A Pillow of Winds

Last updated

"A Pillow of Winds"
Song by Pink Floyd
from the album Meddle
PublishedPink Floyd Music Publ
Released5 November 1971 (UK)
Recorded21 March – 27 August 1971 [1]
Studio Morgan Studios, AIR Studios
Genre Psychedelic folk
Length5:13
Label Harvest
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Pink Floyd

"A Pillow of Winds" is the second track from Pink Floyd's 1971 album Meddle . [2] [3]

Contents

Music and lyrics

This soft acoustic love song [4] may be quite uncharacteristic of the band's previous and future material. Guitarist David Gilmour composed the chord sequence using an open E tuning (EBEG#BE), played in a series of arpeggios, composed the melody and maybe part of the lyrics (along with Roger Waters). [4] This song also features slide guitar work by Gilmour, as well as a fretless bass [4] played by Waters. The song begins and ends in the key of E major, with a darker middle section (following the lyric "and the candle dies") in the parallel minor, E minor. Both the E major and E minor chords feature the ninth, making this song one of many Pink Floyd songs to feature a prominent E minor added ninth chord, "Em(add9)". Throughout most of the song, the bass line remains on E as a pedal point, creating a drone. A chord named "G#m/E" is more accurately called an E  major seventh chord, "Emaj7", and a "Bm/E" is just as equally named an "E7sus2". In the instrumental interlude, however, the chords change completely to A minor and B minor chords, leaving the E bass drone for a time before returning to E major. [5]

According to Nick Mason, the song's title originates from a possible hand in the game of mahjong, with which the band had become enamoured while touring. [6]

Reception

In a review for the Meddle album, Jean-Charles Costa of Rolling Stone described "A Pillow of Winds", along with "San Tropez", as an "ozone ballad". He further described the two as "pleasant little acoustic numbers hovering over a bizarre back-drop of weird sounds". [7] Classic Rock Review described "A Pillow of Winds" as "a soft acoustic love song" that's reminiscent of previous albums Ummagumma and Atom Heart Mother . They went on further, saying: "this second song could not be in more contrast to the first one". [8]

Personnel

Related Research Articles

<i>Meddle</i> 1971 studio album by Pink Floyd

Meddle is the sixth studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released by Harvest on 5 November 1971 in the United Kingdom. The album was produced between the band's touring commitments, from January to August 1971 at a series of locations around London, including EMI Studios and Morgan Studios.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shine On You Crazy Diamond</span> 1975 composition by Pink Floyd

"Shine On You Crazy Diamond" is a nine-part Pink Floyd composition written by David Gilmour, Roger Waters, and Richard Wright, which was first performed on Pink Floyd's 1974 French tour and appeared in Pink Floyd's 1975 concept album Wish You Were Here. The song is written about and dedicated to founder member Syd Barrett, who departed from the band in 1968 after dealing with mental problems and substance abuse.

"Echoes" is a song by the English rock band Pink Floyd, and the sixth and last track on their 1971 album Meddle. It is 23+1⁄2 minutes long, the second longest of their discography, 2nd to Atom Heart Mother Suite, and takes up the entire second side of the original LP. The track evolved from a variety of different musical themes and ideas, including instrumental passages and studio effects, resulting in the side-long piece. The music, credited to all the band, was mainly written by Richard Wright and David Gilmour, while Roger Waters' lyrics addressed themes of human communication and empathy, to which he returned in later work.

"A Saucerful of Secrets" is a multi-part instrumental composition by English rock band Pink Floyd from their 1968 album of the same name. It is nearly 12 minutes long and was composed by Roger Waters, Richard Wright, Nick Mason and David Gilmour. The track features guitar feedback, a percussion solo section and wordless vocals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Time (Pink Floyd song)</span> 1973 song by Pink Floyd

"Time" is a song by English rock band Pink Floyd. It is included as the fourth track on their eighth album The Dark Side of the Moon (1973) and was released as a single in the United States. With lyrics written by bassist Roger Waters, guitarist David Gilmour shares lead vocals with keyboardist Richard Wright.

"Atom Heart Mother" is a six-part suite by the progressive rock band Pink Floyd, composed by all members of the band and Ron Geesin. It appeared on the Atom Heart Mother album in 1970, taking up the first side of the original vinyl record. At 23:38, it is Pink Floyd's longest uncut studio piece. Pink Floyd performed it live between 1970 and 1972, occasionally with a brass section and choir in 1970–71.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Welcome to the Machine</span> Song by Pink Floyd

"Welcome to the Machine" is the second song on Pink Floyd's 1975 album Wish You Were Here. It features heavily processed vocals, layers of synthesizers, acoustic guitars as well as a wide range of tape effects. The song was written by bassist Roger Waters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don't Leave Me Now (Pink Floyd song)</span> 1979 single by Pink Floyd

"Don't Leave Me Now" is a song by the English rock band Pink Floyd. It appears on The Wall album (1979) and was released as a B-side on the single of "Run Like Hell". A 12" single of "Run Like Hell," "Don't Leave Me Now" and "Another Brick in the Wall " peaked at #57 on the Disco Top 100 chart in the U.S.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hey You (Pink Floyd song)</span> 1979 single by Pink Floyd

"Hey You" is a power ballad by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on their 1979 double album The Wall. It also appeared as the B-side to the "Comfortably Numb" single in 1980. The song, along with "The Show Must Go On", was edited out of Pink Floyd – The Wall to prevent the film from running too long; however, a rough version is available as an extra on the 25th Anniversary Edition DVD of The Wall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Run Like Hell</span> 1980 single by Pink Floyd

"Run Like Hell" is a song by English progressive band Pink Floyd, written by David Gilmour and Roger Waters. It appears on the album The Wall. It was released as a single in 1980, reaching #15 in the Canadian singles chart and #18 in Sweden, but it only reached #53 in the U.S. A 12" single of "Run Like Hell," "Don't Leave Me Now" and "Another Brick in the Wall " peaked at #57 on the Disco Top 100 chart in the U.S. To date, it is the last original composition written by both Gilmour and Waters, the last of such under the Pink Floyd banner, and is the last composition ever recorded by all four members of the classic 70s-era Floyd lineup together, within their traditional instrumental roles of Waters on bass, Gilmour on guitars, Nick Mason on drums, and Richard Wright on keyboards, on the same song.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dogs (Pink Floyd song)</span> 1977 song by Pink Floyd

"Dogs" is a song by English rock band Pink Floyd, released on the album Animals in 1977. This song was one of several to be considered for the band's 2001 compilation album Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Us and Them (song)</span> 1974 single by Pink Floyd

"Us and Them" is a song by English rock band Pink Floyd, from their 1973 album The Dark Side of the Moon. The music was written by Richard Wright and Roger Waters with lyrics also by Waters. It is sung by David Gilmour, with harmonies by Wright. The song is 7 minutes and 49 seconds, the longest on the album.

"Breathe" (sometimes called "Breathe (In the Air)") is a song by English rock band Pink Floyd. It appears on their 1973 album The Dark Side of the Moon.

"San Tropez" is the fourth track from the album Meddle by the band Pink Floyd. This song was one of several to be considered for the band's "best of" album, Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fearless (Pink Floyd song)</span> Song by Pink Floyd

"Fearless" is the third track on the 1971 album Meddle by Pink Floyd. It is a slow acoustic guitar-driven song written by Roger Waters and David Gilmour, and includes audio of football fans singing "You'll Never Walk Alone".

"Astronomy Domine" is a song by the English rock band Pink Floyd. The song, written and composed by the original vocalist/guitarist Syd Barrett, is the opening track on their debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967). The lead vocal was sung by Barrett and the keyboard player Richard Wright. Its working title was "Astronomy Dominé ". Domine is a word frequently used in Gregorian chants.

"If" is a song by English rock band Pink Floyd on their 1970 album Atom Heart Mother. This song was one of several to be considered for the band's "best of" album, Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd.

"Julia Dream" is a song by the English rock band Pink Floyd and the B-side of the single "It Would Be So Nice". The song was the first to be released by the band with lead vocals by David Gilmour.

"Seamus" is the fifth song on Pink Floyd's 1971 album Meddle. The group performs it in the style of country blues, with vocals, an acoustic slide guitar in an open D tuning, and piano. The song is named after the Border Collie who howls throughout the 2:15 piece. Group biographer Nicholas Schaffner calls the tune "dispensable"; David Gilmour added "I guess it wasn't really as funny to everyone else [as] it was to us".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">One of These Days (instrumental)</span> Song by Pink Floyd

"One of These Days" is the opening track from Pink Floyd's 1971 album Meddle. The composition is instrumental except for the spoken line from drummer Nick Mason, "One of these days, I'm going to cut you into little pieces."

References

  1. ↑ Guesdon, Jean-Michel (2017). Pink Floyd All The Songs. Running Press. ISBN   9780316439237.
  2. ↑ Strong, Martin C. (2004). The Great Rock Discography (7th ed.). Edinburgh: Canongate Books. p. 1177. ISBN   1-84195-551-5.
  3. ↑ Mabbett, Andy (1995). The Complete Guide to the Music of Pink Floyd. London: Omnibus Press. ISBN   0-7119-4301-X.
  4. 1 2 3 Manning, Toby (2006). "The Albums". The Rough Guide to Pink Floyd (1st ed.). London: Rough Guides. p. 163. ISBN   1-84353-575-0.
  5. ↑ Pink Floyd: Anthology (1980 Warner Bros. Publications, Inc., Secaucus N.J.).
  6. ↑ Nick Mason, Inside out – A Personal History of Pink Floyd, Ed. Weidenfeld & Nicolson Illustrated, London, 2005.
  7. ↑ Costa, Jean-Charles (6 January 1972). "Meddle". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  8. ↑ "Meddle by Pink Floyd". Classic Rock Review. 27 January 2011. Retrieved 25 July 2017.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.