1 Overlooked Gem Song From Every Pink Floyd Album
10. Pigs On The Wing - Animals
Inspired by George Orwell’s Animal Farm, Animals is an angry record, at least for the most part. The album is understandably dominated by the three ten-minute-plus compositions that comprise its bulk with NME labelling the album, “extreme, relentless[and] harrowing.”
It seems however, that for all his rage at the class system and the welfare state, Roger Waters couldn’t resist unleashing his romantic side. Pigs On The Wing was a declaration of love for his new wife Carolyne Christie and bookends the album.
In stark contrast to the rest of the album, each half of Pigs On The Wing is a gentle, acoustic folk rock number that wears its melody as lightly as leaves in a breeze and disappears before it can outstay its welcome. Both parts combined total less than three minutes but they provide a crucial counterpoint to the relentless rage and grind of the album’s longer songs.
On an album that seeks to frame people as beasts, Pigs On The Wing is a welcome touch of humanity.