Roger Waters - The Pros & Cons of Hitch Hiking - Full Album

The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking is a 1984 concept album and the first solo album by Roger Waters. The album was certified gold in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America in April 1995

The concept, as envisioned by Waters in 1977, rotated around a man's scattered thoughts during a road trip through somewhere in Central Europe, focusing on his midlife crisis, and how he dreams of committing adultery with a hitchhiker he picks up along the way. Along the way he also faces other fears and paranoia, with all of these things taking place in real time in the early morning hours of 04:30:18 AM to 05:12 AM on an unspecified day.
In July 1977, Waters played some of the music demos of what he had pieced together, but he also played parts of another album he was preparing titled Bricks in the Wall to the rest of his bandmates in his group Pink Floyd. After a long debate, they decided that they preferred the concept of Bricks In The Wall instead, even though their manager at the time, Steve O'Rourke, thought that The Pros and Cons... was a better-sounding concept.
'Well, the idea for the album came concurrently with the idea for The Wall – the basis of the idea. I wrote both pieces at roughly the same time. And in fact, I made demo tapes of them both, and in fact presented both demo tapes to the rest of the Floyd, and said "Look, I'm going to do one of these as a solo project and we'll do one as a band album, and you can choose." So, this was the one that was left over. Um...I mean, it's developed an awful lot since then, I think.'
— Roger Waters, 
Retitled The Wall, it became the next Pink Floyd album in 1979, and Waters shelved The Pros and Cons.... In early 1983, following his split from the band, Waters undertook the shelved project himself. The album was recorded in three different studios between February and December 1983 in London, the Olympic Studios, Eel Pie Studios and in Waters' own Billiard Room, the studio where his demos were constructed. Several people appeared on the album, including musical conductor Michael Kamen, the vocal talents of actor Jack Palance, saxophonist David Sanborn and rock and blues guitarist Eric Clapton.





Lyrics:


     4 30 AM (Apparently They Were Travelling Abroad)



[Jade:] "Oh God...."
[Wife:] "Wake up you're dreaming."
[Jade:] "What?"
[Wife:] "You're dreaming."
[Jade:] "We were moving away from the border."
[Wife:] "Huh, what border?"
[Jade:] "Have a nice day."
[Wife:] "Huh?"
[Jade:] "Have a nice day."
We were moving away from the border
Looking for somewhere to sleep
The two of us sharing the driving
Two hitchhikers slumped in the back seat
[Woman:] "Hello"
I sneaked a quick look in the mirror
She gave me a smile
I said, is anyone hungry?
Should we stop for a while?
So we pulled off into a layby
Her dress blew up over her head
I said, would you like to come with me?
She said something foreign under her breath
[Woman:] "(foreign words)"
And the sun shone down on her lovely young limbs
I thought to myself she's much too good for you
I lay down beside her with tears in my eyes
She said


    4:33 AM (Running Shoes)



So I stood by the roadside
The soles of my running shoes gripping
The tarmac like gunmetal magnets
Fixed on the front of her Fassbinder face
Was the kind of a smile
That only a rather dull child could have drawn
While attempting a graveyard in the moonlight
But she was impressed
You could see that she thought I looked fine
And when she turned sweeter
The reason, between you and me, was
She'd just seen my green Lamborghini
[RW:] "I think it was the Lamborghini."
So we went for a spin in the country
To feel the wind in our hair
To feel the power of my engine
To feel the thrill of desire
And then in the trees I heard a twig snap
Warning lights flashed on my map
I opened my eyes and to my surprise
There were Arabs with knives at the front of the bed
Right at the front of the bed
Oh my God, how did they get in here
I thought we were safe home in England
She said, come on now kid, it was wrong what you did
You've got to admit it was wrong what you did
You've got to admit it was wrong
[Jade:] "Oh god....Jesus..."


     4:37 AM (Arabs with Knives and West German Skies)



There were Arabs with knives
At the foot of the bed
Right at the foot of the bed
Oh my God how did they get in here?
I thought we wee safe home in England
She said "Come on now kit, it was wrong what you did
You've got to admit it was wrong."
Jade: "Oh god....Jesus"
Sleep Sleep
I know that I'm only dreaming
Jade: "Leave her alone..get out..out..get out of my house!"
Through closed eyes
I see West German skies on the ceiling
And I want to get back
To the girl with the rucksack
To feel her flaxen hair
I want to be there
See the sun going down
Behind Krupps steelworks
On the outskirts of some German town
Guten Abend meiner Damen und Herren Ha Ha Ha Ha
Willkommen in Konigsburg Ha Ha Ha Ha
Wollen zie danzen mit mir oder drinken Bier Ha Ha Ha Ha
Thank you but......
This young lady and I
Will just finish this bottle of wine
It was kind of you...but
I think we'll just say goodnight.
Jade: "Leave us alone"
Goodnight
Jade: "Leave us alone"
[Bell]
Man: Could I have the key to one for three please?
"There you are"
Man: "Thank you, goodnight"
Man: "Hello yes I'd like to order breakfast please I'd like coffee for two, and toast with marmalade. No...marmalade."


    4:39 AM (For the First Time Today, Part 2)



For the first time today
I help her naked body next to mine
In this hotel overlooking the Rhine
I made her mine
Ooh babe...ooh babe
Come with me and stay with me
Please stay with me
Woman: "Uh...what is it?"
Stay with me
Stay with me
Stay with me
Woman: "No..."
Stay with me
Woman: "Forget it"


    4:41 AM (Sexual Revolution)



Hey...girl
Take out the dagger
And let's have a stab at the sexual revolution
Hey girl
Let freedom for all be our rallying call
Tomorrow lets make...our new resolution
Yeah, but tonight lie still
While I plunder your sweet grave
And remember
Only the poor can be saved
Hey girl
As I've always said I prefer your lips red
Not what the good Lord made
But what he intended
Hey girl
Don't point the finger at me
I am only a rat in a maze like you
And only the dead go free
So...please hold my hand
As we blundre through the maze
And remember
Nothing can grow without rain
(Thunder)
Don't point
Don't point your finger at me
I woke in a fever
The bedclothes were all soaked in sweat
She said "You've been having a nightmare
And it's not over yet"
Then she picked up the doggy in the window
(The one with the waggly tail)
And she put him to bed between two bits of bread


    4:47 AM (The Remains of Our Love)



I just cowered in the corner
My pyjama coat over my head
And she smiled as she finished her sandwich
And her cold eyes fixed me to my dark history
As she brushed the remains
Of our love from the bed
And when she had turned back the covers
When all of the prayers had been read
She said, come on over here you silly boy
Before you catch your death of cold
I was only joking
Let's leave behind the city grime
Let's not compete
It could be fine in the country
Couldn't it thoughcome on lets go
I said, OK
[Young Child:] "Are we going to go now?"
[Jade:] "Where would you like to go darling?"
[Wife:] "MmmVermontWyoming"
[Jade:] "WyominghuhChildren!"
[Children:] "What?"
[Jade:] "We're going to Wyoming
DarlingWhich way is Wyoming?"
[Wife:] "Hook a right here
You're going the wrong way"
[Jade:] "I know that
I know children
Let's see how manyVolvos we pass
On the way to our new life in the country
One
[Wife:] "Jade, don't do that, that's really negative


    4:50 AM (Go Fishing)



As cars go by I cast my mind's eye
Over back packs on roof racks
Beyond the horizon
Where dream makers
Working white plastic processors
Invite the unwary
To reach for the pie in the sky
Go fishing my boy!
We set out in the spring
With a trunk full of books about everything
About solar devices
And how nice natural childbirth is
We cut down some trees
And we trailed our ideals
Through the forest glade
We dammed up the stream
And the kids cooled their heels
In the fishing pool we'd made
We held hands and we exchanged bands
And we practically lived off the land
You adopted a fox cub
Whose mother was somebody's coat
You fed him by hand
And then snuggled snuggled him down
By the grandfather bed while I wrote
And we grew our own maize
And I only occasionally went into town
To stock up on antibiotics
And shells for the shotgun that I kept around
I told the kids stories while you worked your loom
And the sun went down sooner each day
[Jade:] "Chapter six in which Eeyore has a birthday
And gets two presents."
[Child:] "Daddy...come on dad."
[Jade:] "Eeyore the old grey donkey stood by the side
Of the stream and he looked at himself in the water
'Pathetic' he said, 'That's what it is'
'Good morning Eeyore' said Pooh
'Oh' said Pooh, He thought for a long time
The leaves all fell down
Our crops all turned brown
It was over
As the first snowflakes fell
I realized all was not well in the camp
The kids caught bronchitis
The space heater ran out of diesel
One weekend a friend from the East
Rot his soul
Stole your heart
I said, fuck it then
Take the kids back to town
Maybe I'll see you around
I said, go then
She said, OK
And so...leaving all our hopes and dreams
To the wind and the rain
Taking only our stash
Left our litter and trash
And set out on the road again
On the road again
On the road again
[Child:] "Bye Bye Daddy, Bye Daddy
You can bring Pearl she's a darn nice girl
But don't bring Liza."


    4:56 AM (For the First Time Today, Part 1)



For the first time today
I feel it`s really over
You were my everyday excuse
For playing deaf, dumb and blind
And who`d have ever thought
This was how it would end for you and me
To carry my own millstone
Out of the trees
And I have to admit
I don`t like it a bit
Being left here beside this lonesome road
Lonesome road
Lonesome road


     4:58 AM (Dunroamin, Duncarin, Dunlivin)



Trucker: "Hey kid, you looking for a lift?...Get on up here
How's it going good buddy?"
I nailed ducks to the wall
Kept my heart in dark ruins
I built bungalows all over the hills
Dunroamin, duncarin, dunlivin
Took my girl to the country
To sleep out under the moon
Next thing she's going crazy
Trucker: "Women are like that kid
What the hell can you do?
She waits for the real Mr. Right to come
Gently removing her heart
With his promises of real communication
Trucker: "I saw a program about that on TV........"
Who's always picking up the tab
Who built a bungalow for his mum and dad
Me.....
Who took you out to all the shows
Who worked his fingers to the bone
Me....
While you were asleep
Jade: "It was me...I did"
I kept you in buttons and bows
Jade: "Christ all those clothes"
So you could encourage this creep
Hick: "With that program
I bet some son of a bitch made a million dollars"
With his neat feet
And his clean fingernails
With his wise but twinkling eyes
He's a rock standing out in an ocean of doubt
Trucker: "Get movin', get off the road ya Goddam faggot"
And compromise
I'd like to go on with this bit of a song
Describing this schmuck
I'd like to go on, but I'm going to throw up
Trucker: "Not in my rig you don't boy...get the hell out of here"


     5:01 AM (The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking, Part 10)



An angel on a Harley
Pulls across to greet a fellow rolling stone
Puts his bike up on it's stand
Leans back and then extends
A scarred and greasy hand...he said
He said, how ya doin bro?
Where ya been?
Where ya goin'?
Then he takes your hand
In some strange Californian handshake
And breaks the bone
[ Whiny person: ] Have a
nice day, hehe
A housewife from Encino
Whose husband's on the golf course
With his book of rules
Breaks and makes a 'U' and idles back
To take a second look at you
You flex your rod
Fish takes the hook
Sweet vodka and tobacco in her breath
Another number in your little black book
These are the pros and cons of hitchhiking
These are the pros and cons of hitchhiking
Oh babe, I must be dreaming
I'm standing on the leading edge
The Eastern seaboard spread before my eyes
Jump, says Yoko Ono
I'm too scared and too good looking, I cried
Go on, she says
Why don't you give it a try?
Why prolong the agony all men must die
Do you remember Dick Tracy?
Do you remember Shane?
[ Child: ] And mother wants you.
Could you see him selling tickets
Where the buzzard circles over
[ Child: ] Shane.
The body on the plain
Did you understand the music Yoko
Or was it all in vain?
[ Child: ] Shane...
The bitch said something mystical
(Herro)
So I stepped back on the kerb again
These are the pros and cons of hitchhiking
These are the pros and cons of hitchhiking
Oh babe, I must be dreaming again
These are the pros and cons of hitchhiking
These are the pros and cons of hitchhiking
These are the pros and cons of hitchhiking
These are the pros and cons of hitchhiking


    5:06 AM (Every Stranger's Eyes)



Waitress: "Hello...you wanna cup of coffee?"
Customers: "Heh, turn that fucking juke box down
You want to turn down that juke box...
loud in here"
Waitress: "I'm sorry, would you like a cup of coffee?
Ok you take cream and sugar?"
In truck stops and hamburger joints
In Cadillac limousines
In the company of has-beens
And bent-backs and sleeping forms
On pavement steps
In libraries and railway stations
In books and banks
In the pages of history
In suicidal cavalry attacks
I recognize
Myself in every stranger's eyes
And now from where I stand
Upon this hill I plundered from the pool
I look around, I search the skies
I shade my eyes, so nearly blind
And I see signs of half remembered days
I hear bells that chime in strange familiar ways
I recognize
The hope you kindle in your eyes
It's oh so easy now
As we lie here in the dark
Nothing interferes it's obvious
How to beat the tears
That threaten to snuff out
The spark of our love

   
 5:11 AM (The Moment of Clarity)



And the moment of clarity
Faded like charity does
Sometimes
I opened one eye
And I put out my hand just to touch your soft hair
To make sure in the darkness that you were still there
And I have to admit
I was just a little afraid, oh yeah
But then...
I had a little bit of luck
You were awake
I couldn't take another moment alone.