Us and Them - One of Roger Waters best lyrics

They lyrics to Us and Them must be regarded as some of the finest that Roger Waters ever wrote, and the song one of the finest Pink Floyd ever recorded. Particularly impressive is Waters use of opposites (a technique frequently used by James Joyce and Vladimir Nabokov, though I am doubtful that’s where Waters took his inspiration from), Us-Them, Me-You, Forward-Rear, Up-Down.

The stand out stanza for me is the first, it deals with a subject very close to Waters heart, namely war. As left wing writer Waters sympathies are always with the ‘ordinary men’ who are the pawns sent to die on the front line. Waters is not partisan, he is very clear that both sides suffer, the use of the word ‘we’ in that stanza links together the ordinary soldiers on both sides of the conflict. The emotive words ‘God only knows’ emphasise the horrors of war suffered by people who are ‘only ordinary men‘.

Of course this song, like all songs, is meant to be heard (not read), and the way the music swells up into the second stanza (chorus) gives the song its emotional power. 'Forward he cried from the rear' (use of opposites) is followed by 'and the front rank died' , the third and fourth lines contrast the death of the ‘front rank’ ordinary soldiers with the General who sits in a room away from the fighting viewing a map that’s moving lines is at the expense of the lives of ’front rank’ soldiers.

The song is based on a chord progression created by Rick Wright, played on guitar by Dave Gilmour who also did the singing, with the words being written by Roger Waters. It is also a fine example of what Pink Floyd were capable of when they worked together as a group.

Us And Them

Us and Them
And after all we're only ordinary men
Me, and you
God only knows it's not what we would choose to do

Forward he cried from the rear
and the front rank died
And the General sat, as the lines on the map
moved from side to side

Black and Blue
And who knows which is which and who is who
Up and Down
And in the end it's only round and round and round

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

Down and Out
It can't be helped but there's a lot of it about
With, without
And who'll deny that's what the fightings all about

Get out of the way, it's a busy day
And I've got things on my mind
For want of the price of tea and a slice
The old man died

We know the factual information you provided. But thank you anyway. I agree, Roger can write a very good lyric, that album is his best lyrically and conceptually, Money, Time, Eclipse, it's something about being able to sum up the things that no-one can really put into words very easily that makes it great, to me, Roger has always had that great ability.

Yeah, i totally agree bout darkside having great lyrics. The mix of great poetry and how true it is, really does it for me. With the music it is Floyds best album, yeh, us and them is good.

Of course, as with most of Waters' work, this is a piece in social commentary, and not a war story.

I like your analysis of the song. I agree, although, that's the one song on the album I ever skip (not every time, but sometimes it tends to drag).

Yes, it is an excellent song.

One of my favourites indeed.

first, i hate track- skippers (yea, i can make up words)
second, i love us and them. i consider your actions a crime

Get the rope, let's string him up!

Interesting textual analysis. It helps because I tend to be less text oriented, and more form oriented. The overall mood of the song, and album, as a whole, fits in with my love of surrealism. I like the way it bends reality.
That was a helpful post...thanks.

I like thinkig it as both....
after all... isn't our social way of living a constant war???

I personally always found the lyric at the end "For want of the price of tea and a slice, The old man died." to be one of the deepest lyrics I'd ever heard. Something about it always just got to me... even back when I was a youngun.

Yeah, the last verse is very deep and beautiful.... I always loved the "With, without, and who'll deny is what the figthing's all about"..... what a wonderful song

us and them... beautiful song, my favorite song's sentence is "And who knows which is which and who is who"
i think that pulse's version is the best...

I'm sure there is another post on this somewhere but well. . .Us and Them is my subject and I'm lazy on this Monday morning. . .apologizes if this upsets any of you.

I'm just wondering what "the loonies" or whatever they are referred to (soldiers?) in the middle of Us and Them actually say? I can get as far as, "So you know they're gonna kill ya, so if you give 'em a quick short, sharp, shock and then don't do it again, dig it. . ."

Thanks.

P.S. I was looking over RS 500 Greatest Albums of All Time last night and its an absolute atrocity that DSOTM is 43. F--- RS.

That particular dialogue is courtesy of Roger "The Hat" Manifold, who was describing his justification for the use of violent retribution in a road-rage altercation he had with a posh driver who called him a "long-haired git".

"He got off light... 'cause I could've given him a fracture. I mean, good manners don't cost nothing, do they, eh?"