San Tropez (song)

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"San Tropez"
Song by Pink Floyd
from the album Meddle
Released5 November 1971 (UK)
Recorded19–22 July 1971 [1]
23–27 August 1971 [1]
Studio
Genre Jazz rock
Length3:44
Label Harvest
Songwriter(s) Roger Waters
Producer(s) Pink Floyd

"San Tropez" is the fourth track from the album Meddle by the band Pink Floyd. [2] [3] It was written by Roger Waters.

Contents

Writing

Unlike the other tracks on Meddle , "San Tropez" was not written collaboratively; instead, Roger Waters wrote the piece himself and brought it into the studio already finished. It is the only track on Meddle not co-written by David Gilmour. This song is about a place called Saint-Tropez, a commune of the Var département in southern France located on the French Riviera. The song reflects an idealised vision of what a day in Saint-Tropez might be like. [4]

Misunderstood lyric

Throughout the 1970s and beyond, the second-to-last line of lyrics to the song, "Making a date for later by phone", has been persistently misunderstood in Italy, mainly because of Waters' slurred pronunciation ("...fer-lita-pah-fon"), as being "Making a date for Rita Pavone", with a reference to the well-known 1960s Italian pop singer. [5] Pavone herself has stated several times, in TV interviews and elsewhere, that she actually believes the line to be about her. [6]

Recording

While Roger Waters plays the acoustic guitar as well as his usual bass, "San Tropez" does include a short slide guitar solo from guitarist David Gilmour and an extended piano solo by keyboardist Richard Wright at the end.

Reception

In a review for the Meddle album, Jean-Charles Costa of Rolling Stone described "San Tropez", along with "A Pillow of Winds", 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 "San Tropez" as "a jazz-inflected pop song with a shuffle tempo." [8] They went on further saying "[San Tropez] adds another diverse dimension to the album with its easy-going crooner-like melody and atmosphere." [8] This song was one of several to be considered for the band's 2001 greatest hits album, Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd , but it was ultimately not included. [9]

Personnel

References

  1. 1 2 Povey, Glenn (2007). Echoes. Mind Head Pub. ISBN   9780955462405.
  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. ↑ "Meddle — Trivia and Quotes". Pink Floyd & Co. Archived from the original on 2006-03-17.
  5. ↑ "Rita Pavone, mai citata dai Pink Floyd" [Rita Pavone, never mentioned by Pink Floyd]. Il Post (in Italian). 23 August 2015. Retrieved 27 August 2025.
  6. ↑ "Dal flop al Piper alla «dedica» a Rita Pavone: Ecco perché i Pink Floyd sono la più «italiana» tra le band inglesi" [From the flop to the Piper to the "dedication" to Rita Pavone: This is why Pink Floyd is the most "Italian" among the English bands] (in Italian).
  7. ↑ Costa, Jean-Charles (6 January 1972). "Meddle". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  8. 1 2 "Meddle by Pink Floyd | Classic Rock Review". 27 January 2011. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  9. ↑ Guthrie, James. "James Guthrie: Audio: Building A Compilation Album". Pink Floyd. Archived from the original on 2 June 2010. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
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