The Show Must Go On (Pink Floyd song)

"The Show Must Go On"
"The Show Must Go On"
Song by Pink Floyd
from the album The Wall
Published	Pink Floyd Music Publishers Ltd
Released	30 November 1979 (UK); 8 December 1979 (US);
Recorded	April –November 1979
Genre	Art rock ; progressive rock ;
Length	1:36
Label	Harvest (UK); Columbia (US);
Songwriter(s)	Roger Waters
Producer(s)	Bob Ezrin ; David Gilmour ; James Guthrie ; Roger Waters ;

Last updated July 06, 2024

"The Show Must Go On" (working titles "Who's Sorry Now", "(It's) Never Too Late") is a song by the English rock band Pink Floyd, from their 1979 album The Wall .^[1]^[2] It was written by Roger Waters and sung by David Gilmour.^[2]

Recording and lyrics

Roger Waters wanted to create a Beach Boys type sound for the backing vocals, and got Bruce Johnston to come and help create it.^{[ citation needed ]} The song's chord patterns closely resemble those found in "Mother", "In the Flesh", and "Waiting for the Worms".^{[ citation needed ]}

The track does not appear in the 1982 film version of The Wall nor in Waters' post-Pink Floyd 1990 concert The Wall – Live in Berlin .^[2] It also has an extra verse that was cut from the studio album, but is included in the lyrics printed on its sleeve.

Do I have to stand up
Wild eyed in the spotlight
What a nightmare
Why don't I turn and run

After this, the line "There must be some mistake..." appears.

The full song was performed live in concert, and as such appears on Is There Anybody Out There? The Wall Live 1980–81 .^[2] It was also included on Waters' 2010-2013 solo Wall tour, the concert film, and the album of that tour.

It is the only song from the album on which Waters does not perform any instrument or vocal, although his voice is on unofficially released recordings of the demo. He is singing a verse that was cut from the final version and has never been played live, located right before David Gilmour's bridge:

Am I really unsure,
Wild eyed in the spotlight?
Fuck me, what a nightmare
Who's there?
Have they all gone?

It's okay, now you're in luck,
The worms have fled the rising sun.
Their evil power is on the wane.
Forget the past and start again.

There must be some mistake...^[3]

Plot

As with the other songs on The Wall, "The Show Must Go On" tells a segment of the story of Pink, the story's protagonist. This song leads into "In the Flesh", where the show is performed by Pink as he begins to mentally unravel and hallucinate that he is a fascist dictator.

Personnel

Pink Floyd

David Gilmour – vocals, guitars, bass guitar, roto toms
Nick Mason – drums
Richard Wright – Prophet-5, backing vocals

Additional musicians

Bob Ezrin – Prophet-5, piano
Bruce Johnston – backing vocals
Joe Chemay – backing vocals
Stan Farber – backing vocals
Jim Haas – backing vocals
John Joyce – backing vocals
Toni Tennille – backing vocals

Personnel per Fitch and Mahon.^[4]

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References

↑ Strong, Martin C. (2004). The Great Rock Discography (7th ed.). Edinburgh: Canongate Books. p. 1177. ISBN 1-84195-551-5.
1 2 3 4 Mabbett, Andy (1995). The Complete Guide to the Music of Pink Floyd. London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-4301-X.
↑ "Pink Floyd – 22) The Show Must Go On (Who's Sorry Now? Its Never Too Late)". Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 15 July 2016– via YouTube.
↑ Fitch, Vernon and Mahon, Richard, Comfortably Numb – A History of The Wall 1978–1981, 2006, p. 103.