The Fletcher Memorial Home
Pink Floyd Lyrics

Take all your overgrown infants away somewhere
Remove all the spoiled and immature leaders from power

And build them a home, a little place of their own.
Create a special institution for them to live, separate from the rest of society

The Fletcher Memorial Home for Incurable Tyrants and Kings.
This institution is called The Fletcher Memorial Home for Incurable Tyrants and Kings, implying that those sent there are incurable and beyond help

And they can appear to themselves every day
Allow these leaders to see themselves on closed circuit television, reinforcing their deluded sense of importance

On closed circuit T.V.
The leaders can see themselves on a private, internal broadcasting system

To make sure they're still real.
They watch themselves to ensure their relevance and power remains intact

It's the only connection they feel.
The only connection to the outside world that these leaders have is through this televised medium

"Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome, Reagan and Haig,
Introduce a number of real-life leaders from the time period of the song, including Ronald Reagan, Alexander Haig, and Margaret Thatcher

Mr. Begin and friend, Mrs. Thatcher, and Paisly,
More real-life leaders are mentioned, including Menachem Begin, Ian Paisley, and the unnamed "friend" of Mrs. Thatcher

"Hello Maggie!"
A reference to the popular nickname for Margaret Thatcher, as well as an indication of the familiarity and camaraderie amongst these leaders

Mr. Brezhnev and party.
Another real-life leader is mentioned, Leonid Brezhnev, and his entourage

"Who's the bald chap?"
A sarcastic rhetorical question directed towards a bald, unnamed leader

The ghost of McCarthy,
A reference to the infamous anti-communist crusader Joseph McCarthy, who died in 1957

The memories of Nixon.
Allude to the troubled legacy of Richard Nixon, whose presidency was marred by corruption and scandal

"Good-bye!"
A sarcastic and disdainful farewell to these leaders

And now, adding color, a group of anonymous latin-American Meat packing glitterati.
This line refers to wealthy and influential leaders from Latin American countries who are not specifically named, but are grouped together and seemingly ridiculed for their lavish and superficial lifestyles

Did they expect us to treat them with any respect?
A rhetorical question asking whether these leaders deserve respect for their actions and leadership

They can polish their medals and sharpen their Smiles, and amuse themselves playing games for awhile.
These leaders are portrayed as vain and insincere, obsessed with their own accolades and status, and content to distract themselves with petty amusements

Boom boom, bang bang, lie down you're dead.
A macabre refrain that suggests violence and death as the inevitable end result of their leadership

Safe in the permanent gaze of a cold glass eye
The leaders are under constant surveillance and scrutiny, reinforced by the image of a "cold glass eye"

With their favorite toys
Their "toys" might include their positions of power, nuclear weapons, or other symbols of authority

They'll be good girls and boys
The leaders are portrayed as infantile, and are being patronized as though they are children

In the Fletcher Memorial Home for colonial Wasters of life and limb.
This line specifically calls out colonial powers and leaders who are responsible for the deaths and suffering of their subjects

Is everyone in?
A rhetorical question asking if everyone who deserves to be sent to The Fletcher Memorial Home has been sent there

Are you having a nice time?
A sarcastic and mocking question, indicating that being in The Fletcher Memorial Home is not a pleasant experience

Now the final solution can be applied.
A chilling reference to the Nazi's use of the term 'final solution' when referring to their genocide of Jewish people. This line suggests that the only way to deal with these types of leaders is through drastic and extreme measures, such as imprisonment or execution