The musical tribute Roger Waters left to Bob Dylan and Bob Ezrin
You could write an extensive tome about the references to real people that Roger Waters has included in his songs. Whether it be Syd Barrett, politicians, or himself, one thing that has always underpinned his approach is that it is steeped in real life, everyday experiences and the human condition, adding substance to the already accomplished musical compositions. In and outside of Pink Floyd, his efforts expertly traverse life itself.
Waters has been a controversial figure for a long time. He spurned many hardcore fans of Pink Floyd when he acrimoniously departed the band in the mid-1980s after taking a dictatorial grip on proceedings. He diminished the quality of their output by reducing his bandmates to session musicians, creatively embodying aspects of the character Pink from The Wall.
In more recent times, his political messaging has seen him become an even more socially derided figure, inviting condemnation for supposed antisemitism and seeing him have public spats with the likes of former Floyd bandmate David Gilmour, Nick Cave, and even Piers Morgan. Despite his several flubbed attempts to highlight political issues, which included wearing a Nazi uniform on stage in Berlin in 2023 – a stunt that was expectedly widely condemned – you get the sense that Waters will keep doing what he’s doing until the end.
Waters is a confusing character, as his divisive, prickly and sometimes outright offensive behaviour is juxtaposed by the emotive, sincere nature of much of his best-loved music. After all, he profoundly examined mental health before anyone else did in music, the effect of ageing and fame. Since leaving Pink Floyd, his work has continued to encompass many real things.
After the explosive fall-out with Pink Floyd, it wouldn’t be out of the ordinary if Waters never wanted to discuss that chapter of his life again. However, in ‘Too Much Rope’, from his 1992 third album, Amused to Death, he specifically referenced Bob Ezrin, the co-producer of the band’s hit 1979 album, The Wall, who also played piano instruments on it.
Notably, Ezrin had a significant hand in the record coming to fruition, bridging the widening gulf between Waters and his bandmates and working on the storyline with him. However, partially due to his punctuality issues and other factors, such as his mental health issues, the pair did not get on, and he saw Waters as a bully.
When speaking to Rockline Radio in 1993 about Amused to Death, one caller asked if ‘Too Much Rope’ referred to Ezrin in the soulfully sung line, “Each man has his price Bob, and yours is pretty low”. It seemed like a clear-cut reference, and jab at the co-producer of The Wall. While it was, the line and song were actually intended to refer to Bob Dylan, one of Waters’ greatest influences, whose early protest music and ensuing cerebral compositions had a defining impact on his work in the Floyd.
Waters explained that during that period, he would write lyrics in a stream of consciousness on top of recorded music in the studio, which was how the soulful 1970s Dylan vibe of ‘Too Much Rope’ came to fruition. He explained: “The reference when I actually put the word down on tape was to Bob Dylan because, at the time, I was going through a kind of Bob Dylan sound-alike period to amuse myself in the studio. Uh, so I would be singing (Dylan style) ‘Each man has his price Bob’, like that. For a joke. But afterwards it seemed to me a rather appertain lyric for Bob Ezrin so I left it in because of Ezrin as a little gift for Bob Ezrin.”
I wonder what Waters thinks of that reference to Ezrin now, given that he weighed in on the ongoing antisemitism controversy in the 2023 documentary The Dark of Roger Waters. He probably isn’t bothered, given their troubled history and the fact that this reference to Ezrin clearly has negative connotations.
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