The Division Bell

Lyrical Analysis

Song-by-Song

Cluster One

The opening track is a five minute instrumental piece with various, atmospheric themes but no words. The song itself is eerie in the beginning, which could represent the lost feeling as well as the numbness that Pink has experienced after his wall was torn down. There is also a crackling sound effect, which is electromagnetic noise from the solar wind. More precisely, this sound is a record of , radio events respectively due to interference with , and strikes radio emissions interfering with ; this sound has been mistaken for Earth's crust shifting and cracking. As this sounds fades within a minute of the track, one could interpret it as a 'settling of the chaos' that was The Trial and the events leading up to it. Then there is a soft piano piece and reverberating guitar fill which grow slightly in intensity as the track continues. Still, the piece overall paints a calm and almost numbing atmosphere of Pink's mood after the trial.

What Do You Want From Me

This song starts off with a strong bass line and adds intensity to the mood from the song before. Throughout parts of this song, as well as many others in the album, there is a female choral line singing, which could be interpreted as the things that he hears around him.

As you look around this room tonight
Settle in your seat and dim the lights
Do you want my blood, do you want my tears?
What do you want
What do you want from me
Should I sing until I can't sing any more?
Play these strings until my fingers are raw

Pink is at a loss with what he should do now. He knows the gravity of his treacherous actions and feels guilt, but has no where to go with that guilt. He wonders if they 'want his blood or his tears' for retribution, or if he could continue singing as the rock star he was before his descent into a fascist leader.

You can have anything you want
You can drift, you can dream, even walk on water
Anything you wantYou can own everything you see
Sell your soul for complete control
Is that really what you need?You can lose yourself this night
See inside there is nothing to hide
Turn and face the light

Now he is reminiscing about his feelings before his descent, where he did 'sell his soul for complete control' as he rose to power. He is telling the audience that they can have these things for a price, and that price is something that is too grave for them to understand. It is almost a warning, although the overall tone is actually neutral, which may coincide with how he is feeling about the whole situation.

Poles Apart

The next song has more specific lyrics that could be tied with those in The Wall. It could be interpreted as some outsider singing at Pink Floyd, or perhaps as voices in his head reciting these realizations.

Did you know, it was all going to go so wrong for you
And did you see it was all going to be so right for me
Why did we tell you then
You were always the golden boy then
And that you'd never lose that light in your eyes

Pink Floyd did not know how wrong everything would go for him. He once stood at power and had endless control over thousands of people, which of course all came crashing down with the wall. The 'golden boy' lyric could be about the band's former leader, Syd Barrett, who greatly inspired the character of Pink Floyd in the Wall. The members often described Syd as 'losing the light in his eyes' as his mental illness progressed in late 1967. In Wish You Were Here, the band described Syd's eyes as 'black holes in the sky,' as they were so lifeless and seemingly sucked the life out of anyone who had to look at the once cheerful individual.

Hey you, did you ever realize what you'd become?
And did you see that it wasn't only me you were running from
Did you know all the time but it never bothered you anyway
Leading the blind while I stared out the steel in your eyes