"The Gunner's Dream" is a song from Pink Floyd's 1983 album The Final Cut.[1][2] This song was one of several to be considered for the band's "best of" album, Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd.[3] The song tells the story and thoughts of an airman gunner as he falls to his death during a raid, dreaming of a safe world in the future, without war. It is one of the four songs on the video version of the album The Final Cut Video EP. In his lyrics, Waters references real-life events including the then very recent Hyde Park and Regent's Park bombings, and takes the refrain "some corner of a foreign field" from Rupert Brooke's poem The Soldier.
| "The Gunner's Dream" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Pink Floyd | |
| from the album The Final Cut | |
| Published | Pink Floyd Music Publishers Ltd |
| Released | 21 March 1983 (UK) 2 April 1983 (US) |
| Recorded | July–December 1982 |
| Genre | |
| Length | 5:07 |
| Label | Harvest Records (UK) Columbia Records (US) |
| Songwriter(s) | Roger Waters |
| Producer(s) |
|
Reception
editIn a retrospective review for The Final Cut, Rachel Mann of The Quietus described "The Gunner's Dream" as the album's centerpiece; the track "tenderly imagines the lost hopes and expectations of a bomber gunner shot down and falling to his death over Berlin."[4] Mann believed Waters' voice is "beautifully matched to words whose understatement adds to the power."[4]
Personnel
edit- Roger Waters – vocals, bass, and tape effects
- David Gilmour – guitar
- Nick Mason – drums
with:
- The National Philharmonic Orchestra conducted and arranged by Michael Kamen
- Raphael Ravenscroft – tenor sax
- Michael Kamen – piano and electric piano
- Andy Bown – Steinway piano
Use of the song in media
editThe song was re-recorded with Durga McBroom on vocals for inclusion in the soundtrack for G.B. Hajim's animated sci-fi musical Strange Frame.[5][6][7]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Strong, Martin C. (2004). The Great Rock Discography (7th ed.). Edinburgh: Canongate Books. p. 1177. ISBN 1-84195-551-5.
- ^ Mabbett, Andy (1995). The Complete Guide to the Music of Pink Floyd. London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-4301-X.
- ^ Guthrie, James. "James Guthrie: Audio: Building A Compilation Album". Pink Floyd. Archived from the original on 2 June 2010. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
- ^ a b Mann, Rachel (17 June 2013). "30 Years On: Pink Floyd's The Final Cut Revisited". The Quietus. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
- ^ "Pink Floyd news :: Brain Damage - Pink Floyd's "The Gunner's Dream" to appear in new animated movie".
- ^ "Strange Frame: Love & Sax (2009) - Preview | Sci-Fi Movie Page".
- ^ "156. Strange Frame: Love & Sax (2012)". 23 October 2013.
External links
edit