30 January 2024

Pink Floyd's "The Great Gig in the Sky"

And I am not frightened of dying. Any time will do, I don't mind. Why should I be frightened of dying? There's no reason for it – you've got to go sometime.
— Gerry O'Driscoll, Abbey Road Studios janitorial "browncoat"
I've been listening to this all week, wondering what the faint spoken words were.  The above sentiment is expressed at 0:38 and "I never said I was frightened of dying" (by Patricia 'Puddie' Watts, wife of road manager Peter Watts) at 3:33.

Fittingly, this "sky" song is the one that (coincidentally) plays during Dorothy's ride in the tornado in "The Dark Side of the Rainbow."

And, as I've always suspected, the sexual connotation of the vocals was intentional, as David Gilmour indicated in a Rolling Stone interview: "We wanted to put a girl on there, screaming orgasmically."

Reposted from 2013.  Most of the few regrets I have regarding my life are not about things I did, but about things I missed out on doing.  One of those regrets is that I never took the time to find and attend a Pink Floyd concert.  IIRC, my attitude when young was that it would be better to buy albums I could listen to many times rather than attend concerts once live.  In this case, I should have opted for the latter.

Just found the 1994 concert remastered:


I used to drive around with my windows down and this playing loudly in the car, enjoying the puzzled reactions of passers-by.

5 comments:

  1. A stupendous album, without doubt.
    However, I would also recommend a listen to Dub Side of the Moon, by the Easy Star All-Stars. Basically, the whole PF album redone in Reggae/Dub style. I was expecting a novelty that would be tiresome after one or two listens...but, it just works.

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    Replies
    1. I went to see Easy Star All-Stars specifically for their DSOTM but it turned out that was going to be the second half of the gig and I was already ready for bed by the interval and tapped out.

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  2. I saw them on tour in 1987 and it was easily the best concert I have ever been to. Overwhelming in a great way.

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    1. Saw them at Maine Road in 1986 and yes, it was a good gig. Annoyed I didn't get to see "Real Floyd" but The Wall tour was too early for me and they pretty much gave up after that.

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  3. I was at the final gig of the RADIO K.A.O.S. tour at Wembley Arena.

    Clare Torry performed Great Gig in the Sky that night, as well as providing vocals for the tour and the album. My mate turned to me and said "I never thought that vocal came from a little white woman!"

    It was also the night the last person to make a "call" was a dishevelled man who said something along the lines of "Roger, It's me. Work with me again. Please. Work with me again."
    The ripple of "Its Sid!" went through the crowd and Roger hurriedly left the stage as the man was escorted away from the phone booth in the auditorium.

    The official line is - "It Wasn't Sid."
    I cannot add anything further to that.

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