Hey You
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- This article is about the Pink Floyd song. For The Exies song, see Hey You (The Exies song).
| "Hey You" | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Song by Pink Floyd | ||
| from the album The Wall | ||
| Released | 30 November 1979 (US), 8 December 1979 (UK) | |
| Recorded | April-November, 1979 | |
| Genre | Art rock/Progressive rock | |
| Length | 4:41 | |
| Label | Harvest Records (UK) Columbia Records (US)/Capitol Records (US) |
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| Writer(s) | Waters, Gilmour | |
| Producer(s) | Bob Ezrin, David Gilmour and Roger Waters | |
| The Wall track listing | ||
| Goodbye Cruel World (13 of disc 1) |
"Hey You" (1 of disc 2) |
Is There Anybody Out There? (2 of disc 2) |
"Hey You " is a song by the British progressive rock band Pink Floyd. It was released on The Wall album in 1979. It starts the second disc of the double album. This song was edited out of the film for fear on the part of the filmmakers that the film was running too long; however, a rough version is available as an extra on the 25th anniversary edition DVD.
Contents |
[edit] Composition
The song starts off with a solo acoustic guitar playing in the classical style with the bass slightly similar to the of the opening of "Pigs" joining in shortly after. Next to join in is the synthesizer, the vocals, and finally the drums. In the middle is a guitar solo which plays the main melody of the song "Another Brick in the Wall". After this is a section which includes only synth, bass, and drums. The next section starts out with synth and acoustic guitar, which is soon joined by the bass. At this point there is a bunch of indecipherable whispering from the left channel. After this, the drums and vocals join in. At about 3:23 into the song, a common Floydian technique of recycling sounds occurs when a sonar-like ping similar to the ping in "Echoes" is introduced, adding to the atmosphere of isolation and emptiness. In general, the feeling of the song is one of despair, as most songs have on The Wall.
[edit] Plot
Like the other songs on the album, "Hey You" is told from the point of view of the protagonist, Pink. Pink realizes the mistake he has made completely shunning himself from society, and is attempting to regain contact with the outside world. However, his wall blocks any calls he makes. Pink's call becomes more and more desperate as he begins to realize there is no escape.
In the broader sense, the album is about an artist's isolation from his audience. Under this view, "Hey You" takes on a different view, highlighting the alienation of the audience (who are standing in the aisles, all alone, getting cold and no longer smiling), and the artist wondering if he can even reach them any longer (whether they can hear him, touch him, feel him).
The song constitutes the bridge from Pink isolating himself from reality to joining the fascist movement "The Worms", expressed by the line "...and the worms ate into his brain".
[edit] Trivia
- The song was originally intended to be between "Comfortably Numb" and "The Show Must Go On". This line-up was used on the demo tapes, but changed for the final release.
- The song has been covered by the American progressive metal band Dream Theater.
- Hey You is one of the most notable songs featuring Nashville tuning.
- "Hey You" was featured in the 2005 Noah Baumbach film The Squid and the Whale. In the film the teenage son tries to pass off "Hey You" as his own composition for a talent show.
[edit] Film
"Hey You" was shot for the film Pink Floyd The Wall, but was ultimately not included. A work print appears on the special edition DVD. The primary imagery is of mobs vandalizing cars, but also images of Pink against the wall, the first appearance of maggots, and a scene of Pink and his wife (nude, as per the lyrics) disappearing and reappearing in chairs and not acknowledging the presence of the other.
[edit] Personnel
- David Gilmour - guitars, pedal steel, fretless bass, vocals
- Nick Mason - drums
- Roger Waters - vocals
- Richard Wright - electric piano, organ, synthesizer
- James Guthrie - drill
[edit] References
- Fitch, Vernon. The Pink Floyd Encyclopedia (3rd edition), 2005. ISBN 1-894959-24-8
