What Do You Want from Me (Pink Floyd song)

"What Do You Want from Me" is a song by Pink Floyd featured on their 1994 album, The Division Bell.[1][2] 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.[3]

"What Do You Want from Me"
Single by Pink Floyd
from the album The Division Bell
Released6 May 1994 (1994-05-06)
Recorded1993
StudioAstoria, London
GenreProgressive rock
Length4:21
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Pink Floyd singles chronology
"Lost for Words"
(1994)		 "What Do You Want from Me"
(1994)		 "Take It Back"
(1994)

Song structure and lyrics

The song is a slow, yet rocking ballad. It has a drum roll introduction, followed by a keyboard solo and then a guitar solo. David Gilmour has agreed with an interviewer that it is a "straight Chicago blues tune", while mentioning he is still a blues fan.[4]

In an interview, David Gilmour was asked if the song returned to the theme of alienation from the audience. He responded by saying that it "actually had more to do with personal relationships but drifted into wider territory".[5]

Reception

In a contemporary negative review for The Division Bell, Tom Graves of Rolling Stone described "What Do You Want from Me" as the only track on which "Gilmour sounds like he cares".[6]

Personnel

Pink Floyd

with:

Releases
  • The Division Bell, Pink Floyd (1994) – original release
  • Pulse, Pink Floyd (1995) – live album
  • Pulse, Pink Floyd (2006) – concert film; the song did not appear on the original VHS release (1995), but was added as a bonus feature on the DVD re-release (2006)
  • Live at Pompeii, David Gilmour (2017) – live album and video recorded during Gilmour's Rattle That Lock Tour

References
  1. Strong, Martin C. (2004). The Great Rock Discography (7th ed.). Edinburgh: Canongate Books. p. 1178. 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. Library and Archives Canada: Top Singles - Volume 61, No. 23, July 10, 1995, July 10, 1995, retrieved 12 July 2014
  4. Brad Tolinski (September 1994). "Sounds of Silence". Guitar World. Archived from the original on 20 June 2012. Retrieved 28 July 2010.
  5. Fuller, Graham (July 1994). "The Color of Floyd". Interview Magazine, p. 20-21. Archived from the original on 30 July 2011. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
  6. Graves, Tom (16 June 1994). "The Division Bell". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.