Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk
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| "Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk" | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Song by Pink Floyd | ||
| from the album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn | ||
| Released | August 5, 1967 | |
| Recorded | March 1967 | |
| Genre | Psychedelic rock | |
| Length | 3:05 | |
| Label | Columbia/EMI (UK) Capitol (US) | |
| Writer(s) | Roger Waters | |
| Producer(s) | Norman Smith | |
| The Piper at the Gates of Dawn track listing | ||
| Pow R. Toc H. (5) |
"Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk" (6) |
Interstellar Overdrive (7) |
"Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk" is a song by British psychedelic rock band Pink Floyd, and appears on their debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967). This was Roger Waters' debut song-writing credit, and features frantic guitar-work by Syd Barrett. The song's title is a reference to John 5:8 - "Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk." Its morbid lyrics are quite unlike anything else on the album, the rest of which was penned by Barrett, but is characteristic of much of Waters's work; the clinical motif would recur in compositions like "Free Four" and "Comfortably Numb."
In what is probably a coincidence, the song parallels the title track to Waters's Amused to Death by beginning with the phrase "Doctor, Doctor."
It was covered by At the Drive-In for Steve Lamacq and released along with their single Invalid Litter Dept., and later on the compliation This Station Is Non-Operational.
[edit] Personnel
- Syd Barrett - Guitar
- Richard Wright - Keyboards
- Roger Waters - Bass and Vocals
- Nick Mason - Drums and Percussion
