Southampton Dock
"Southampton Dock" is a song from Pink Floyd's 1983 album, The Final Cut.[1][2] In World War II, many soldiers departed from Southampton to fight against the Germans. In the eighties, Southampton was again used as a departure base, this time for the Falklands War. The song describes a woman who waves the soldiers "Goodbye again".
| "Southampton Dock" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Pink Floyd | |
| from the album The Final Cut | |
| Published | Pink Floyd Music Publishers Ltd |
| Released | 21 March 1983 (UK) 2 April 1983 (US) |
| Recorded | July–December 1982 |
| Genre | Folk rock, art rock |
| Length | 2:10 |
| Label | Harvest Records (UK) Columbia Records (US) |
| Songwriter(s) | Roger Waters |
| Producer(s) |
|
The song includes a snippet of the theme from the track "It's Never Too Late", a song originally written and recorded for The Wall but was cut before the final band production demo of August 12, 1979. "It's Never Too Late" was later reworked and the melody was incorporated into the second section of "Southampton Dock".[3]
Reception
In a review for The Final Cut, Patrick Schabe of PopMatters described "Southampton Dock" as an example of where the album works best, and described the song's imagery as "subtle, poetic, and effective."[4]
Personnel
- Roger Waters – acoustic guitar, bass and vocals
with:
- Michael Kamen – piano and orchestrations
References
- Strong, Martin C. (2004). The Great Rock Discography (7th ed.). Edinburgh: Canongate Books. p. 1177. ISBN 1-84195-551-5.
- Mabbett, Andy (1995). The Complete Guide to the Music of Pink Floyd. London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-4301-X.
- Yawnick, Marty (May 31, 2016). "Outside The Wall and Other Alternate Endings of The Wall". The Wall Complete. Retrieved April 5, 2017.
- Schabe, Patrick (3 August 2004). "Pink Floyd: The Final Cut". PopMatters. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
