High Hopes

When you encounter *High Hopes*, the last piece on *The Division Bell*, it's inevitable to feel like you're reaching the end of a journey. It's not just the album's closing, but it's perceived as a deep reflection on the path taken. The lyrics, written by David Gilmour and Polly Samson, take us back to the beginnings, to that time in Cambridge before music became their destiny. It mentions places like "Long Road" and "The Cut," and also the city itself as a place of "magnets and miracles." It's an autobiographical look, laden with what has been gained and what has been lost throughout life. Gilmour himself has commented that the song focuses more on his early years and leaving his hometown behind, rather than on the supposed divisions that arose in the early days of Pink Floyd. There's an echo in the final phrase, "The endless river/Forever and ever," which reminds us of "Float on a river/Forever and ever" from "See Emily Play," a 1967 track, and which even inspired the title of the band's last studio album, *The Endless River*, released in 2014.

The recording of *High Hopes* took place between January and December 1993 at the Astoria studio in London. The sound of a church bell, which marks a 'C' note and appears throughout the piece (except in a section where it modulates to E minor for a guitar solo), was taken from a sound effects record, and has a connection to "Fat Old Sun." The sounds of birds and the buzzing of flies also refer us to "Grantchester Meadows," from 1969. The version that appears on the album was released as a single on October 10, 1994, and featured a music video directed by Storm Thorgerson. This video, in addition to showing images of the English countryside and Ely Cathedral (which also appears on the album cover), is full of references to Cambridge, the city where Syd Barrett, Roger Waters, and David Gilmour grew up, with details like school scarves, bicycles, and gondolas on the river. An oversized bust of Syd Barrett is even seen. At the end of the song, after the bells fade, we find a hidden track: a brief phone call between the band's manager, Steve O'Rourke, and Gilmour's son, Charlie. An early version of the song appeared on the 2019 compilation box set *The Later Years*, and is distinguished by having the final solo performed with a conventional electric guitar instead of a lap steel.