resonant sound.
Can't not cry when I hear this.
Remembrance Day in Canada and I believe the rest of the Commonwealth. I perform in a local concert band, playing string bass, here in my hometown of Sudbury, Ontario, Canada and we'll be performing a concert tomorrow with a variety of RAF marches, swing jazz pieces, arrangements of Lennon's "Imagine", Holst's Second Suite in F and "I Vow to Thee my Country", the theme from "Schindler's List", among other pieces. Music is a fantastic way to pay tribute to the veterans who fought for our freedoms. :)
I just watched the movie for the first time in 20 years. Then i checked RUclips and you posted this video. Whatva coincidence!!
Doug you will LOVE the final cut. It doesn't get much love, but I think it to be some of their best work.
Holy. Moly. Doug, you absolutely must do a reaction video for The Wall movie. Sober and enhanced ;)
If you want something with a very similar tone, and Roger's anger. Check out The Fletcher Memorial Home, also on The Final Cut.
Thanx so very much Doug for this very special reaction and analysis of "When The Tigers Broke Free" by Pink Floyd. Thanx also for your your poignant thoughts on Veterans Day (USA) and Remembrance Day(Canada) that I heartily agree with you on.
I urge you to watch "The Wall", the movie, at your earliest convenience as I think it is an amazing film by Alan Parker and will give you more insight into the music and Roger Waters and Pink Floyd. I ran the premiere of The Wall in Toronto back in August 1982. I will never forget how the first 5-10 minutes of the film changed an audiences demeanor so quickly and so completely.
As my good friend would remark, after we saw the press screening, : " I feel like someone flipped open my skull and fondled my brain?"
It is a powerful and magnificent film. I hope you enjoy it.
"He's taken it personally" - understatement of the century.
Happy New year Doug, here I am rewatching a bunch of your videos again! I invite you to listen to "Gunners Dream" another emotive and dense pink Floyd masterpiece. Would love to see you react to that one- incredible lyrics, vocal delivery and composition.
Yes, you have to see the movie, The Wall
The Ballad of Bill Hubbard from Rogers Album Amused to Death would be another perfect song for this occasion...
The men who foment war never fight.
War is a racket.
That was deeper than I thought it would be.
It's a very emotive song and probably explains a lot about Roger. His muscial legacy and that of the band are secure.
Tremendously moving ❤
"In the early years of the Second World War, Waters' father was a conscientious objector who drove an ambulance during the Blitz. He later changed his stance on pacifism, joined the Territorial Army and was commissioned into the 8th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers as a Second Lieutenant on 11 September 1943. He was killed five months later on 18 February 1944 at Aprilia, during the Battle of Anzio, when Roger was five months old." Wiki
I agree with a comment below... The Final Cut is an AMAZING album. and one of my all time favorites. and it's weird that I can't listen to this song without having it immidately followed by Good By Blue Sky.