Sorrow (Pink Floyd song)

"Sorrow"
Song by Pink Floyd
from the album A Momentary Lapse of Reason
Published	Pink Floyd Music Publishers Ltd
Released	7 September 1987 (UK) 8 September 1987 (US)
Recorded	1987
Genre	Progressive rock
Length	8:48
Label	EMI (UK) Columbia (US)
Songwriter(s)	David Gilmour
Producer(s)	Bob Ezrin David Gilmour
Audio
"Sorrow" on YouTube

"Sorrow" is a song by the English band Pink Floyd. Written by the band's singer and guitarist David Gilmour, it is the closing track on their thirteenth studio album, A Momentary Lapse of Reason, released in 1987.[1][2]

Lyrics and music

The piece was written and composed by singer and guitarist David Gilmour. He has stated that although words are not his strong point, the song is one of his best lyrical efforts,^[citation needed] even as the opening lines were appropriated from John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath.[3]

Sorrow was a poem I'd written as a lyric before I wrote music to it, which is rare for me.

— David Gilmour[4]

Drummer Nick Mason has since stated that the song was almost entirely written by Gilmour over the space of a weekend on his houseboat Astoria. When Mason returned from the weekend, only "some spit and polish", according to Mason, was needed. Gilmour has also mentioned that his solo at the end of "Sorrow" was done on the boat, his guitar going through a small Gallien-Krueger amplifier. [4] As on many tracks from the album, Gilmour played a Steinberger GL "headless" guitar on this song.[5] The guitar intro was recorded inside Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena and piped through Pink Floyd's large sound system, yielding an extremely deep, cavernous sound. The drum machine on the song was programmed by Gilmour – no real drums were used.

Reception

Critic Mike Cormack said the song is "the great set piece of the album, but it is cold, synthetic, and tries too hard to convince you of its own greatness. It’s a cocaine song."[6]

Live Versions

Live versions of the song are featured on 1988's Delicate Sound of Thunder album and 1995's Pulse album, with running times of 9:27 and 10:49 respectively, mostly taken up by extended guitar solos by Gilmour and an additional outro. A slightly shortened version of the song appears on Pink Floyd's greatest hits collection, Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd,[7] which is edited so that the song "Sheep" (also edited) segues into "Sorrow". David Gilmour played the song at the Strat Pack guitar concert, an event which commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Fender Stratocaster. Gilmour played the song on the second set of his Rattle That Lock Tour 2015/16.^[citation needed]. The song was also performed in 1990 during the band's set at Knebworth for the Silver Clef Award Winners Concert. For many years, an official release of this performance was unavailable, but the 2019 boxset The Later Years included it as part of the complete set list on both Blu-Ray/DVD and CD.

Personnel on studio version

Pink Floyd[8]

• David Gilmour – lead and backing vocals, electric guitar, keyboards, drum machine, programming

Additional musicians

• Richard Wright – Kurzweil synthesiser
• Bob Ezrin – keyboards
• Tony Levin – bass guitar
• Darlene Koldenhoven – backing vocals
• Carmen Twillie – backing vocals
• Phyllis St. James – backing vocals
• Donny Gerrard – backing vocals

Personnel on live versions

Delicate Sound of Thunder and Pulse Pink Floyd David Gilmour – lead vocals, lead guitar Nick Mason – drums Richard Wright – keyboards, backing vocals Additional musicians Guy Pratt – bass guitar Jon Carin – keyboards, backing vocals, programming Tim Renwick – rhythm guitar Gary Wallis – percussion, drums Durga McBroom – backing vocals (Delicate Sound of Thunder and Pulse) Rachel Fury – backing vocals (Delicate Sound of Thunder) Margaret Taylor – backing vocals (Delicate Sound of Thunder) Sam Brown – backing vocals (Pulse) Claudia Fontaine – backing vocals (Pulse)

Live at Pompeii David Gilmour – lead vocals, lead guitar Steve DiStanislao – drums Chester Kamen – guitar, backing vocals Guy Pratt – bass, backing vocals Greg Phillinganes – keyboards, backing vocals Chuck Leavell – keyboards, backing vocals Brian Chambers – backing vocals Lucita Jules – backing vocals Louise Clare Marshall – backing vocals

References

1. Strong, Martin C. (2004). The Great Rock Discography (7th ed.). Edinburgh: Canongate Books. p. 1177. ISBN 1-84195-551-5.
2. Mabbett, Andy (1995). The Complete Guide to the Music of Pink Floyd. London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-4301-X.
3. A. DiPerna, David Gilmour — Interviewed Archived 11 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Guitar World, February 1993.
4. Matt Resnicoff (August 1992). "Careful With That Axe David Gilmour Interview". Musician. Archived from the original on 2 January 2011. Retrieved 16 August 2010.
5. "A Momentary Lapse of Reason 1987–90 : Settings and Songs". Gilmourish.com. Retrieved 10 February 2011.
6. Cormack, Mike (2024). Everything Under The Sun: The Complete Guide to the Music of Pink Floyd. London: History Press. ISBN 978-1803995359.
7. "Echoes: the album credits". Pink Floyd. Archived from the original on 2 June 2010. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
8. Guesdon, Jean-Michel (2017). Pink Floyd All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track (1st ed.). Edinburgh: Black Dog & Leventhal. p. 517. ISBN 978-0316439244.