Bring the Boys Back Home

The story behind

When you hear the first drums marking a march rhythm, almost as if a platoon were approaching, you already realize that *Bring the Boys Back Home* has something different. The song starts with that firm 4/4 percussion, but an orchestra and a choir soon join in, moving in a 12/8 time signature. It's this superposition of rhythms that gives it a sense of tension, as if two forces were at play. Roger Waters' voice appears in a high register, singing direct lyrics about the need to bring the soldiers back home and not leave the children alone. The chord progression, which repeats and then inverts, creating instability, is a resource that Pink Floyd used in other parts of *The Wall* and in later works. The climax arrives when Waters' voice struggles to hold a high note, while the percussion insists and laughter and voices mix, as if the character of Pink were on the verge of madness.