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From album
p·u·l·s·e
Pink Floyd · 1995 · Track 1
Details
Duración1:04
Álbump·u·l·s·e
Año1995
ISRCGBN9Y1100076
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The story behind
Speak to Me is the sonic starting point of a musical journey that fully immerses you in the atmosphere of The Dark Side of the Moon. This piece, barely over a minute and a half long, functions as an introduction that prepares you for what's to come, weaving a tapestry of effects and sound fragments that anticipate the album's themes. What's interesting is that, although it has no lyrics, it's loaded with recorded dialogues, fragments of conversations they captured, and even a brief flash of the voice of Clare Torry, who would later have a prominent role in The Great Gig in the Sky. You'll hear heartbeats, the ticking of clocks that repeats in Time, laughter reminiscent of Peter Watts in Brain Damage, the sound of a cash register from Money, the noise of a helicopter from On the Run, and a piano chord played backward, serving as a bridge to Breathe.
The authorship of Speak to Me has a peculiar history. Officially, the songwriting credit falls to Nick Mason, which is not so common. However, there are different versions of how it came to be this way. Mason himself recalls creating it. On the other hand, Richard Wright and Roger Waters have commented that it was more of a recognition, a "gift" for Mason to earn publishing income, something Waters would later regret. During the album's creation, Waters collected questions to interview people, seeking to connect with the overall concept. He even recorded Paul McCartney, who was in another studio recording Red Rose Speedway, answering questions like "What's your favorite color?" or "Are you afraid of dying?". However, the inclusion of McCartney's answers was ultimately discarded, as they were considered too formal. The piece was worked on and mixed in late January 1973, and its official duration is 1:30.