The Dogs of War (song)

Last updated
"The Dogs of War"
Pink Floyd - "The Dogs of War".jpg
Promotional single by Pink Floyd
from the album A Momentary Lapse of Reason
B-side "On The Turning Away (Live)"
ReleasedSeptember 8, 1987 (September 8, 1987)
RecordedNovember – December 1986
Genre Progressive rock
Length6:11
Label CBS Records
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Pink Floyd singles chronology
"On the Turning Away"
(1987)
"The Dogs of War"
(1987)
"One Slip"
(1988)

"The Dogs of War" is a song by Pink Floyd from their 1987 album, A Momentary Lapse of Reason . [1] [2] It was released as a promotional single from the album. Live versions have an extended intro, an extended middle solo for the saxophone, a guitar and sax duel and a longer outro as compared to the album version. The track was a minor rock radio hit in the US and reached #16 on MTV's Video Countdown in May 1988.

Contents

"The Dogs of War" describes politicians orchestrating wars, suggesting the major influence behind war is money.

Composition

Musically, the song follows a twelve-bar blues structure in C minor, only with significantly different chord changes. A standard blues song in C minor would progress as C minor, F minor, C minor, G (major or minor), F minor, and back to C minor. "The Dogs of War", instead, progresses in this way: C minor, Eb minor, C minor, Ab seventh, F minor, and back to C minor. All minor chords include the seventh.

Singer David Gilmour often approaches the C minor chord by singing on the diminished fifth, G flat, before descending to the fourth, minor third, and root. This melody is also compatible with the next chord, Eb minor, in which G flat is the minor third. It also appears in the Ab seventh chord, as the dominant seventh.

The majority of the song is in a slow 12/8 time. After a bluesy guitar solo, the song switches to a fast 4/4 tempo for the saxophone solo. This is not unlike what happens in "Money", a minor-key blues-based song from The Dark Side of the Moon , in which a saxophone solos over the song's predominant 7/4 tempo before switching to a faster 4/4 tempo for the guitar solo. "The Dogs of War" also imitates "Money" in its ending sequence, with a "call and response" between Gilmour's voice and his guitar. [3] [4]

Video

The video for the track composed of the backdrop film directed by Storm Thorgerson which depicted German Shepherds with yellow eyes running through a war zone plus a live recording and concert footage filmed during the band's three night run at The Omni in Atlanta, Georgia in November 1987 directed by Lawrence Jordan (who has directed concert films for Rush, Mariah Carey and Billy Joel). Videos for "On the Turning Away" and "One Slip" were also filmed at this concert.

Personnel on studio version

Additional musicians:

Personnel on live versions

with:

Cover version

Slovenian industrial group Laibach covered the song on their album, NATO (1994). [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Gilmour</span> English musician, member of Pink Floyd (born 1946)

David Jon Gilmour is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and member of the rock band Pink Floyd. He joined as guitarist and co-lead vocalist in 1967, shortly before the departure of founding member Syd Barrett. Pink Floyd achieved international success with the concept albums The Dark Side of the Moon (1973), Wish You Were Here (1975), Animals (1977), The Wall (1979), and The Final Cut (1983). By the early 1980s, they had become one of the highest-selling and most acclaimed acts in music history; by 2012, they had sold more than 250 million records worldwide, including 75 million in the United States. Following the departure of Roger Waters in 1985, Pink Floyd continued under Gilmour's leadership and released three more studio albums.

<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. It appeared on Pink Floyd's 1975 concept album Wish You Were Here. The song is written about and dedicated to Syd Barrett, who was kicked out of the band in 1968 because of deteriorating mental health.

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

"Money" is a song by the English progressive rock band Pink Floyd from their 1973 album The Dark Side of the Moon. Written by Roger Waters, it opened side two of the original album.

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

"Time" is a song by the English progressive 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. Bassist Roger Waters wrote the lyrics. Keyboardist Richard Wright shares lead vocals alongside guitarist David Gilmour.

<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 synthesizers and acoustic guitars, as well as a wide range of tape effects. Both the music and the lyrics were written by bassist Roger Waters.

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

"Dogs" is a song by English progressive 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 the English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, from their 1973 album The Dark Side of the Moon. The music was written by Richard Wright with lyrics by Roger 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 (In the Air)" is a song by English progressive rock band Pink Floyd. It appears on their 1973 album The Dark Side of the Moon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Learning to Fly (Pink Floyd song)</span> 1987 single by Pink Floyd

"Learning to Fly" is a song by the English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, written by David Gilmour, Anthony Moore, Bob Ezrin, and Jon Carin. It was the first single from the band's thirteenth studio album A Momentary Lapse of Reason. It reached number 70 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 1 on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart in September, 1987, remaining three consecutive weeks at the top position in the autumn of the same year. Meanwhile, the song failed to chart on the official U.K. top 40 singles charts. On the other hand, in Spain, the song peaked at number 1 on the Los 40 Principales chart.

<i>Delicate Sound of Thunder</i> (film) 1989 concert film by Pink Floyd

Delicate Sound of Thunder is a concert film by Pink Floyd, filmed during their A Momentary Lapse of Reason Tour from 19 August 1988 to 23 August 1988 at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York, with some additional footage from 21–22 June 1988 at the Place d'Armes of the Château de Versailles, Versailles, France. It was initially released on VHS, Video CD and Laserdisc formats. The film was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Long Form Music Video at the 32nd Annual Grammy Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">One Slip</span> 1988 single by Pink Floyd

"One Slip" is a song from Pink Floyd's 1987 album A Momentary Lapse of Reason.

"Yet Another Movie" is the sixth track, along with "Round and Around" on Pink Floyd's 1987 album, A Momentary Lapse of Reason. It began as an instrumental piece to which words were later added and features soundbites from the films One-Eyed Jacks and Casablanca.

"Signs of Life" is the opening track on A Momentary Lapse of Reason, the first Pink Floyd album headed by David Gilmour, in the absence of ex-member Roger Waters.

"Terminal Frost" is an instrumental from Pink Floyd's 1987 album, A Momentary Lapse of Reason.

"A Great Day for Freedom" is a song by Pink Floyd from their 1994 album, The Division Bell.

"Sorrow" is a song by the English progressive rock band Pink Floyd. Written by the band's singer and guitarist David Gilmour, it’s the closing track on their thirteenth studio album, A Momentary Lapse of Reason, released in 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paint Box (song)</span> 1967 single by Pink Floyd

"Paint Box" is a song by the rock band Pink Floyd, written and sung by keyboardist Richard Wright. It was first released in 1967 as the B-side to the single "Apples and Oranges". The song is about a man who lives in an abusive relationship and has artificial friends.

Starting in 1973, after The Dark Side of the Moon was released, Pink Floyd started using regular backing musicians. Many of the musicians that Pink Floyd used as backing musicians were part of the studio recordings of albums such as Dick Parry, who played saxophone on "Money" and The Blackberries who did the backing vocals for "Shine On You Crazy Diamond".

"What Do You Want from Me" is a song by Pink Floyd featured on their 1994 album, The Division Bell. Richard Wright and David Gilmour composed the music, with Gilmour and his then-girlfriend and subsequent wife Polly Samson supplying the lyrics. A live version from Pulse was released as a single in Canada, reaching number 28 in the Canadian Top Singles charts.

A Momentary Lapse of Reason Tour was two consecutive concert tours by the British rock band Pink Floyd. The A Momentary Lapse of Reason tour ran from September 1987 to August 1988; the Another Lapse tour ran from May–July 1989. Both tours were in support of their album A Momentary Lapse of Reason (1987). The tour was the band's first since The Wall tour in 1981, and also the first without the band's original bassist Roger Waters. The band later reprised the setlist and stage show of this tour for their performance at Knebworth Park in 1990.

References

  1. Strong, Martin C. (2004). The Great Rock Discography (7th ed.). Edinburgh: Canongate Books. p. 1177. ISBN   1-84195-551-5.
  2. Mabbett, Andy (1995). The Complete Guide to the Music of Pink Floyd. London: Omnibus Press. ISBN   0-7119-4301-X.
  3. Pink Floyd: A Momentary Lapse of Reason Songbook U.K. ISBN   978-0-7119-1340-0
  4. Pink Floyd: The Dark Side of the Moon (1973 Pink Floyd Music Publishers Ltd., London, England, ISBN   0-7119-1028-6 [USA ISBN   0-8256-1078-8])
  5. "NATO". AllMusic .