Home · Songs · Pink Floyd · Breathe (In The Air)
From album
The Dark Side of the Moon
Pink Floyd · 1973 · Track 2
Details
TonalidadEm
Compás4/4
Tempo83 BPM
Duración2:49
ÁlbumThe Dark Side of the Moon
Año1973
ISRCGBN9Y1100077
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The story behind
When you immerse yourself in *Breathe (In The Air)*, you encounter a sonic piece that invites you to pause and observe. It's not an explosion of energy, but rather an invitation to introspection, built with layers of sound that flow calmly. The guitar, played by David Gilmour, unfolds with rich textures, utilizing effects like the Uni-Vibe and volume pedal lap steel guitar, adding several layers to create that enveloping atmosphere. The musical composition, attributed to David Gilmour and Richard Wright, relies on chords that alternate between E minor(add9) and A major, with a section that functions as a chorus and includes chords like C major seventh and B minor seventh. It's interesting to note that Richard Wright acknowledged borrowing a D7(#9) chord from Miles Davis's piece *All Blues*, specifically from his album *Kind of Blue*, demonstrating how musical influences intertwine. The lyrics, written entirely by Roger Waters, pose a reflection on life and existence, with initial phrases that invite contemplation.
The recording of *Breathe (In The Air)* took place between June 1972 and January 1973, at EMI studios in London, which we know today as Abbey Road Studios. This piece is a fundamental part of the album *The Dark Side of the Moon*, released in March 1973. The album itself was conceived as a concept exploring the pressures of life and the challenges of mental health, based on the band's previous experiences. Although *Breathe (In The Air)* appears as a separate track on the original album, on many CD versions it merges with the introductory piece, *Speak to Me*, through a sustained piano chord played backward. A shorter version of the song reappears later, at the end of *Time*, but with different instrumentation, replacing the Hammond organ and Rhodes piano with a Farfisa organ and a Wurlitzer electric piano, and without the slide guitar. In 1974, this song had a limited release as a single in France, being the B-side to the single *Time*, although it was not distributed internationally for reasons that are not entirely clear. More recently, in September 2023, Roger Waters released a new version of *Breathe* along with *Speak to Me* as part of the promotion for his album *The Dark Side of the Moon Redux*, a complete re-creation of the original album.
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