‘Us and Them’ is a song by the English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, from their 1973 album The Dark Side of the Moon. The music was written by Richard Wright with lyrics by Roger Waters. It is sung by David Gilmour, with harmonies by Wright. The song is 7 minutes and 49 seconds, the longest on the album. It was released as the second single from The Dark Side of the Moon in the United States, peaking at No. 72 on the Cash Box Top 100 Singles chart in March 1974. The single peaked at No. 85 in the Canadian chart.
The tune was originally written on the piano by Richard Wright for the film Zabriskie Point in 1969 and was titled ‘The Violent Sequence’. In its original demo form it was instrumental, featuring only piano and bass. Director Michelangelo Antonioni rejected it on the grounds that it was too unlike material such as "Careful with That Axe, Eugene", which was the style of music he wanted to use. As Roger Waters recalls it in impersonation, Antonioni's response was: "It's beautiful, but is a too sad, you know? It makes me think of church". The song was then shelved until the making of The Dark Side of the Moon.
The lyrics of the song were written by Waters. They describe the senseless nature of war and the ignorance of modern-day humans who have been taken over by consumerism and materialism. In an interview, Waters shared the significance of each verse: “The first verse is about going to war, how on the front line we don't get much chance to communicate with one another, because someone else has decided that we shouldn't. The second verse is about civil liberties, racism and colour prejudice. The last verse is about passing a tramp in the street and not helping.” In the middle, there is a break during which roadie Roger "The Hat" Manifold speaks.
The engineer for the album was Alan Parsons, who also worked on The Beatles' Abbey Road album. Some of the production techniques on this are similar to the suite of songs at the end of that album, especially ‘Sun King.’ This was one of Pink Floyd's first uses of female backup singers. They brought in Liza Strike, Leslie Duncan, and Doris Troy to sing harmonies.
Label – Harvest
Songwriters – Roger Waters, Richard Wright
Producers – Pink Floyd
SONG LYRICS
[Segue: Saxophone Solo][Verse 1: David Gilmour]
Us, and them
And after all, we're only ordinary men
[Verse 2: David Gilmour]
Me, and you
God only knows it's not what we would choose to do
[Chorus: David Gilmour & Richard Wright]
“Forward!” he cried from the rear, and the front rank died
And the general sat, and the lines on the map, moved from side to side
[Verse 3: David Gilmour]
Black and blue
And who knows which is which, and who is who?
[Verse 4: David Gilmour]
Up and down
And in the end, it's only round and round, and round
[Chorus: David Gilmour & Richard Wright]
“Haven't you heard it's a battle of words?”, the poster bearer cried
“Listen, son,” said the man with the gun
“There's room for you inside”
[Interlude]
I mean, they're not gonna kill ya
So like, if you give 'em a quick short, sharp, shock
They won't do it again
Dig it? I mean, he got off lightly
'Cause I would've given him a thrashing
I only hit him once!
It was only a difference of right and wrong, innit?
But really, I mean good manners don't cost nothing, do they, eh?
[Saxophone Solo]
[Verse 5: David Gilmour]
Down and out
It can't be helped, but there's a lot of it about
[Verse 6: David Gilmour]
With, without
And who'll deny it's what the fighting's all about?
[Chorus: David Gilmour & Richard Wright]
Out of the way, It's a busy day
I've got things on my mind
For want of the price of tea and a slice
The old man died