35 Best Pink Floyd Songs

By Michael Perone / October 26, 2013

25. "Dogs" from Animals This is a long one, clocking in at over 17 minutes. Taking a page (almost literally) from George Orwell's Animal Farm, this concept album features the obvious metaphor that people are nothing but animals: fat, rich, white guys are "Pigs"; weak, cowardly followers are "Sheep"; and violent, war-mongering bullies are "Dogs." To be honest, I didn't really like this song that much when I first heard it (I was put off by its length), and you might feel the same based on one listen, but I'm tellin' ya, this song will grow on you more than any other Floyd tune; it's now one of my favorites. You'll especially be drawn back for repeated listens just to hear Gilmour's guitar interrupt the narrative with his trademark "Waa-Waaahh!!" I used to see a Pink Floyd tribute band when I lived in Baltimore, and whenever they played this song, the crowd went nuts, particularly at the "Waa-Waaahh!!" part. You'll know what I'm talking about when you hear it.

26. "Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)" 27. "Mother" 28. "Hey You" 29. "Comfortably Numb" 30. "Run Like Hell" from The Wall I realize I included a generous portion of The Wall here, but keep in mind that not only is this record a classic, it actually contains two albums' worth of songs (hence, all the Part IIs and IIIs listed throughout the song titles). Most non-Floyd fans love the first song I picked but don't realize it's actually the middle chapter in a trio of similar melodies. Also, I don't believe most people understand the message of the song. Even Waters himself, who practically wrote the entire two-record album single-handedly, admitted it's not a rallying cry against all forms of public education. It was merely critiquing certain sarcastic teachers who took their troubles out on their students, instead of just doing their job and teaching them ("We don't need...no dark sarcasm in the classroom/Teachers leave the kids alone"). I know I had more than a few teachers like that in high school. I love the inclusion of real kids singing the chorus, one of the first times this was ever done in rock music and has often been imitated sincepoorly (think "We Are the Youth of the Nation" by P.O.D.). I also love the irony that the kids are chanting "We don't need no education" in grammatically incorrect fashion, almost making it an oxymoron. "Hey You" is one of my favorite songs of all time, probably my second favorite Floyd song (I'll get to my first later), and it serves as the turning point in the entire two-record concept album. Unfortunately, it was discarded from the movie version because it ran too long, but without this song, the rest of the story structure collapses. In case you don't know, The Wall is about a famous rock singer named Pink who locks himself in a hotel room before a concert. He's had too much applause, too many shows, and too much dope and is ready to end his life. Trapped in the dark abyss of depression, he finally realizes he has a problem and needs to ask for help if he's going to get out of it. That's what "Hey You" is about. It's his initial cry for help, like a baby lost in a crowd looking for his mother (hence, the inclusion of "Mother"). The first song on the second record of The Wall, "Hey You" splits the album perfectly into two neat parts: before he seeks help and afterwards. "Comfortably Numb" was originally credited just to Waters for writing it, but he needed a bigger climax to illustrate the high Pink feels from his drug overdose. He asked Gilmour to write a guitar solo for the end, and he came through in superb fashion. I still get goosebumps listening to it; it elevates the song from great pop to work of art. Waters, who was notorious for his obsessive control of the band in its later years, was so impressed that he gave a co-writing byline to the guitarist just for the solo. "Run Like Hell" is perfect for an arena rock show and probably the greatest "dance song" Floyd has ever done, if you can call it that. It's also the only one. (The title of the Floyd compilation A Collection of Great Dance Songs is clearly tongue-in-cheek.)

31. "The Gunner's Dream" 32. "The Final Cut" 33. "Not Now John" from The Final Cut The title of this album unintentionally gained a double meaning: not only is it about war, but it became the last Pink Floyd recording with Waters. By now, his ego had blown up and interfered with the writing process of his bandmates, refusing to listen to their input. This album is virtually a solo one for Waters since he wrote every single line of music and lyric, right down to the forced guitar solos of Gilmour's, who used to express himself freely. You can hear him painfully holding back numerous times throughout. This, however, is one of my favorite Pink Floyd albums, not only because it's bittersweet, being the parting record of my favorite member of the band, but also because of its extremely specific concept: war. It's very easy to identify with, even if you haven't actually fought in a war (as Waters himself never did), because everyone has lived during times of war and heard stories of its atrocities, and some even have had to deal with the horror of losing a loved one in combat. This is also the only album to offer a subtitle, "A Requiem for the Postwar Dream," and is dedicated to Waters' father, Eric Fletcher, who died in World War II before he got to know his just-born son. This is why many songs written by Waters, especially in The Wall, deal with the loss generated by War, with a capital "W." Here is my favorite song I was talking about: "The Gunner's Dream." Floyd's greatest narrative is a mini-masterpiece. Based on the story of a gunner whose plane is shot down in action, the five-minute song manages to pack as much emotional firepower and intense melodrama as a two-hour opera. As the title character parachutes down to earth, he reminisces about his life, including flash-forwarding to witness his own funeral, knowing that death is near. In the aftermath, and not unlike Martin Luther King, Jr.'s famous speech, he poses a dream to mankind that would take someone made of granite not to be moved. The song also happens to include the most incredible saxophone solo of any Floyd tune, courtesy of Raphael Ravenscroft, which takes the melody to new heights. The title tune is also a deeply personal song for me, especially its haunting themes, which echo "Comfortably Numb" from The Wall, and its all-too-identifiable lyrics ("And if I/showed you my dark side/Would you still hold me/tonight?"). Also, it breaks my heart to be reminded of my angst-ridden, lonely teen life ("There's a kid who had a big hallucination...Could anybody love him?/Or is this just a crazy dream?"). "Not Now John" is undoubtedly the most vulgar Floyd song out there. The chorus alone drops the F-bomb not once, not twice, but thrice! This song also bears the remarkable distinction of a Waters-style rap. Yes, Pink Floyd made a rap song.