Pink Floyd - A Great Day For Freedom

(Pink Floyd - A Great Day For Freedom)

On the day the wall came down
They threw the locks onto the ground
And with glasses high we raised a cry for freedom had arrived

And on the day the wall came down
The ship of fools had finally run aground
Promises lit up the night like paper doves in flight

I dreamed you had left my side
No warmth not even pride remained
And even though you needed me
It was clear that I could not do a thing for you

Now life devalues day by day
As friends and neighbours turn away
And there's a change that, even with regret, cannot be undone

Now frontiers shift like desert sands
As nations wash their bloodied hands
Of loyalty, of history in shades of grey

I woke to the sound of drums
The music played, the morning sun streamed in
I turned and I looked at you
And all but the bitter residue slipped away... slipped away

--------------"A Great Day for Freedom" is a song by Pink Floyd from their 1994 album, The Division Bell.

The song, originally titled In Shades of Grey, addresses the great hopes following the fall of the Berlin Wall and the disappointment that followed. David Gilmour stated:

"There was a wonderful moment of optimism when the Wall came down – the release of Eastern Europe from the non-democratic side of the socialist system. But what they have now doesn't seem to be much better. Again, I'm fairly pessimistic about it all. I sort of wish and live in hope, but I tend to think that history moves at a much slower pace than we think it does. I feel that real change takes a long, long time."

Despite Gilmour's statements to the contrary, the lyrics have often been read as a reflection on the bitter and estranged partnership Gilmour had with former bandmate Roger Waters, who was the driving force behind the band's album The Wall. By this interpretation, the "Great Day for Freedom" would be the day Waters left the band, giving the other members freedom to determine the band's future direction. Gilmour commented on this reading: "I'm quite happy for people to interpret The Division Bell any way they like. But maybe a note of caution should be sounded because you can read too much into it. 'A Great Day for Freedom', for example, has got nothing to do with Roger or his 'wall'. It just doesn't. What else can I say?"

The song was performed by the band on The Division Bell tour, and is available on the Pulse live album and DVD. Gilmour performed it at solo at concerts in 2002 and 2006, and it features on his live solo album, Live in Gdańsk.---------------------------------

Songfacts:

David Gilmour told The Sun September 26, 2008 about this song, which was written by him and his wife Polly. Said Gilmour: "That song is really about the aftermath (of the fall of the totalitarian state). First, it was a joy and a release for the people with the freedom of democracy but then it became horribly marred by the ethnic cleansing and genocide, particularly in Yugoslavia."

This song juxtaposes world events of the previous 5 years (the collapse of Communism and subsequent chaos and war in several countries) with a personal loss that turns out to have been just a bad dream.

The lyrics mention "The day the Wall came down," but in this case David Gilmour seems to be referring to the Berlin Wall rather than Pink Floyd's album The Wall. However, some have interpreted the lyrics about loss to refer to Pink Floyd founding member Syd Barrett. (thanks, Joshua - Twin Cities, MN, for above 2)

Album: The Division Bell     Released: 1994