What was Roger trying to say in Animals?

Ya think?

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"I laugh with humanity, not at it, because I am as big a fool as anyone, and bigger than most." - Dean Koontz

that, and that humans are backstabbing bitches who are all out to get each other, and dont care for anything but money and power.

Sure, why not? Ater all, they did sign the contracts to produce x amount of albums for x amount of cash and concert tours are for publicising and merchandising for recond sales. Etc.

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Count me in on the journey, don't expect me to stay.

Did you miss the sarcasm?

Personally, I think that what was running through his head was something along the lines of "Please, please, please sell better than WYWH..."

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"I laugh with humanity, not at it, because I am as big a fool as anyone, and bigger than most." - Dean Koontz

Okay, Roger obviously was taking strikes at society when he wrote this one, but there may be more to it.

A long while back, Guitar World magazine was taking a look at Pink Floyd's 'Animals', and trying to figure out why it is a favorite among true fans. Turns out, back in the seventies, the Floyd Machine actually had rivals----->The Sex Pistols, mainly Syd Vicous & Johnny Rotten. They said how soft Floyd was, and one of 'em wore a Pink Floyd t-shirt with "sucks" written above the band's name.

Roger made note of this incident, and this may be an explination as to why Roger took such a dark route when writing the material for 'Animals'. Mr.Waters looked upon society in a whole different way, and this could have also led to the building of 'The Wall'. (although the idea for 'The Wall' was supposedly thought of during the 'Animals' tour)

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Someone desrves a pat on the back.

DSOTM and WYWH weren't dark??!?

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stchrissie is not me.

that's right

Actually it was just Mr Rotten, and he wrote "I hate" on his Floyd T-shirt. I doubt very much that Roger would give him the time of day, let alone pay attention to his musical critique. As he says, "not everyone can be a Pink Floyd fan." But the harsher guitar sound on Animals is perhaps a reaction to the punk movement as a whole. God save the queen, indeed.

The Wall isn't really a reaction to anything in particular that was happening in society at the time, so much as a stock-taking of Roger's own internal character flaws, and an examination of how they were shaped. The impetus for this was of course Roger's "transformation" onstage during the 1977 tour into a "fascist monster" who finally spat in the face of a screaming fan during a blisteringly tense rendition of "Pigs (Three Different Ones)" in the midst of a capacity crowd of 200,000 in the Olympic Stadium, Montreal.

At least, that's the way Roger tells it.

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what do you teach your children about me?
what do you teach your little children about me?
pimp, thug, bling drug lord of the undergrounded kings
how can you be so sure i won't call down the rain?
what do you teach your little children about me?
you point your gun, wait, hide and run. i see it plain

Not near as much as 'Animals'. Sure "Welcome to the Machine" isn't a happy song that makes people want to smile, but as a whole I think 'Dark Side' & 'Wish you Were Here' weren't that dark at all.

And however 'Animals' came to be, it definitely showed us what our beloved Floyd was capable of. I think "Dogs" is probably my favorite epic by Pink Floyd, yes, more so than "Atm Hrt Mthr" & "Echoes"-------->with the song "Dogs" you get two decent guitar solos, plus two more bada$$ solos by David Gilmour. "Pigs", is another dark look upon society (how about the squeeling in the middle, is that Gilmour?), and "Sheep" isn't as dark as the previous tunes, but it sure has its moments.

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Someone desrves a pat on the back.

An entire album about all the shit one has to put up with, which includes insanity, in day to day life isn't dark?

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stchrissie is not me.

Dark Side is definitely, erm... dark (what else I wonder). Maybe AITW has in mind the music, which is generally more uplifting than the lyrics, but NNJ is right.

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"Don't you know there ain't no devil, it's just god when he's drunk." Tom Waits

I find it kind of annoying how people stereotype Floyd as a pessimistic, negative band. Out of all their albums, the post-Dark Side Waters dominated albums were the darkest, but albums like DSoTM are more like philosophical observations about deep subjects, but there's nothing pessimistic or depressing about it.

And concerning Animals, I've always been a fan of Pigs. That solo knocked me on my buttocks!

I always thout Dogs was about blindly following the corporate world, Pigs was about big wheels in business, and sheep was about blindly following religion.

The dogs are vicious man, they take charge and tear $hit up. You have to watch out for yourself if the dogs are about.

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Someone desrves a pat on the back.