The Gunner's Dream

"The Gunner's Dream"
"The Gunner's Dream"
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	Art rock; progressive rock; jazz fusion;
Length	5:07
Label	Harvest Records (UK); Columbia Records (US)
Songwriter(s)	Roger Waters
Producer(s)	Roger Waters; James Guthrie; Michael Kamen;

"The Gunner's Dream" is a song from Pink Floyd's 1983 album The Final Cut.[1][2] This song was one of several to be considered for the band's "best of" album, Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd.[3] The song tells the story and thoughts of an airman gunner as he falls to his death during a raid, dreaming of a safe world in the future, without war. It is one of the four songs on the video version of the album The Final Cut Video EP. In his lyrics, Waters references real-life events including the then very recent Hyde Park and Regent's Park bombings, and takes the refrain "some corner of a foreign field" from Rupert Brooke's poem The Soldier.

Reception

In a retrospective review for The Final Cut, Rachel Mann of The Quietus described "The Gunner's Dream" as the album's centerpiece; the track "tenderly imagines the lost hopes and expectations of a bomber gunner shot down and falling to his death over Berlin."[4] Mann believed Waters' voice is "beautifully matched to words whose understatement adds to the power."[4]

Personnel

Roger Waters – vocals, bass, and tape effects
David Gilmour – guitar
Nick Mason – drums

with:

The National Philharmonic Orchestra conducted and arranged by Michael Kamen
Raphael Ravenscroft – tenor sax
Michael Kamen – piano and electric piano
Andy Bown – Steinway piano

Use of the song in media

The song was re-recorded with Durga McBroom on vocals for inclusion in the soundtrack for G.B. Hajim's animated sci-fi musical Strange Frame.[5][6][7]

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.
Guthrie, James. "James Guthrie: Audio: Building A Compilation Album". Pink Floyd. Archived from the original on 2 June 2010. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
Mann, Rachel (17 June 2013). "30 Years On: Pink Floyd's The Final Cut Revisited". The Quietus. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
"Pink Floyd news :: Brain Damage - Pink Floyd's "The Gunner's Dream" to appear in new animated movie".
"Strange Frame: Love & Sax (2009) - Preview | Sci-Fi Movie Page".
"156. Strange Frame: Love & Sax (2012)". 23 October 2013.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[1] Strong, Martin C. (2004). The Great Rock Discography (7th ed.). Edinburgh: Canongate Books. p. 1177. ISBN 1-84195-551-5.

[mabbett-2] Mabbett, Andy (1995). The Complete Guide to the Music of Pink Floyd. London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-4301-X.

[GuthrieAudio-3] Guthrie, James. "James Guthrie: Audio: Building A Compilation Album". Pink Floyd. Archived from the original on 2 June 2010. Retrieved 17 June 2013.

[quietus-4] Mann, Rachel (17 June 2013). "30 Years On: Pink Floyd's The Final Cut Revisited". The Quietus. Retrieved 27 July 2017.

[5] "Pink Floyd news :: Brain Damage - Pink Floyd's "The Gunner's Dream" to appear in new animated movie".

[6] "Strange Frame: Love & Sax (2009) - Preview | Sci-Fi Movie Page".

[7] "156. Strange Frame: Love & Sax (2012)". 23 October 2013.