The Pink Floyd song David Gilmour described as his most “surrealistic”
Pink Floyd was essentially given free rein to experiment with their music following the success of albums such as Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall. They struggled to find themselves after Syd Barrett left the band, but they came into their own when they started branching out into longer, narrative-driven, intricate, and experimental concept albums.
Thanks to the length of songs, the effects used, and the topics discussed throughout their music, there weren’t many rules that applied to their music, and they could explore and do whatever they wanted. This came as a double-edged sword, as it meant that some ideas didn’t land, and tension within the band grew as ideas contrasted and contradicted one another more than they previously did.
Sometimes it worked, though. For instance, on the 1987 track ‘Yet Another Movie’, Gilmour embraces the abstract with his lyricism, delivering lines that even he isn’t too sure the meaning of, but creating something free for listeners to read into, incredibly cinematic and atmospheric in its execution.
Though some of the lines are clearly taken from the film Casablanca, for a song with the word “movie” in its title, the lyrics are distinctly lacking in direction. This wasn’t an accident, though, as Gilmour decided to dive head first into writing outlandish lyrics that people could interpret however they wanted. “It’s a more surrealistic effort than anything I’ve attempted before,” he said, “I don’t even know what all of it means myself.”
Released as part of their album A Momentary Lapse of Reason, the album is a great example of everything that makes Pink Floyd the band they are. The guitar is a particular standout, as what builds as one-off powerful notes escalates into a face-melting solo, backed up by exciting distorted melody, rhythm, and layered vocals that make the track completely impenetrable.
The song also has quite a dark and brooding feel, which is interesting, given that Keyboard player Patrick Leonard has a songwriting credit on the track. He was familiar with Pink Floyd and did a great deal of session work for them, but his songwriting abilities tended to be more pop-oriented, as he helped write tracks for Madonna, such as ‘Like A Prayer’ and ‘La Isla Bonita’.
‘Yet Another Movie’ is a great example of when abstract lyricism can work. The song is mysterious and cinematic in how it builds, so having words that don’t immediately jump out at the listener also adds to that brooding feel. If the words were explicitly about heartbreak or falling in love, the song would assume a different and less impactful lyrics. By not giving away too much, they play into this enticing tone of the song, and it shows how good Pink Floyd was at giving their audience the unexpected even after they had already delivered so much.
