The misunderstood Pink Floyd lyric Roger Waters says urges fans “to be here now and live”
He might be an intensely controversial character, but no one can deny that with Pink Floyd, Roger Waters wrote some of the best music of his generation. A vital part of the band until his acrimonious departure in 1985, he was so prominent in the group that without his leadership, they may not have reached the heights that they did.
He might be described as a tyrant by his old bandmates and in the traditional accounts of Pink Floyd. Still, Waters maintained that his rise as their creative figurehead following the departure of Syd Barrett in 1968 was more out of necessity than anything.
Explaining how he seized power, Waters told Q Magazine in 1987: “I’m sure you would get arguments about that from the other ‘boys’, but I simply took responsibility, largely because no one else seemed to want to do it, and that is graphically illustrated by the fact that I started to write most of the material from then on, I’m perfectly happy being a leader.”
Although the end of his tenure was marred by infighting when Roger Waters was at his peak as a songwriter, so was the band. Although the finest album by the quartet is a subjective topic, there is no doubt that their best run of albums started with 1971’s Meddle and ended with 1979’s The Wall. Here, they were at their most refined, and Waters the most distilled he had ever been.
Undoubtedly, the group’s most famous and successful offering is 1973’s The Dark Side of the Moon, a concept album that examines fame, ageing and the mental health problems suffered by their former leader, Syd Barrett. Although the record has stood the test of time, as every great one does, some have criticised portions of the lyrics for being inane. One of these is the opening lines of ‘Breathe’, “Breathe, breathe in the air / Don’t be afraid to care.”
When speaking to USA Today in 1999, Waters explained that this segment has a deeper meaning. He revealed that it’s an exhortation “to be here now and to live” and not the weightless throwaway many believe. Waters said: “I remember reading an interview that Rick Wright gave at one point, and he said, “We weren’t interested in the lyrics.” Well, I’m sure he wasn’t, but I was. Lines like “Breathe in the air, don’t be afraid to care” are easy to attack as puerile, adolescent, head-in- the-clouds nonsense, but on another level, it’s a very straightforward exhortation to be here now and to live, something we all need help with. I still do.”
Listen to ‘Breathe’ below.