Speak to Me

This article is about the Pink Floyd song. For the Geoff Moore album, see Speak to Me (album). For the Roxette song, see Speak to Me (Roxette song).

"Speak to Me"
Song

"Speak to Me" is the first track by British progressive rock band Pink Floyd's 1973 album, The Dark Side of the Moon, on which it forms an overture. Nick Mason receives a rare solo writing credit for the track; Roger Waters subsequently claimed this was a "gift" to Mason, one which Waters came to regret after his acrimonious departure from the band. A live version is included on Pulse.

Composition

The song itself features no lyrics (although it contains parts of the conversation tapes that Pink Floyd recorded, as well a short snippet of Clare Torry's vocal performance on "The Great Gig in the Sky"), and consists of a series of sound effects. It leads into the first performance piece on the album, "Breathe". As a result, they are usually played together on the radio, and most later re-releases merge the two songs together.

Sound effects

Noticeable sound and instrument effects include:

• Heartbeat; this can also be heard at the end of "Eclipse"
• Clock ticking, also heard in "Time"
• Manic laughter of Peter Watts, also heard in "Brain Damage"
• Cash register, also heard in "Money"
• Helicopter noise, also heard in "On the Run"
• Clare Torry's scream, also heard in "The Great Gig in the Sky"
• Backwards piano chord, which leads into "Breathe"

Spoken parts

I've been mad for fucking years, absolutely years. I've been over the edge for yonks. Been working with bands so long, I think. Crikey...

I've always been mad, I know I've been mad, like the most of us are. It's very hard to explain why you're mad, even if you're not mad.

Personnel

• Nick Mason – percussion, tape effects, tape loops
• Roger Waters – tape effects, tape loops
• Richard Wright – reversed piano

References

Footnotes

Citations

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics