The one song Roger Waters wishes he had written: “Certain people I’m great fans of”
Former Pink Floyd musician Roger Waters has left an indelible mark on the music industry, particularly through his contributions to seminal albums like The Wall and The Dark Side of the Moon. His illustrious career has profoundly influenced the music landscape, and his body of work is poised to endure for eternity, leaving an enduring legacy for future generations to appreciate.
Nevertheless, despite Waters’ vast artistic achievements, there’s one song that he wishes came from his pen. Unlike many of his peers, the Pink Floyd architect isn’t an anorak when it comes to studying the work of others and doesn’t pride himself on keeping up with ever-changing modern trends. Instead, Waters has a small selection of artists that he admires, who have his loyal devotion.
However, Neil Young is an artist Waters holds in the highest regard. For the former Pink Floyd member, the Canadian musician’s magnificence relates to his lyricism rather than his boundary-pushing technical abilities, which helped kickstart the grunge movement.
When Waters appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience in 2022, he admitted: “I’m not very up on rock history. I’m not really interested in most popular music. I mean, there are certain people I’m great fans of, mainly the writers, the singer-songwriters, (Bob) Dylan and Neil Young.”
During the same conversation, Waters dismissed “loud rock ‘n’ roll”, revealing he knew nothing about acts such as AC/DC and Eddie Van Halen, who are undeniably household names. However, there’s an attraction to Young’s lyricism, which continues to strike a chord with Young, especially the song ‘Powderfinger’.
He told the podcast host: “It just doesn’t interest me, but ‘Look out, ma, there’s a white boat coming up the river’, what was that called? ‘Powderfinger’, I think from Rust Never Sleeps, something like that, I have to take a deep…” He then pretended to fall short of breath before adding: “‘Wow, what did he just say?'”
Meanwhile, during a Q&A with fans posted on his official YouTube channel, Waters again spoke of his love for ‘Powderfinger’ after being asked to name the one song he wishes to have written.
The Pink Floyd singer sharply replied: “‘Powderfinger’, Neil Young. I think it’s from Rust Never Sleeps, but I could be wrong. ‘Look out, ma, there’s a white boat coming up the river’, great song. There are many songs, obviously, that I would have given my right arm to write, but that’s the first one that popped into my head.”
As Waters rightly stated, the track appeared on Young’s 1979 album, Rust Never Sleeps, but the song’s origins stretch far beyond its release. Several years prior, in 1975, Young first attempted to record ‘Powderfinger’ as a solo endeavour. It was set to be included on Chrome Dreams before the project was abandoned.
It’s not often that rock and roll can create songs about such unattainable things as Neil Young consistently does. On ‘Powderfinger’, somehow, Young takes us all on a vivid and imagined trip to the bootlegging backwaters of old America and the frightening feeling of isolation.
The premise of the song is that the family of bootleggers, living out near the river, can see a police boat making its way to their house. A Young man is expected to lead the family because “Daddy’s gone” and “brother’s out hunting in the mountains” while “Big John’s been drinking since the river took Emmy-Lou.” The young man stands on the deck when the boat begins firing at him as he raises his own rifle, the gun backfires and kills him instantly.
The fact that young can seamlessly integrate such a vibrant and unusual story into his music and still wrap it up in one of the most vulnerable and touching melodies is proof of his unstoppable talent.
Although the album was aborted, Young still wanted to find a home for ‘Powderfinger’ and intended to give it away to Lynyrd Skynyrd. However, before the band had a chance to record the offering, Ronnie Van Zant tragically died in a plane crash, leading Young to make an electric version with Crazy Horse for Rust Never Sleeps.
