Pink Floyd -The Wall Live at Nassau Coliseum - N.Y - 1980.02.27

Pink Floyd - The Wall Live at Nassau Coliseum - N.Y. - 1980/02/27 - Full Concert.

1º Part
01-Intro/In The Flesh?
02-The Thin Ice
03-Another Brick In The Wall (Part 1)
04-Happiest Days Of Our Lives
05-Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2)
06-Mother
07-Goodbye Blue Sky
08-Empty Spaces
09-What Shall We Do Now?
10-Young Lust
11-One Of My Turns
12-Don't Leave Me Now
13-Another Brick In The Wall (Part 3)
14-Goodbye Cruel World

2º : Part
01-Hey You
02-Is There Anybody Out There?
03-Nobody Home
04-Vera
05-Bring The Boys Back Home
06-Comfortably Numb
07-The Show Must Go On
08-In The Flesh
09-Run Like Hel
10-Waiting For The Worms
11-Stop
12-The Trial
13-Outside The Wall

The Band:

Roger Waters - Lead Vocals, Bass Guitar, Guitars, Percussion, Programming
David Gilmour - Lead Vocals, Lead Guitar
Richard Wright - Keyboards, Vocals, Organ, Piano, Synthesisers, Mellotron
Nick Mason - Drums, Percussion

"surrogate band" wearing masks, with Waters singing. The band consisted of ex-Status Quo's Andy Bown (bass), Willie Wilson (drums), Peter Wood (keyboards) and Snowy White (guitar; later Andy Roberts)

The Road Not Taken: The History of Roger Waters’ ‘The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking’

by Nick DeRiso April 30, 2014






The history of Pink Floyd, and maybe of classic rock itself, turns on ‘The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking.’ How could that be? After all, it remains a largely forgotten Roger Waters solo effort — one that only crept to No. 31 in the U.S., and took nearly 10 years after its April 30, 1984 release just to reach gold-selling status.

Picture this, however: The rest of Pink Floyd, in the late-’70s, was offered a choice of song cycles from Waters’ fertile imagination — this one, or one that would eventually coalesce into the celebrated 1979 release ‘The Wall.’

“The idea for the album came concurrently with the idea for ‘The Wall’ — the basis of the idea,” Waters said. “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.”

What if David Gilmour and company had selected ‘The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking,’ which focuses on the far-less personal topic of mid-life crisis, rather than that magnum opus on Waters’ growing alienation from his own audience? Could ‘Pros and Cons,’ instead, have been its own huge hit?

Or would a Floyd version have endured a similarly dismal fate — and thus hastened Waters’ decision to go his own way? (That eventually happened anyway, of course, but only after 1983′s ‘The Final Cut.’) If Waters had saved ‘The Wall’ for himself, would his solo career have gotten off to an entirely different start — to the tune of a 23-times platinum smash?

These are the choices that indelibly alter careers, as Waters is no doubt bitterly aware. He began writing these twin projects after the group’s 1977 tour in support of ‘Animals.’ At that point, either album could have been Pink Floyd’s follow up.

As it stands, Waters didn’t return to ‘Pros and Cons’ until the band had limped through ‘The Final Cut,’ losing a pair of original members along the way. Keyboardist Richard Wright wasn’t part of that final Waters-era Floyd release, and drummer Nick Mason was replaced on its final track by Andy Newmark. That lengthy gestation period meant that careful observers could make a parlor game out of the Pink Floyd connections on ‘Pros and Cons,’ which Waters formatted incrementally over the course of a husband’s 41-minute dream about having an affair during a lonely trip.

For instance, ‘4.50 AM (Go Fishing)‘ includes a lyric also used in ‘The Fletcher Memorial Home,’ and a snippet of melody from ‘Your Possible Pasts’ — both found on Floyd’s ‘Final Cut’ album. Newmark and Michael Kamen returned as drummer and musical conductor, respectively, as did cover artist Gerald Scarfe — whose illustrations helped define ‘The Wall.’ ‘4:41 AM (Sexual Revolution)‘ was actually demoed by Floyd during the sessions for the ‘The Wall,’ and eventually ended up on the expanded Immersion reissue of that album. Late-period Floyd tour collaborator Tim Renwick joined Waters on stage.

There were some notable differences, however, on this oft-overlooked solo debut — beginning with Waters’ choice of guitarist as sessions commenced in London’s Olympic, Eel Pie and Billiard Room studios between February and December of 1983. Eric Clapton stepped in, during a creative low point of his own, offering some of the most engaging guitar work he’d managed in years. The rock legend reportedly agreed to work on ‘Pros and Cons,’ both the album and the tour, after a night of drinking with Waters. Their wives, who were friends, made the introductions. Ultimately, Clapton’s emotionally charged, blues-inflected performances couldn’t have differed any more from Gilmour’s style.

‘Pros and Cons’ also showed sides of Waters — frisky, funny, human — that some may have found surprising after the jagged pronouncements that dominated his most recent Pink Floyd recordings.

“It’s the only record I’ve made that was only about sex. … Within the context of these dreams, the subconscious is weighing up the pros and cons of living with one woman within the framework of a family — against the call of the wild, if you like,” Waters said at the time, adding, ”Once critics pigeonhole you, they tend not to think about your work too much. They’ve pegged me as a dour, depressed, megalomaniac, melodramatic, and most don’t like what I do. They wouldn’t spot the humor because it’s inconvenient.”

Critics like Rolling Stones’ Kurt Loder seemed to be one of them. He simply savaged the record, saying: “Roger Waters’ first official solo album will be of sustained interest mainly to postanalytic Pink Floyd fetishists and other highly evolved neurotics who persist in seeking spiritual significance amid the flotsam of English art rock. I can’t imagine that anyone else will sit more than once through this strangely static, faintly hideous record, on which Waters’ customary bile is, for the first time, diluted with musical bilge.”

That may or may not have been true. Other reasons for the album’s failure to reach a wider marketplace, however, were more obvious.

To begin with, there was Waters’ essential anonymity within the larger structure of Pink Floyd — and his own obstinance. Given a chance to promote ‘The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking’ on the then-ascendent MTV before a tour-opening concert at Earls Court in 1984, Waters refused to answer any questions about his old band. With no obvious connection, his title-track single flopped, his videos went unaired, his shows played before scores of empty seats. “I thought that people did kind of identify me with quite a lot of the work that went into the Floyd,” Waters lamented. “Particularly in terms of the shows, but they didn’t.”

It didn’t help that advertisements for the tour, again at Waters’ insistence, made no reference to Pink Floyd.

“There’s certainly a huge gap in communicating the fact that my ‘Pros and Cons’ show is a Floyd show except Eric Clapton is playing guitar and Andy Newmark is playing the drums instead of Dave Gilmour and Nick Mason,” Waters said at the time. “But everything else is the same: same team doing it, same guys building the sets, same sound system.”

Ultimately, those familiar extras only pushed Waters deeper into the red. Filmmakers Nicholas Roeg and Bernard Rose joined Scarfe in helping create images that were splashed across a giant screen, estimated to have cost some $400,000. Three projectors then had to be synchronized to illuminate them. The stage, designed by Mark Fisher and Jonathan Park, was constructed to look like the bedroom in which this dream takes place. A working TV played old movies. Waters ended up losing hundreds of thousands of dollars on this venture.

Meanwhile, Scarfe’s album cover image — which elsewhere used the same font as ‘The Wall’ — was sparking controversy over its central image of a nude soft-core porn actress named Linzi Drew. Some groups charged Waters with sexism, others with inciting rape. Poster ads for the album were destroyed by protesters, leading label executives to quickly reissue ‘Pros and Cons’ with an altered cover — yet another expense.

“They had to put a black sticker over this woman’s bum that was on the cover,” Waters said. “There was this really beautiful model, because the record was about sexual fantasies — and so I put one on the cover. It seemed to me perfectly legitimate, and she was gorgeous as well. And they stuck these big black stickers over her bum, which I just thought was so pathetic.”

As the tour limped into 1985, Clapton eventually became restless and bolted, saying he had grown weary with “the rigidity of it. I was feeling a bit stifled.” There apparently were no hard feelings, as the two would work together again on ‘The Hit,’ soundtrack to a now-forgetten film starring John Hurt. “It was a strange time, because the only reason I went on the road is because Eric said I should tour it,” Water recalled later. “And not only that, he came on the road with me. I said, ‘If you go, I’ll go.’ I did a tour with Eric Clapton as my guitar player! It was terrific.”

Waters shows, which also featured King Crimson alum Mel Collins on sax, continued on with Andy Fairweather Low taking over for Clapton. They offered ‘Pros and Cons’ in its entirety, while opening with a set that incorporated Pink Floyd’s ‘Money,’ ‘Welcome to the Machine,’ ‘In the Flesh,’ ‘Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun,’ ‘Pigs,’ ‘Hey You,’ ‘Wish You Were Here,’ ‘The Gunner’s Dream,’ ‘Have a Cigar.’ Eventually, Waters even added the fan-friendly ‘Another Brick in the Wall.’ His well-received encores included ‘Brain Damage’ and ‘Eclipse.’

By 1985, Waters had completed this ill-fated run of concerts, and ‘The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking’ quickly faded into obscurity. A planned film adaptation, perhaps wisely, was scapped. Clearly, though, Waters had learned a valuable lesson along the way: Moving so determinedly away from his own legacy was a mistake. He’d later mount a series of massive world tours featuring his own retrospective solo reading of ‘The Wall’ — rectifying a decision that once could have gone either way, and ultimately changed the course of things forever.

From ultimateclassicrock.com

Roger Waters - In the Studio interview

Audio Roger Waters 1989 interview about The Wall recording.

Roger Waters (Pink Floyd) NY radio interview 1986

This is a radio interview (Scott Muni WNEW Radio New York) with Roger Waters with some questions by phone and talks are about Pink Floyd, Roger solo projects and politics.

Roger Waters & David Gilmour interview 1984

Audio interview The Inside Track with Roger Waters & David Gilmour 10-22-84. The Inside Track interview with Lisa Robinson.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

 Feliz Navidad y Feliz Ano Nuevo!

 Joyeux Noël et nouvelle année heureuse!

 Glad jul och lyckligt nytt ar !

 Frohe Weihnachten und glückliches Neues Jahr!

 Spokojnych Świąt Bożego Narodzenia oraz Szczęśliwego Nowego Roku!

Roger Waters - 5.06 (Every Stranger´s Eyes)

Roger Waters - 5.06 (Every Stranger´s Eyes) - Official Video with lyrics




Roger Waters In Every Strangers Eyes/Moment of Clarity

Roger Waters - Every Strangers Eyes

Roger Waters - Every Strangers Eyes - The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking - 1984

Lyrics;

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

youtube.com/rogerwaterschannel
 

Pink Floyd - Mother - THE WALL LIVE 1980

Pink Floyd - Mother - The Wall - Earls Court London 1980

youtube.com/rogerwaterschannel

Pink Floyd - Is There Anybody Out There? - The Wall Movie

youtube.com/rogerwaterschannel

The New York Times, August 29, 1987

Rock: Roger Waters Sings of Political Despair

By JON PARELES

Roger Waters had a double agenda for his concert Wednesday at Madison Square Garden. He wanted to warn, in no uncertain terms, of the dangers of unbridled militarism and mindless consumption. And he wanted to reclaim an audience that's rightfully his: the fans of Pink Floyd, most of whose songs were written by Mr. Waters.

Mr. Waters has toured on his own before, but this year a group called Pink Floyd, featuring his former band mates, is also touring arenas; it will come to Madison Square Garden in October. In Mr. Waters's two-hour, 45-minute set, the audience sang along wholeheartedly on Pink Floyd songs from ''The Wall,'' ''Wish You Were Here,'' ''Animals'' and ''The Dark Side of the Moon,'' and rallied to the special effects that crowned Mr. Waters's newer material.

Above all, the concert showed how coherent Mr. Waters's career has been. His music is generally slow-moving and enveloping, like rockers and hymns preserved in amber; now and then, his newer material comes close to straightforward hard-rock, but leaving Pink Floyd hasn't changed his approach much. His voice is introverted, better for talking than belting (for some of Pink Floyd's songs, Paul Carrack sang lead vocals); Mr. Waters did deliver strangulated shouts for some of the nastier characters from ''The Wall.''

While the lyrics on Pink Floyd's albums and Mr. Waters's solo albums each have their own concerns -childhood repression, lunacy, star-making, greed - the overriding feeling is one of pessimism and dead-end despair. Pink Floyd's albums have an enduring hold on the rock audience, both for their plush production and their grim tidings. ''The Dark Side of the Moon,'' about incipient madness, holds the record for the longest run on the Billboard Top 200 album chart.

Mr. Waters's current album, ''Radio K.A.O.S.,'' brings his despair to the political arena. One song attacks ''the powers that be,'' and parts of the stage show denounced military spending (to the tune of Pink Floyd's ''Money''), the Reagan and Thatcher governments, and the despoiling of the environment, complete with statistics. Rarely is arena-rock so explicitly political.

''Radio K.A.O.S.'' has a plot line involving a disk jockey and a genius with cerebral palsy who communicates via computer and who can tap into the world's information systems. As with Pink Floyd concerts, the stage was dominated by a circular screen for film projections (some of which were older Pink Floyd animations) and lighting effects; there was also an electronic signboard, carrying what may be the first supertitles seen at a rock concert.

The production's conceit was that it was a live radio broadcast over station KAOS, complete with station jingles, mock advertisements (including jokes about shredders and Senate subcommittees), and a live disk jockey, Jim Ladd, in a simulated studio. Mr. Ladd would sometimes announce between songs (after a set of Pink Floyd material, he named the songs and called them ''music of Roger Waters'') and he carried on simulated conversations with ''Billy,'' the computer genius, whose words were carried on the signboard.

The show didn't reprise the album, but it did lead up to Billy's big moment: a simulated nuclear apocalypse. The band created a whooshing crescendo, aerial projections whizzed by on the screen, numbers and jargon rushed across the signboard, followed by a flash, silence and darkness -and a huge ovation, suggesting the crowd was less than terrified. Eventually, Mr. Waters led the band in a hymn of guarded hope, ''The Tide Is Turning.''

For the encore, Mr. Waters and his Bleeding Heart Band returned to older material. A cameo appearance from Clare Torry, who sang wordlessly through ''The Great Gig in the Sky'' from ''Dark Side,'' gave Pink Floyd's old fans what they'd come to hear.

Roger Waters - Complete 'Hitch-Hiking' Performance

Recorded live at Radio City Hall, New York City 3/28/85

The Wall (1982) - Full Movie

More info wikipedia.org

The Wall – The Lost Documentary

Posted August 22nd, 2012 by PFO Staff





This weeks video takes a look at the original ‘Wall’ tour that took place between 1980 & 1981.

The shows were incredibly expensive and extremely difficult to produce.

The tour was in support of ‘The Wall’ album released in November of 1979, and because of the extreme difficulty in setting up and cost, only consisted of 31 shows in 4 different cities.

London, England – 11 shows
Dortmund, Germany – 8 shows
Los Angeles, USA – 7 shows
New York City, USA – 5 shows

From www.pinkfloydonline.com

Roger Waters interview - ANZ Rocksat, Australia - May 4th 1988

"KH" is Kevin Hillier, the host of the phone-in program, and Roger is live via satellite, in London.



KH: I'm Kevin Hillier!
Tonight it's radio KAOS (isn't it always?) as we welcome our very special guest, live from London, former Pink Floyd man, Roger Waters. So jump on the phone to talk to Roger Waters in London.
And welcome to a very special edition of ANZ Rocksat; live in the palatial BBC Woodlands studios in London is Roger Waters.
Good evening, Roger, how are you?

Roger Waters: I'm alright Kevin - how are you?

KH: Now are they palatial BBC studios? We hear so much about the *Beeb* over here.

Roger Waters: They certainly are. It's sort of ... rococo marble floors, marble ceiling...

KH: (sighs)

Roger Waters: ... it's exquisite...

KH: Divine...

Roger Waters: It's all done in the best possible taste...

KH: (Sniggers)
KH: And so too hopefully will be the next hour of Rocksat for ANZ bank, and in fact we're making a little bit of radio history tonight, because it is the very first international Rocksat, broadcast from London, and you are able to talk to Roger, simply by picking up the phone. It's been about 15 years since you were last in Australia, Roger - uh looking forward to tonight, and talking to some of the people who just may have seen you on that tour?

Roger Waters: Yes.


KH: Alright, well lets get stuck into it - straight up -here IS Roger Waters, Radio Waves from Radio KAOS... (Radio Waves is played)
KH: Roger, Radio KAOS in LA, is there actually such a stations

Roger Waters: No there isn't. Er, there is a Radio KAOS, but it's a student Station in Oregon.

KH: Right. Oh well we hopefully... er won't...

Roger Waters: but...

KH: yeah...

Roger Waters: Yeah, I was jus... I was just gonna say that KAOS is loosely based upon a station that closed in LA last year called KMET.

KH: Oh, right! Is that actually a guy that you'd used the voice-overs for, who actually worked on KMET?
Roger Waters: Yeah, Jim Ladd was one of the DJs at KMET, in it's heyday.

KH: Well, let's hit the phones now... And First up is Rex, listening to MMM in Sydney. Hi Rex...

Rex: How are ya?

KH: Bounce your call across the the uh satellite links to London.

Rex: I'm bounced.
(general laughter)

KH: OK...

Rex: Hello...

Roger Waters: Hi Rex.

Rex: Hello, how are you, man?

Roger Waters: All right, thanks.

Rex: That's not bad. Well, my question was, what inspired you to write The Wall, because I'm a really big fan?

Roger Waters: A number of things, but the starting point for the Wall was playing a gig at Olympic Stadium in Montreal in 1977 at the end of the Animals tour...


Rex: Right.

Roger Waters: ...and I'd finally become completely disillusioned with the whole idea of stadium gigs in rock 'n roll, because I'd come to the conclusion they're not about music or communication or any of the things that I'm interested in - they're only about money.

Rex: Yeah, sure, - I can dig that.

Roger Waters: And so the theatrical idea which was the centre of the theme of building a wall of bricks across the front of the stage, while a band is actually playing, is an expression of the distance I was feeling at that time from the audience. Ummmh...

Rex: Did this have anything to do with your actual life, or you know, your early life?

Roger Waters: Yeah it is it is partially uh autobiographical... I've taken ...it's... it's a lot about my early life... I mean my father being killed and all that stuff, and... and some of it's about Syd and some of it's drawn from other experiences, you know... writing a piece like that's a bit like... I suppose writing a novel, or writing anything - you draw largely from your own experience, but also from other peoples that you know well.

KH: Alright Rex, thanks a lot for your call, listening to MMM in Sydney. Now we've got er Jeff listening to FM 104 in Brisbane - hi Jeff!

Jeff: G'day.

KH: What's your question for Roger?

Jeff: Roger, speaking about Syd - what is Syd Barrett doing nowadays?

Roger Waters: He just lives quietly in Cambridge, with his mum.

KH: He's not involved in music at all, Rog?

Roger Waters: No. He's not involved in anything very much.

Jeff: Damn shame...

Roger Waters: Well, he's schizophrenic..., and has been since 1968.

Jeff: ohhh...

KH: Gee, that's sad - that is sad... thanks for your call, Jeff.

Jeff: Thank you.

KH: And now we move onto Kaye, listening to FOX-FM in Melbourne - hi Kaye!

Kaye: Hi. How are you?

KH: I'm terrific - what's your question for Roger Waters?


Kaye: Right - Roger. I was just wondering - with your song "Wish You Were Here" - was that directed at anyone in particular, or was it just another of your great songs?

Roger Waters: Ahh, no - it wasn't directed at - I s'pose you could say within the context of that record it... maybe... it was more about Syd Barrett than about anyone else. Though I would have to try and remember all the lyrics - no, it think it was - it was more a general song about... umm... feeling a sense of loss when you're not with somebody that you love, or have loved, or...

Kaye: Yeah, that's what I thought... it's really deep and it's an excellent song, like all your others...

Roger Waters: Thank you.

Kaye: OK, nice talking with you, Roger.

Roger Waters: And you.

KH: Kaye, thanks for your call, listening to FOX-FM in Melbourne - actually, we'll give you a chance to re-live the lyrics of "Wish You Were Here" a little later on, Roger - we're gonna actually play a live version from your solo tour, out of last year, when you played in Quebec, in Canada. Remember that gig?

Roger Waters: I do indeed.

KH: Alright, we're gonna play that a little later on, but right now we might slip into a Pink Floyd classic, featuring Roger - Money... (Money is played)

KH: We've got Cheryl, listening to 96 FM in Perth - hi, Cheryl!

Cheryl: Hello - how are you?

KH: I'm fine - you have a question for Roger?

Cheryl: Roger, I'd like to ask you - what your ultimate goal in life would be?

Roger Waters: I'd like to die a very old and happy man.

KH and Cheryl: (general laughter)...

KH: Sounds fair to me. How about musically, Roger?

Roger Waters: Musically?... Well, I'd just like to go on doing work that I... ahh, believe in.

KH: Yeah. Do you have any... um... do you have... do you set yourself goals for albums, in terms of... you'd like it to get to this position on the chart - do you... do you have those kind of, err material goals, with your music?

Roger Waters: Ahh, no. They're a bit of a waste of time. It's best to just throw 'em out, and see what happens.

KH: Alright.

Roger Waters: There... there are other things I want to do. I'm involved at the moment in uhh ... I'm trying to find a decent film project...

KH: Ohhhhh...

Roger Waters: to do a film score for - and there's one in the pipeline that will be great, if it comes off...

KH: Alright, thanks for your call, Cheryl, listening to 96 FM in Perth, and now we've got Peter, listening to SA-FM in Adelaide... hi Pete!

Pete: Hi.

KH: Your question for Roger...

Pete: Yeah, Roger, umm on the last album, Radio KAOS - the err rather optimistic song, "The Tide is Turning" - I was wondering if that was a genuine feeling, or just wishful thinking, and if so err where you sort of found this optimism, where you saw the tide was turning.

Roger Waters: Sorry, what was your name again?

Pete: Pete.

Roger Waters: Well, I tend to go up and down like a yo-yo, Pete.. some.. some... some uhh afternoons I feel extremely optimistic and uhh sometimes uhh at four o'clock in the morning, I feel a deep and black gloom coming over me, as I... as I lie awake...

Pete: Yeah.

Roger Waters: I feel we're at a bit of a watershed, you know, and... uhh, my hope is that umm because of the advances that have been made in the technology of communication, it... it becomes easier and easier for individuals to communicate directly with one another, and bypass uhh the powers that be, and uhh take control of the uhh ... of the uhh... the way the uhh... the Earth is organised. Uhh, uh, at this time, at twenty-four minutes past twelve on this.... uh Wednesday afternoon, am I... I am optimistic now!

Pete: Oh, that's good...

Roger Waters: But by tea time I might be pessimistic again, y'know, it's a... it's a... it's a strange piece of history we're living through, but at least because of uhh... television, we all get a chance to see more of what's going on than they did in the middle of the last century.

Pete: Right...

KH: Thanks for your call, Pete.

Pete: OK, thank you.

KH: We might slip into into, err... a track that's live and exclusive to Rocksat tonight, and it err goes back to err 1987 - Roger, your solo tour - you were in Quebec, in Canada - was it a good night?

Roger Waters: It was a great night, yeah... the... the French Canadians are very warm people, and it was a good night.

KH: Well, let's have a listen to it now, live and exclusive to Rocksat - Wish You Were Here... (Wish You Were Here is played)

KH: Live and exclusive to Rocksat - that's err Roger Waters and The Bleeding Hearts Band, recorded in Quebec, during Roger's solo tour in 1987... and Wish You Were Here... who was in the band at that stage, Roger?

Roger Waters: Uhh, Graham Broad on drums, Katie Kassoon and Doreen Chanter... vocals, Paul Carrack... keyboard and vocals, uhh... Andy Fairweather Low... vocals and umm guitars and bass, Mel Collins... saxophones, and Jay Stapley... guitar.

KH: Now, you're currently putting together a new album - umm is that the same people who you have involved in this new album you're recording?

Roger Waters: Umm - Andy Fairweather Low is involved and.. uhh, most of the people are the same... yeah, most of the people are the same.

KH: Andy Fairweather Low of course will be remembered as a member of Amen Corner, here in Australia, who had... uh... one big hit, of "Paradise is Half as Nice." Good stuff! Lets... uhh, let's hit the phones again... 008 033 300 is the number, if you want to talk to Roger tonight, who's sitting in the BBC studios in London... we've got Karen, listening to MMM in Sydney - hi!

Karen: Hi!

KH: What's your question for Roger?

Karen: Uhh... who wrote most of the... uhh... songs for Pink Floyd?

Roger Waters: I didn't catch that, Karen.

Karen: Umm... who wrote most of the songs for Pink Floyd?

Roger Waters: (mostly laughter, and a canine grin)... Errr... I did.

Karen: (giggles) You did (giggles)...

Roger Waters: Yes, I did...

KH: And justifiably proud of the fact, too, I would imagine?

Roger Waters: Wellll... I dunno...

KH: YEAH! Is there any you go back on, and go "Awwww.. wish I hadn't done that"?

Roger Waters: Umm... possibly "Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk" from the very first album..., but... but most of it I err... quite like... I'm not very keen on Atom Heart Mother, for students of... uhh... of the old Pink Floyd catalogue - I thought that was rather a... a - I thought the err... instrumental piece that takes up side one was rather dull, in retrospect.

KH: Alright, thanks for your call, Karen. We've got Rob in Perth, listening to 96 FM - hi Rob!

Rob: Hi!

KH: Fire your question at Roger.

Rob: Uhh yeah - I saw Pink Floyd ummm a few months ago, but I've never seen you in concert, so I was wondering if you had any plans to tour Australia in the near future?

Roger Waters: Umm... well I... you were... you were... you were all part of my plan err last year, when I was errr... I was touring err ... I toured America for a couple of months, and the plan was to go on to err... Australia, and we had talks with... who's the promoter there? Paul Dainty, is it?

KH: Yesss, there's a couple of them, actually, but he's one of them...

Roger Waters:Yeah, I think... I think it was him - yeah - and, uhh..., there was no interest, I am afraid, so we couldn't come.

Rob: Ohh... right...

Roger Waters: It's not something that I can do... as a hobby...

Rob - Yeah...

KH: (laughs)... Is it...uhh...

Roger Waters: ... Y'know, I put on a... well... I put on a... well... a very involved show, with uhh Quad sound and films and all the kinds of things I used to do with Floyd, and it costs a lot of money to take it around... I'm not just... I'd like to come to Australia... there has to be interest there, before I can tour.

KH: I think there is certainly interest now since The Tide is Turning - it got a lot of radio airplay in Australia, and I think people are more aware of what you are doing now.

Roger Waters: Well...

KH: ... COME ON DOWN!

Roger Waters: ... I will approach all the Australian promoters, and if any one of them is prepared to offer me a deal that... that doesn't cost me - I don't need to make a profit, but I... but I really err... can't go on, y'know, spending lots of money, touring strange places. I'd love to go to Australia and play!

KH: Alright, thanks for your call, Rob.

Rob: Yep... no worries...

KH: We might slip into a little bit more, urrr... music, on Rocksat, live via satellite across Australia, and tonight across the world with Roger Waters - you can join us on 008 033 300. Here's the Floyd, with uh... Another Brick in the Wall... (Another Brick in the Wall Part II is played)

KH: Another Brick in the Wall, Roger?... uhhhm - the film that was made... uh based on... on a lot of that work... umm - what did you think of that film, when it was all sort-of washed up, and you had a chance to have a look at it, maybe a few years down the track?

Roger Waters: Well, I haven't looked at it err recently, but I was... I was a bit disappointed with it in the end, because umm at the end of the day I felt no sympathy at all with err the lead character... the character that Geldof played.

KH: Yeah, right...

Roger Waters: A... and I err found it was mmm so unremitting in its onslaught upon the senses, that umm... it didn't actually err... give me, anyway, as an audience, a chance to get involved with it.

KH: Alright... well we might...

Roger Waters: It was spectacular I thought, visually... umm I mean...

KH: Yes!

Roger Waters: ... I mean Alan Parker is... is... ahhh is a ve... is an extremely accomplished technician. (laughs)...

KH: (giggling away conspiratorially)... Said he laughingly... alright!... - If you want to talk to Roger tonight, about anything ahh you like, you can give us a call... it's as simple as picking up the phone, and here's the number to dial...

KH: Well, let's hit the phones again, to talk to Roger Waters, and first up... John, listening to SA-FM, in Adelaide - hi John!

John: G'day.

KH: You have a question for Roger, obviously...

John: Yes, please...

KH: Go ahead!

John: Ahh... G'day Roger - umm, why do you always wear dark glasses when you're having your photo taken?

Roger Waters: Well... well I haven't always in the past... I have recently, ummm .... and I'll tell you why... it... it means that if I can project an image of someone wearing dark glasses, then when I'm not wearing them (and wearing dark glasses is something I very rarely do)... nobody recognises me!

John: Ohh, yeah...

Roger Waters: Which is, err ... y'know... something I'd like to promote. To preserve my anonymity.
(general laughter)

KH: Actually, you're famous for your anonymity, aren't you, Roger?

Roger Waters: (laughs, very briefly) [Ed. The laugh is vaguely reminiscent of the look of a dog, when you suddenly realise that it just might bite]

KH: ... uh, never mind... thanks for your call, John.

John: No worries - thanks.

KH: We have err Jefferson, listening to FM 104 in Brisbane - hi! Jefferson - G'day!
KH: Alright - fire your question at Roger, listening to... ahh... to you, in the BBC studios in London.

Jefferson: Righty- ho... yeah, Roger? Uhh, out of the Pink Floyd albums, which one would be your favourite, and why?

Roger Waters: The Wall. Because it has... well actually, no, I don't... YES... I s'pose I said that without thinking, so it probably is. I dunno, its very complete... it's got... its...its..i... its got great form, I believe...

Jefferson: Yeah, right...

Roger Waters: And it's...

Jefferson: I was hoping...

Roger Waters: uhh...

Jefferson: ... 't might be Ummagumma!

Roger Waters: You were, were you?... Umm, remind me of Ummagum.. that was the one with... umm... where half the album was live from Mothers' in Birmingham, and the other half was bits that we all made up individually.

Jefferson: That's the one...

Roger Waters: Yeah... - well, that's - not - my - favourite...!

KH: (laughs)... Thanks Jefferson, for your call. Now we've got David, listening to FOX in Melbourne. Hi Dave.

David: Hi!

KH: Your question for Roger?

David: What inspired you to write The Embryo, from the... on the Works album?

Roger Waters: Embryo?

Dave: Yeahh...

Roger Waters: Errr...

David: Previously unreleased...

Roger Waters: I... I honestly can't remember - we're talking about 20 years ago, now...

David: Well, I...

Roger Waters: I really don't remember!... is that Jefferson? Is that what I heard?

KH: No, David...

David - David...

Roger Waters: David! David... yeah... I don't remember, David.

David: Awwww... (sighs)...

Roger Waters: It's not a... a song I'm proud of... which is why it was never released on an album. It came out, I think, on a compilation album...

David: (sighs)... ohhh, OK.

KH: Alright - thanks for your call, David. And we might slip into a little more Radio KAOS - sound good to you, Roger?

Roger Waters: Why not.

KH: Alright, let's get into... umm the track that has been on radio stations, right across the country... The Tide Is Turning... (The Tide Is Turning is played)

KH: Roger Waters, from Radio KAOS - and he's on your radio station tonight, on Rocksat, live via satellite, across Australia, and across the world, to London's BBC Woodlands studios, where Roger is sitting, at this very moment. Aren't you, Roger!

Roger Waters: I am, sir!

KH: Alright... shortly we're going to draw the...

Roger Waters: And I'm sitting up straight, as well, Kevin!...

KH: that's good

Roger Waters: and I'm paying attention

KH: I'm pleased to see your posture has improved... shortly we're going to draw the winner of the... the "Rocksat Rock Sack", from Brashs, but first up were gonna hit the phones again, and we've got Donna, listening to err, 2PK, in Parkes... hi Donna!

Donna: Hi!

KH: You are going live to London, now, to talk to Roger...

Donna: Oh, that's great.

KH: Go for it!

Donna: Err, Roger? Do you mix socially with other... (clears throat) musish... musicians?

Roger Waters: Err, yeah! S... some, I do... yeah.

Donna: Whhhat... what, who like... could I ask who like?

KH: (laughs)

Roger Waters: (mild amusement) You don't want me to name names, do you, Donna?

Donna: n.. n.. ...not any particular name... like any band, or?

Roger Waters: Err, no - no, not really... just... just people who I have met socially... really... through... err... through other things..

KH: Well before the program sta...

Roger Waters: ... W...w... we spoke earlier about... umm - Kevin and I spoke earlier about Mike Rutherford, because we have a connection err via... Paul Carrack, who's done work for both of us...

Donna: Right, just general people...

Roger Waters: ...and I see him and his wife Angie from time to time.

Donna: Right - just general people that you meet in... in the circuit?

Roger Waters: Yeah... yeah - I don't... I don't kind of go and hang out at other people's houses, or in... in studios, or... or..., umm, it's... it's not... I don't lead that kind of life.

KH: Do you have musicians hanging out in your studio, though, 'cos you have a full studio setup at home...?

Donna: Ummmhhhh... (he he)

Roger Waters: Welll, uhh...

KH: N... n... not you, Donna - I meant Roger...

Roger Waters: (amused, and KH laughing in the background) Well, its possible, Kevin, that Donna has a studio setup at home as well - I mean let's not jump to hasty conclusions - but it's... I can only speak for my own... and no, I don't have musicians hang out - when they come to my studio, they... fffff-bleep-bleep-work... and uhh.. uhh...

KH: (laughter)

Roger Waters: (with some amusement) and they work bloody hard, as well - from the moment they arrive, until the moment we knock off...

KH: (still laughing)... alright...

Roger Waters: We do very little "hanging out".
Roger Waters: OK, thanks for your call, Donna.

Donna: OK- thank you.

KH: ... and John, listening to FOX FM in Melbourne has a question for you too, Roger. Hi John!

John: Hi... hi Roger!

Roger Waters: Hi John!

John: How are you?

Roger Waters: Um, I'm alright, thanks...

John: Good - I'd like to ask you, um, which town in England you originate from, and also, if that place has had any influence on your music?

Roger Waters: Umm, well I was born in Great Bookham, in Surrey, which is err near a town called Dorking, about twenty miles south of London...

John: yeah...

Roger Waters: ... and err so, for the first umm eighteen months of my life, we were being overflown by err Doodlebugs, err-umm which I don't really remember, and then we moved to Cambridge, which is where I was brought up, and I... I do remember moving to Cambridge, which is when I was... two, and I remember... I remember... uh... VJ night...

John: yeah...

Roger Waters: a big bonfire, and being held up to the window, and people with flags.. and dancing, and flickering light...

John: Yeah...

KH: Did it have any effect on... on you musically - that upbringing?

Roger Waters: Yeah - growing up in Cambridge certainly did, because it was a bit.. a University town, and there were lots of err... trad-jazz bands, when I was sort of eleven... twelve... thirteen... fourteen... growing up in the beginnings of umm... of err... rock 'n roll starting, via skiffle bands, and things like that, but mainly it was trad-jazz, and I... I... I used to go to umm dances in the Corn Exchange, and I'd... I'd stand there at the back, and err look at... y'know the guy playing the trumpet on the stage, and think 'Jesus, that looks good fun...

KH: (laughs in background)

Roger Waters: I'd like to be him. I... I wou... I want to be that person.' And so I'm... maybe that err was... uhh... something that was very likely to happen in... in err Cambridge, and not so likely to happen in Warrington, or Middlesborough, or somewhere...up North.

John: Yes, right...

KH: John, thanks a lot for your call.

John: Thank you.

KH: And, ahh... excuse me, Roger - I just have to dig into our little barrel here, our Rocksat barrel, and actually draw out a winner for our Rocksat Rocksack from Brashs, which is worth fifteen hundred dollars...
Roger Waters: (indecipherable, but in a friendly tone of voice)

KH: Yes?

Roger Waters: My time is your time...

KH: Ohhh... I... I... I...jusw...w...w...

Roger Waters: Sorry to interrupt... you carry on... you go ahead!

KH: I just want to dig in here, and grab this thing out... and see who we got... uhh - we actually have Grant Beale, or Grunt Beale, who lives in... (indecipherable)

Roger Waters: It's not likely to be...

KH: ... No, it wasn't you, unfortunately, Roger... I'm sorry about that!...uhh...

Roger Waters: ... No, I'm saying his name is not likely to be Grunt, is it?

KH: (laughs)... So, Grant has got that ahh... that Rocksat Rocksack, and what we'll do is try and phone him during this break, and have a talk to him after that, here on Rocksat, live via satellite, across Australia.
KH: Roger is sitting in the BBC err... Woodlands studios in London... Roger, what's... uhh... what's coming up for you now? I mean, you are in the middle of recording the album, and we do thank you for.. popping in tonight and... err taking time out from recording the album. How far along the track are you with it?

Roger Waters: I'm just about to start mixing. He can't have been listening tonight, can he, or he'd have known he'd won - if you see what I mean...

KH: (laughs)...

Roger Waters: ...Anyway, that's neither here nor there! Umm... I'm... yeah - I'm just about to start mixing, Kevin.

KH: Ahhh... now when are we likely to see this album?

Roger Waters: (draws in breath) I should think... err in September.

KH: Right... have have.. g... have you got any titles for the album ... have you sort of worked all that stuff out yet... you tell us about?

Roger Waters: Yeap-yeah-yeah - I've got... I've got all that worked out, but... umm... I'm...

KH: ...But you're not going to tell us?...

Roger Waters: ...anonymous...

KH: (laughs)

Roger Waters: ...Nope-no I'm not, but I - I am going to at this point, because we're running out of time now, say hello to Jo-Jo and Pauline, and Susie, and Janet, and Bronwyn.

KH: These are friends that you met on the... ahh... on the tour...

Roger Waters: ...These're...

KH: when you were here, in '73?

Roger Waters: N... N-no - these... these are old friends that I've met at... at other points in my life, which... and I won't go into it, but they know who they are.

KH: Right, now after you... after the album comes out, umm... are we... are we likely to see you err... touring around the world, and maybe coming down to Australia?

Roger Waters: Yeah, I'm... I'm ahh... my plan is to tour... err do some touring, starting in the States probably, in err... uhhm... let me think... Ma... probably March and April of next year, and as I said before - I would... I would dearly love to come to Australia.

KH: Well, its been a long time...

Roger Waters: Keep... yep...

KH: Fifteen years is a long time - I... I think Australia has changed a heck of a lot, and obviously what you are doing now has changed a heck of a lot, in that time?

Roger Waters: Yep!

KH: Well, listen - we thank

Roger Waters: W-w... ww.. ww.. w...

KH: you for taking

Roger Waters: Wwell..

KH: ...ahh time out from ahh... from recording the album...

Roger Waters: (short muffled chuckle)

KH: for joining us tonight on Rocksat...

Roger Waters: Kevin, it's been a... my pleasure, sir!


From www.brain-damage.co.uk

Roger Waters interview - March 15th 1985 - Rock Over London

Recorded 15th March 1985, for broadcast 7th/14th April 1985

Rock Over London (ROL): Roger, welcome to Rock Over London

Roger Waters: Thank you.

ROL: First of all, if we could take about your tour you're going to be doing, is it the same show you did over in Britain?

Roger Waters: Yes, it is more or less, we added in a couple of numbers, but apart from that, it's the same.

ROL: Yeah, because there is a story in the papers here this week that you weren't too happy with the way those shows were received.

Roger Waters: Yes I know. I saw that story, isn't it stupid.

ROL: [laughs] Is that not true?

Roger Waters: I may have said at some point that I was disappointed at the way the tickets sold initially. I wasn't disappointed with the way the shows were received. It was wonderful, particularly the shows at Earls Court were great.

ROL: How do you think they compared to some of the old Floyd shows?

Roger Waters: In terms of the response?

ROL: Yes.

Roger Waters: I think it was very similar.

ROL: Yes...

Roger Waters: At the final curtain.

ROL: Yes, did the album do as well as you were expecting? The Pros and Cons album?

Roger Waters: No, I mean it didn't sell as well as I expected it to, no.

ROL: Hmmm. Any theories as to why that might be?

Roger Waters: No. It's not really something I care to speculate on.

ROL: Yes. Is that important? Whether an album sells as well or not?

Roger Waters: Well, yes and no. It's not nearly as important whether I like it or not, whether I think it's a good piece of work. If I put out a shoddy piece of work and it sold wonderfully, I would be less happy than a good piece of work and it not selling.

ROL: Yes.

Roger Waters: I mean it's a strange issue because there's nothing you can do about it anyway. You can't go chasing sales; well I can't. I'm sure some people do but there's no question of me doing that. All I can do is go on doing what I do as well as I can.

ROL: Yes.

Roger Waters: And hope the people like it.

ROL: You're going to be doing another album this year aren't you?

Roger Waters: Yes.

ROL: And will it be a similar sort of album to the Pros and Cons album?

Roger Waters: I've been making some demo's and it's coming out sounding a lot harder.

ROL: More rocky you mean?

Roger Waters: Yes, I suppose it is. Whether or not it'll turn out to be worked around a basic theme or concept I don't know. I expect it will in the end. Certainly the songs that I'm writing seem to have some thread running through them all. I'm not quite sure what it is yet!

ROL: Without trying to sound cynical, this is actually quite prolific for you. An album last year, a tour now and another album coming up.

Roger Waters: Yes.

ROL: What brought about that change?

Roger Waters: Well [startled] I'm really enjoying myself, I suppose, in a way that maybe I haven't in recent years anyway.

ROL: You mean you weren't really enjoying it on the last few Floyd albums?

Roger Waters: I wouldn't say the last few. The Final Cut wasn't a particularly happy experience for any of us I don't think. Though I like the record, but yes, it's certainly much happier now that I'm out from under the great umbrella.

ROL: Do you think the other chaps feel the same way perhaps?

Roger Waters: I don't know, you'd have to ask them that.

ROL: Are you in contact with any of them at all?

Roger Waters: Not a thing I care to discuss really.

ROL: So really the Pink Floyd days are completely over for you now.

Roger Waters: I think so, yes.

ROL: Is there any chance of working with any of the guys individually perhaps, or anything like that?

Roger Waters: I wouldn't have thought so, no. We all have things that we want to do. Nick's just made a movie called "Life Could Be A Dream", which I went and saw which was very nice, which I think is coming out on the TV quite soon. And Dave's thinking of making another album soon, so I think everybody's busy.

ROL: Do you get a lot of people pressurising you to put the Floyd back together?

[NEXT PASSAGE EDITED OUT ON ROGER's REQUEST]

Roger Waters: Sorry, where were we?

ROL: Well, we were just talking about what the other chaps were doing, weren't we? So it was Nick who has got the film coming out. Do you know what anybody else is up to?

Roger Waters: Well, I think Dave's making an album.

ROL: So, in the tour that you're doing in the States, how many old Floyd songs are you doing?

Roger Waters: I do Welcome To THe Machine, Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun, Money, If, Wish You Were Here, Pigs On The Wing, Get Your Filthy Hands Off My Desert, Southampton Dock, Gunner's Dream, In The Flesh?, Nobody Home, Another Brick In The Wall parts One and Two.

ROL: So that's quite a helping of old material isn't it?

Roger Waters: Yes.

ROL: Are they your favourite Floyd songs?

Roger Waters: Well, they're all songs that I wrote, which seems sensible, with the exception of Wish You Were Here, which is Dave's riff, but it's one of my particular favourite songs, so I put that in anyway.

ROL: So how many of your own new songs are in the show?

Roger Waters: Well, just the Pros and Cons Of HitchHiking; there's none of the material I'm working on at the moment in the show. I don't think live concerts are a very good place to showcase brand new songs.

ROL: What have you got in the way of special effects or lighting? Anything new in the show?

Roger Waters: Well, it's in two halves. In the first half, that is the old songs, and the second half there's Pros and Cons. The first half I use the old circular screen format, which we used in many Floyd tours, and I'm using some of the old Gerry Scarfe animation, and some Peter Medoc used for Dark Side Of The Moon shows. In fact, quite a lot of old stuff. And the second half of the show opens out visually, and we're using much, much more screen, a back projection screen 100 foot by 30 foot, with 3, 35mm cameras behind it, I mean projection and in front of the screen is scenery and is meant to create a 3D illusion although it is flat scenery, of the bedroom within which the record, Pro's and Cons story takes place, and so the second half of the show is usually much larger.

ROL: Did all those ideas come from you originally, or did you have other people working on that?

Roger Waters: Well, yes, the original ideas all come from me. Having said that, Mark Fisher and Jonathan Park, who are the guys who did all the design work for The Wall when we did The Wall shows. They did design the way to put the ideas into practice, if you like. So where the projectors go, and how it works, and how the scenery is and so on and so forth, was a collaborative effort with them, largely their work.

ROL: Is it important for you to put on a big presentation, a big show like that?

Roger Waters: I think in sports arenas, yes. I have a hankering to work in much smaller places where I quite like to do a show that is almost all in the dark, where one can control the sound more, and where it's comfier for people to sit. But, I like shows which are carefully put together, when visual aspects are carefully taken care of.

ROL: Do you think perhaps in the future you might do a tour that takes in smaller venues?

Roger Waters: I might, who knows, yes I might.

ROL: How far ahead do you plan, what might you be doing, sort of after the album for instance?

Roger Waters: No, not in terms of touring or live work, or anything like that.

ROL: Is there a possibility that you might do some more film work?

Roger Waters: Yes, that's a real possibility.

ROL: Anything specific?

Roger Waters: Well, I've a very old friend of mine in Los Angeles has been asking me [pause] Hang on a minute.

ROL: No problem.

Roger Waters: [Long pause] Sorry, what were you asking me?

ROL: The film.

Roger Waters: Oh yes, well I have a friend in Los Angeles who used to be a promoter there and who now works for APS, one of the agencies, who's been asking me if I would be interested in doing a soundtrack, and finally a couple of weeks ago I said, yes, alright, so we've made an agreement to do it. He's beginning to turn me around I believe. So it'll be interesting to see if anybody bites. I'd really like to do...it would be really nice to be working on somebody elses project, and only be, trying to enhance somebody elses work by the use of sound and music rather than having to start from scratch and do it all myself.

ROL: Because in the early days of Pink Floyd you did do some film soundtracks didn't you?

Roger Waters: We did, and they were, that was really good fun. Barbet Schroeder, we did a couple of movies, and we did a film for Antonioni as well.

ROL: Do you still listen to any of the old Floyd albums?

Roger Waters: No I don't, no.

ROL: Is that because you think you have out grown them, or...

Roger Waters: No, I mean when I occasionally do, when I had to listen to a lot of them when I was putting this show together, because the only way that I could find out whether I really liked the songs and wanted to do them or not was to go back to the old albums. My response to them was mixed. Some of it I think has held up really well, and has really stood the test of time, and some of it sounds dreadful.

ROL: Do you think that some of them sound a bit self indulgent?

Roger Waters: Atom Heart Mother is a good case I think for being thrown into the dustbin and never listened to by anyone ever again!

ROL: [Laughs] Why that one in particular?

Roger Waters: [Laughs] I don't know! It was pretty kind of pompous, it wasn't really about anything. I like the ones that are about something, on the other hand, Echoes, which is an early conceptual piece, I still really like.

ROL: Do you listen to much current stuff at the moment?

Roger Waters: Very little, because I've been rehearsing the band and my mind is full of that. When I come home, I listen to cassettes with that on, but having said that, I have been listening to in the car on my way to Shepperton and to, god! What's it called now? The new Van Morrison album? [Pause] Sense of Wonder! Which is wonderful.

ROL: Is he a favourite of yours?

Roger Waters: Not really, no. He's somebody I've always had on the periphery of my vision, and I've been kind of interested in, I've admired his stance to the music business, and, but no, this is the first album that I've given any careful consideration to.

ROL: Really?!

Roger Waters: I love it!

ROL: Are you just discovering him for the first time then?

Roger Waters: Yes.

ROL: Any sort of other things in the charts, or have you a fairly dim view of things that are in the charts? [Laughs]

Roger Waters: No, by no means at all. What's in the charts that I like? I don't know. Paul Young. A great boy. I think he sings very well. A lot of it I take a dim view of, but we don't want to go into all of that do we?! [Laughs]

ROL: Of course not, no. OK, Roger, listen, all the best with the tour anyway...

Roger Waters: Thank you very much.

ROL: And thank you very much for coming on Rock Over London.

Roger Waters: Alright, thanks for having me.

ROL: Thanks Roger.

Roger Waters: Thanks.

Roger puts the phone down and a long silence follows...

ROL: Awwww....Ahhhh.... [GIANT sighs of relief] That alright??

From www.brain-damage.co.uk

  

Roger Waters - Radio K.A.O.S.- Video EP - FULL

Roger Waters - Radio K.A.O.S.- Video EP

Tracklist;
1. Radio Waves
2. Sunset Strip
3. Fish Report
4. Four Minutes
5. The Tide is Turning

           

"Radio K.A.O.S." album, 1987

Radio K.A.O.S. is a 1987 concept album by former Pink Floyd bassist, singer songwriter Roger Waters. It is his second solo album.

The concept is based around a 23-year-old disabled man from Wales named Billy.
Billy uses a wheelchair and is thought to be mentally a vegetable. However, Billy is highly intelligent but has no way of expressing himself. Billy has a twin brother Benny who is a coal miner. Billy lives with Benny, Benny's wife Molly, and their children. Unfortunately, Benny has lost his job in the mines due to the "market forces". One night, Benny and Billy are out on a pub crawl when they pass a shop full of TV screens broadcasting Margaret Thatcher's "mocking condescension". Benny vents his anger on this shop and steals a cordless phone. Next, in theatrical fashion, Benny poses on a footbridge in protest to the closures; the same night, a taxi driver is killed by a concrete block dropped from a similar bridge (Track 2 "Who Needs Information"). The police question Benny, who hides the phone in Billy's wheelchair. Benny is taken to prison, and Molly, unable to cope, sends Billy to live with his uncle David in L.A.. Billy is gifted and can hear radio waves in his head ("Radio Waves" track 1), so he begins to explore the cordless phone, recognising its similarity to a radio. He experiments with the phone and is able to access computers and speech synthesisers, he learns to speak through them. He calls a radio station in L.A. named Radio KAOS (hence the album title) and tells them of his life story about his brother being in jail ("Me or Him" track 3), about his sister-in-law not being able to cope and sending him to L.A. to live with his uncle Dave ("Sunset Strip" track 5), and about the closures of the mines ("Powers that Be" track 4). Billy eventually hacks in to a military satellite and fools the world in to thinking nuclear ICBMs are about to be detonated at major cities all over the world whilst deactivating the military's power to retaliate ("Home" track 6 and "Four Minutes" track 7). The album concludes with a song about how everyone, in thinking they were about to die, realises that the fear and competitiveness peddled by the mass media is much less important than their love for family and the larger community. ("The Tide is Turning" track 8).
The album is dedicated "to all those who find themselves at the violent end of monetarism."

Track listing

All songs written by Roger Waters.
"Radio Waves" – 4:58
"Who Needs Information" – 5:55
"Me or Him" – 5:23
"The Powers That Be" – 4:36
"Sunset Strip" – 4:45
"Home" – 6:00
"Four Minutes" – 4:00
"The Tide Is Turning (After Live Aid)" – 5:43

Personnel 

Roger Waters – vocals, guitars, bass guitar, shakuhachi, keyboards

Graham Broad – percussion, drums
Mel Collins – saxophones
Nick Glennie-Smith – DX7 and Emu on "Powers That Be"
Matt Irving – Hammond organ on "Powers That Be"
John Linwood – drums on "Powers That Be"
Andy Fairweather Low – electric guitars
Suzanne Rhatigan – main background vocals on "Radio Waves", "Me or Him", "Sunset Strip" and "The Tide Is Turning"
Ian Ritchie – piano, keyboards, tenor saxophone, Fairlight programming, drum programming
Jay Stapley – electric guitars
John Phirkell – trumpet
Peter Thoms – trombone
Katie Kissoon, Doreen Chanter, Madeline Bell, Steve Langer & Vicki Brown) – background vocals on "Who Needs Information", "Powers That Be" and "Radio Waves"
[edit]Guest Appearance
Clare Torry – vocals on "Home" and "Four Minutes"
Paul Carrack – vocals on "The Powers That Be"

Radio K.A.O.S. Lyrics

Jim: This is K.A.O.S. You and I are listening to KAOS in Los Angeles. Let's

go to the telephones now and take a request.

Billy: Hello, I'm Billy.

Jim: Yes?

Billy: I hear radio waves in my head.

Jim: You hear radio waves in your head? Ah! Is there a request that you have

tonight for KAOS?

Radio Waves

Radio waves. Radio waves.

He hears radio waves. Radio waves.

The atmosphere is thin and cold

The yellow sun is getting old

The ozone overflows with radio waves

AM, FM, weather and news

Our leaders had a frank exchange of views

Are you confused, radio waves.

Radio waves, radio waves

AM radio waves, FM radio waves

Radio waves, mind-numbing radio waves

Fish-stunning radio waves

Radio waves.

Magic Billy in his wheel chair

Is picking up all this stuff in the air

Billy is face to face with outer space

Messages from distant stars

The local police calling all cars, radio waves

Hear them radio waves, radio waves

Jesus saves radio, radio waves

Radio waves, AM radio waves, FM radio waves

All them radio waves

Radio waves, radio waves, he hears radio waves

Radio waves, radio waves, hopeful radio waves, dopeful radio waves

Radio waves, Russian radio waves, Prussian radio waves

Eastern radio waves, Western radio waves

Testing radio waves, one two. One two.

Radio waves. Getting through to you

More code radio waves, Tobacco road radio waves

South to Paloma radio waves, Oklahoma City radio waves

Sitting pretty radio waves, nitty-gritty radio waves

Radio waves

Jim: Alright, that's a song called Radio Waves. You are listening to KAOS in

Los Angeles and we've got Billy on the line.

Billy: I'm from the valleys.

Jim: You're from the valley?

Billy: No, Jim you schmuck, the Valleys; male voice choirs, Wales.

Jim: Ah, you're from Wales! Now is this sperm or blue-tip?

Billy: Ha, ha, ha, ha. Very funny Jim.

Jim: Sorry.

Billy: Me and Benny went out.

Jim: Who's Benny?

Who Needs Information

Me and Benny went out last night

Looking for fun

Supping ale in the moonlight

Waiting for the dawn to come

Benny pointed at a HiFi shop

He said hey man look at all the stuff they've got

How'd you make a have out of a have not

Hmmmm.

Who needs information

When you're working underground

Just give me confirmation

We could win a million pounds

Benny climbed up on a footbridge

And he teetered on the parapet

He said can you see the whites of their headlights

Are they coming yet

Who needs information

This high off the ground

Just give me confirmation

We could win a million pounds

Who needs information

When you're living in constant fear

Just give me confirmation

There's some way out of here

Some way out of here

Benny hefted a breeze block

And tried to let go

Got hung up on a tear drop

So me and Benny went home

Who needs information

When you're living in constant fear

Just give me confirmation

There's some way out of here

Some way out of here

Who needs information yeah

When you're living on borrowed time

Just give me confirmation

There will be a winner this time

Who needs information when you're working underground

Just give me confirmation

We could win a million pounds

Who needs, who needs, who needs information

This high off the ground

Just give me confirmation

We could win a million pounds - yeah

Jim: Um.

Jim lights a cigarette.

Jim: So your brother's in jail?

Me or Him

You wake up in the morning, get something for the pot

Wonder why the sun makes the rocks feel hot

Draw on the walls, eat, get laid

Back in the good old days

Then some damn fool invents the wheel

Listen to the whitewalls squeal

You spend all day looking for a parking spot

Nothing for the heart, nothing for the pot

Benny turned the dial on his Short Wave radio

Oh how he wanted to talk to the people,

he wanted his own show

Tune in Moscow. Tune in New York

Listen tot the Welsh kid talk

Communicating like in the good old days

Forgive me father for I have sinned

It was either me or him

And a voice said Benny

You fucked the whole thing up

Benny your time is up

Your time is up

Benny turned the dial on his Short Wave radio

He wanted to talk to the people

He wanted his own show

Tune in Moscow. Tune in New York

Listen to the Welsh kid talk communicating

Like in the good old days

Forgive me Father

Welsh Policeman: Mobile One Two to Central.

For I have sinned

Welsh Policeman: We have a multiple on the A465

between Cwmbran and Cylgoch.

Father it was either me or him.

Father can we turn back the clock?

Welsh Policeman: Ambulance, over.

I never meant to drop the concrete block.

Welsh Policeman: Roger central, over and out.

Benny turned the dial on his Short Wave radio

He wanted to talk to the people

He wanted his own show

Tune in Moscow. Tune in New York

Listen to the Welsh kid talk

Just like in the good old days

The good old days

Radio announcer: Do you really think Iranian terrorists would have taken

Americans hostage if Ronald Reagan were president?

Do you really think the Russians would have invaded Afghanistan if Ronald

Reagan were president?

Do you really think third-rate military dictators would laugh at America and

burn our flag in contempt if Ronald Reagan were president?

Concerned Citizen: Well, it might work!

Hostage: We as a group do most importantly want to beseech President Reagan

and

our fellow Americans to refrain from any form of military or violent means as

an attempt, no matter how noble or heroic, to secure our freedom.

Concerned Citizen: Sure! Only it's going to be mighty dangerous for you,

Cassidy

Hoppy's faithful sidekick: guess you don't know Hopalong Cassidy, Mister.

Adventure's his bread, excitement's his butter and danger, why to him that's

like strawberry jam to top it off.

Jim: This is some live rock and roll at KAOS, where rock and roll comes out of

chaos and a song called "The Powers that Be"...

The Powers That Be

The powers that be

They like a tough game

No rules

Some you win, some you lose

Competition's good for you

They're dying to be free

They're the powers that be

They like a bomb proof cadillac

Air conditioned, gold taps,

Back seat gun rack, platinum hub caps

They pick horses for courses

They're the market forces

Nice car Jack

They like order, make-up, lime light power

Game shows, rodeos, star wars, TV

They're the powers that be

If you see them come,

You better run - run

You better run on home

Sisters of mercy better join your brothers

Put a stop to the soap opera right now

They say the toothless get ruthless

You better run on home

You better run - run

You better run on home

The powers that be

They like treats, tricks, carrots and sticks

They like fear and loathing, they like sheep's clothing

And blacked-out vans

Blacked-out vans, contingency plans

They like death or glory, they love a good story

They love a good story

Sisters of mercy better join with your brothers

Put a stop to the soap opera state

They say the toothless get ruthless

Run home before its too late

You better run - run

You better run on home

Billy: Goodnight, Jim.

Jim: Goodnight, Billy.

Uncle David's Great Dane: Woof, woof, woof!

The canyon - daytime. Billy plays with Great Uncle David's Great Dane.

Paraquat Kelly: Bull heads, three red snapper, one pink snapper and your

Pacific coastal trench hosemonster fish.

Cynthia Fox: Ohhh! At Sky David's juke joint of joy reports, forty under the

console giggle stick ling cod, twenty-three purple perches four

sledgehammerhead sharks, and what a surprise, eightyfour crabs, and no red

snappers.

Paraquat Kelly: Hey, and that'll do for the triumphant return of the fish

report with a beat.

Jim: We think of it as mainstreet, but to the rest of the country it's Sunset

Strip. You're listening to KAOS in Los Angeles.

Sunset Strip

I like staying with my Uncle Dave

And I like playing with his great dane

But I don't fit

I feel alien and strange Kinda outa range

I like riding in my Uncle's car

Down to the beach where the pretty girls all parade

And movie stars and paparazzi play

The Charles Atlas kicking sand in the face game

And I sit in the canyon with my back to the sea

There's a blood red dragon on a field of green

Calling me back

Back to the Black Hills again

Ooh, ooh, Billy come home

Billy is searching for his native land

Flicking through the stations with the dial in his head

Picking up -------------- and

A male voice choir on the short wave band

Billy taps out Jim's number on the 'phone

Sits shaking as he waits for Jim's answering tone

Come on my friend, speak to me please

The land of my fathers is calling to me

And I sit in the canyon with my back to the sea

There's a blood red dragon on a field of green

Calling me back, back to the Black Hills again

Ooh, ooh, Billy come home

Come on home

He sits in the canyon with his back to the sea

Sees a blood red dragon on a field of green

He hears a male voice choir singing Billy come home

Billy, Billy, come home

Come on home

Californian Weirdo: I don't like fish.

Jim: You are listening to KAOS here in Los Angeles.

Californian Weirdo: I don't like fish.

Jim: Yes, we've established that. Ah! Do you have a request?

Californian Weirdo: Shell fish, guppy, salmon, shrimp and crab and lobster,

flounder.I hate fish, but I think most of all I hate fresh fish, like trout. I

hate fresh trout. My least-hated, favourite fish would be sole. That way you

don't have to see the eyes.

Sole has no eyes.

Jim: Oh no!

I'd like to be home with my monkey and my dog

Jim: Thankyou.

I'd like to be home with my monkey and my dog

I'd like to be home with my monkey and my dog

I'd like to be home with my monkey ...

Jim: They don't care. Shut up. Play the record.

Home

Jim: Oh, God!

Californian Weirdo: Sole has no eyes.

Could be Jerusalem, or it could be Cairo

Could be Berlin, or it could be Prague

Could be Moscow, could be New York

Could be Llanelli, and it could be Warrington

Could be Warsaw, and it could be Moose Jaw

Could be Rome

Everybody got somewhere they call home

When they overrun the defences

A minor invasion put down to expenses

Will you go down to the airport lounge

Will you accept your second class status

A nation of waitresses and waiters

Will you mix their martinis

Will you stand still for it

Or will you take to the hills

It could be clay and it could be sand

Could be desert

Could be a tract of arable land

Could be a house, could be a corner shop

Could be a cabin by a bend in the river

Could be something your old man handed down

Could be something you built on your own

Everybody got something he calls home

When the cowboys and Arabs draw down

On each other at noon

In the cool dusty air of the city boardroom

Will you stand by a passive spectator

Of the market dictators

Will you discreetly withdraw

With your ear pressed to the boardroom door

Will you hear when the lion within you roars

Will you take to the hills

Will you stand, will you stand for it

Will you hear, ohhhh! ohhh! when the lion within

you roars

Could be your father and it could be your mother

Could be your sister, could be your brother

Could be a foreigner, could be a Turk

Could be a cyclist out looking for work. Norman

Could be a king, could be the Aga khan

Could be a Vietnam vet with no arms and no legs

Could be a saint, could be a sinner

Could be a loser or it could be a winner

Could be a banker, could be a baker

Could be a Laker, could be Kareem Abdul Jabar

Could be a male voice choir

Could be a lover, could be a fighter

Could be a super heavyweight, or it could be

something lighter

Could be a cripple, could be a freak

Could be a wop, gook, geek

Could be a cop, could be a thief

Could be a family of ten living in one room on relief

Could be our leaders in their concrete tombs

With their tinned food and their silver spoons

Could be the pilot with God on his side

Could be the kid in the middle of the bomb sight

Could be a fanatic, could be a terrorist

Could be a dentist, could be a psychiatrist

Could be humble, could be proud

Could be a face in the crowd

Could be the soldier in the white cravat

Who turns the key in spite of the fact

That this is the end of the cat and mouse

Who dwelt in the house

Where the laughter rang and the tears were spilt

The house that Jack built

Where the laughter rang and the tears were spilt

The house that Jack built

Bang, bang, shoot, shoot

White gloved thumb, Lord thy will be done

He was always a good boy his mother said

He'll do his duty when he's grown, yeah

Everybody's got someone they call home

Four Minutes 

Billy: Four minutes and counting.

Jim: O.K.

Billy: They pressed the button, Jim.

Jim: They pressed the button Billy, what button?

Billy: The big red one.

Jim: You mean THE button?

Billy: Goodbye, Jim.

Jim: Goodbye! Oh yes. This ain't au revoir,

it's goodbye! Ha! Ha!

Jim: This is KAOS. It's a beautiful, balmy, Southern California summer day.

It's 80 degrees ... I said balmy ... I could say bomby ... Ha! Ha! ...O.K.

I'm Jim and this is Radio KAOS and with only four minutes left to us, let's use

this as wisely as possible.

Molly: Everybody got someone they call home.

Jim: Out at Dodger Stadium.

It's the bottom of the seventh, the Dodgers are leading

Three to nothing over the Giants, and for those of you who are looking to go

surfing tomorrow, too bad.

'Phone rings.

Jim: I'm kinda lost in here to tell you the truth ...

O.K. good. Ladies and gentlemen, if the reports that we are getting are

correct, this could be it. Billy, if you're listening to me, please call now.

After a near miss on the plane

You swear you'll never fly again

After the first kiss when you make up

You swear you'll never break up again

And when you've just run a red light

Sit shaking under the street light

You swear to yourself you'll never drink and drive again

Sometimes I feel like going home

You swear you'll never let things go by again.

Sometimes I miss the rain and snow

And you'll never toe the party line again

And when the east wind blows

Sometimes I feel like going home

Jim: Billy, if you are listening, please call.

Californian Weirdo: Sole has no eyes.

Molly: Goodbye little spy in the sky.

They say that cameras don't lie.

Am I happy, am I sad, am I good, am I bad?

Jim: Billy, if you're listening, please call.

Californian Weirdo: Sole has no eyes, sole has no eyes

Billy: Ten, nine, eight, seven

Margaret Thatcher: Our own independent nuclear deterrent has helped to keep the

peace.

Billy: Six, five four, three,

Ordinary Person: ...you've go a job...

Billy: Two, one,

Margaret Thatcher: For nearly forty years

Jim: Goodbye Billy.

The Tide is Turning (After Live Aid)

I used to think the world was flat

Rarely threw my hat into the crowd

I felt I had used up my quota of yearning

Used to look in on the children at night

In the glow of their Donald Duck light

And frighten myself with the thought of my little ones burning

But oh, oh, oh, the tide is turning

The tide is turning

Satellite buzzing through the endless night

Exclusive to moonshots and world title fights

Jesus Christ imagine what it must be earning

Who is the strongest, who is the best

Who holds the aces, the East or the West

This is the crap our children are learning

But oh, oh, oh, the tide is turning

The tide is turning

Oh, oh, oh, the tide is turning

Now the satellite's confused

'Cos on Saturday night

The airwaves were full of compassion and light

And his silicon heart warmed

To the sight of a billion candles burning

Oo, oo, oo, the tide is turning

Oo, oo, oo, the tide is turning

The tide is turning Billy

I'm not saying that the battle is won

But on Saturday night all those kids in the sun

Wrested technology's sword from the hand of the

War Lords

Oh, oh, oh, the tide is turning

The tide is turning Sylvester

The tide is turning.

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.