As a teenager, he lived with his parents in a fourteen-room Georgian guest-house, Wellington House, in Lydden near Canterbury. Here he was taught the drums by visiting American jazz drummer George Niedorf.
In 1962, Wyatt and Niedorf moved to Majorca where they stayed with the poet Robert Graves. The following year, Wyatt returned to England and joined the Daevid Allen Trio with Daevid Allen and Hugh Hopper. Allen subsequently left for France, and Wyatt and Hopper formed the Wilde Flowers with Richard Sinclair, Kevin Ayers and Brian Hopper. Wyatt was initially the drummer in the Wilde Flowers, but following the departure of Ayers, he became lead singer.
In 1966, the Wilde Flowers disintegrated, and Wyatt and Mike Ratledge formed the Soft Machine with Ayers and Allen. Here Wyatt both drummed and sang, an unusual combination for a stage rock band.
In 1970, after chaotic touring, three albums and increasing internal conflicts in Soft Machine, Wyatt released his first solo album, The End of an Ear, which combined his vocal and multi-instrumental talents with tape effects.
A year later, Wyatt left Soft Machine and formed his own band Matching Mole (a pun on "machine molle", the French for Soft Machine), a largely instrumental outfit. After two albums and a split, Matching Mole were about to embark on a third record when, on 1 June 1973, during a drunken party, Wyatt fell from a third floor window. He was subsequently paralysed from the waist down (paraplegia) and confined to a wheelchair.
The injury led Wyatt to abandon the Matching Mole project, and his drumming. He promptly embarked on a solo-career, and with a collective of session musicians (including Mike Oldfield, the poet Ivor Cutler and Henry Cow guitarist Fred Frith), he released his acclaimed solo album Rock Bottom. Later that same year he put out a single, a cover version of "I'm a Believer", which hit number 29 in the UK chart. There were strong arguments with the producer of Top of the Pops surrounding his performance of "I'm a Believer," on the grounds that his wheelchair-bound appearance 'was not suitable for family viewing', the producer wanting Wyatt to appear on a normal chair. Wyatt won the day and 'lost his rag but not the wheel chair', but gave a performance that could be described as disgruntled.
Wyatt's next album, Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard, was more jazz-led, with free jazz influences and nods to African music. These solo recordings were all produced by Nick Mason of Pink Floyd.
Throughout the rest of the 1970s, Wyatt guested with various acts, working with the likes of Henry Cow (documented on their Henry Cow Concerts album), Hatfield and the North, Carla Bley and Michael Mantler. His solo work during the early 1980s was increasingly politicised, and Wyatt became an outspoken member and supporter of the British Communist Party. In 1983, his interpretation of Elvis Costello's anti-Falklands War song "Shipbuilding", the last in a series of political cover-versions (collected as Nothing Can Stop Us), reached number 35 in the UK singles chart. In the late 1980s, after collaborations with other ex-Canterbury acts such as News from Babel, he and his wife Alfreda Benge spent a sabbatical in Spain, before returning in 1991 with a comeback album Dondestan, considered by many to be his best work since Rock Bottom. His 1997 album Shleep was also highly acclaimed.
An uncredited Wyatt contributed the haunting "Masters of the Field", as well as "The Highest Gander", "La Forêt Rouge" and "Hors Champ" to the soundtrack of the acclaimed 2001 film Winged Migration. He can be seen in the DVD's Special Features section, and is praised by the film's composer Bruno Coulais as being a big influence in his younger days.
In 2001, Wyatt was curator of the Meltdown festival, and in 2003 he put out his album Cuckooland.
In 2004, Wyatt collaborated with Björk on the song "Submarine" which was released on her fifth album Medúlla.
In October 2007 he released Comicopera, a 16-track album, his first for the Domino label.
It was produced by Wyatt himself, and recorded at his home in Louth as well as Phil Manzanera's Gallery Studio.
Comicopera is divided into three acts - 'Lost in Noise', 'The Here and The Now', and 'Away with the Fairies'. Featured musicians include previous collaborators Brian Eno, Paul Weller and Phil Manzanera. Wyatt said he was keen to capture the sound of a group of musicians playing in the room together, but more importantly to have friends playing together.
"Music isn't just an abstract pleasure, it is a company, when you play a record. Why I like Duke Ellington and Charles Mingus, the big bands - is because every character in the band is identifiable as that person - there's this group of humans in a room".
"He lives in Louth, Lincolnshire and he has equipment in his bedroom where he records himself and his albums. We brought a G4 and Pro Tools and recorded it in like one afternoon. He's such an extraordinary singer. Before he left, he insisted to give us a scale of his voice, where he sings all the tones – and he has the most amazing range, like 5 or 6 octaves. What's really interesting about his range is that each octave is of a totally different character. We actually ended up using that later for 'Oceania', we used what he calls the 'Wyattron'." — Björk, XFM 25 August 2004
Pigs...
Robert Wyatt Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Very nice countryside, sky, ground, all that sort of things,
Natural marriage, natural resorces and looking out the windows as I
Don't come from that part of the world
And 1 said, er, what′s that oyer there?
In a sort of low grey concrete thing all surrounded by fields really
Very nice trees like a sort of low square of concrete
Like the fun-dations of a building that hadn't been built.
It looked like that, two feet high, in fact it was a sort of,
On top of it, there was a flat roof and I thought, oh I see,
And then, I pointed as the car got passed it what was that?
And the, the country person that was with me, er, said, oh, er,
That's where they keep pigs, I tought, oh, yes, I see,
That′s where they keep pigs, and the sun was shining down and, er,
The grass was green and It was all very lovely,
Driving in the country and I suddently thought that,
That building must have been, like, from the inside.-.
Pigs, in there, pigs in there?
Pigs in there?
Pigs in there?
Pigs in there?
Pigs in there?
Pigs, on a day like this, in there, pigs in there,
Pigs huddled up in there, in die dark, in there, living in there?
Pigs, in there, PIGS
Robert Wyatt's song "Pigs" is an introspective and poetic commentary on a mundane experience: a drive through the countryside of Wiltshire. Wyatt observes the natural beauty of the landscape but is struck by a peculiar structure - a gray concrete building surrounded by fields and with small walls about a foot high. It looks like the foundation of a building that never materialized. When Wyatt asks about the purpose of the building, he is told it is where they keep pigs. The juxtaposition of this plain, utilitarian structure with the idyllic scene of green grass, blue skies, and lovely trees evokes a sense of absurdity and dissonance. Wyatt's repetition of the phrase "pigs in there" underscores this feeling and hints at a deeper commentary on the coexistence of the natural world with the structures of human civilization.
One interpretation of the lyrics is that they symbolize the alienation and exploitation of human beings within the structures of capitalist society. Pigs are often used as a metaphor for both working-class people and the dehumanizing effects of capitalist systems. The building surrounded by fields may represent the enclosure and confinement of the working class within a system that values profit over humanity. The phrase "pigs in there" thus takes on a darker and more poignant meaning, highlighting the inhumane conditions in which workers are forced to toil.
Overall, the lyrics of "Pigs" are a powerful commentary on the intersection of humanity and nature, and the ways in which capitalist systems can erode and distort our relationship with the natural world.
Line by Line Meaning
Well, we're driving, uh, driving through Wiltshire,
We are currently driving through Wiltshire.
Very nice countryside, sky, ground, all that sort of things,
The scenery around the car is pleasing to the eye.
Natural marriage, natural resorces and looking out the windows as I
We are appreciating the natural beauty of Wiltshire.
Don't come from that part of the world
I am not familiar with this region.
And 1 said, er, what's that oyer there?
I asked what a particular object was.
In a sort of low grey concrete thing all surrounded by fields really
The object I am referring to is a small concrete structure surrounded by fields.
Very nice trees like a sort of low square of concrete
The small structure is in the midst of beautiful trees.
Like the fun-dations of a building that hadn't been built.
The small structure looked like a foundation for a building that was never completed.
It had little walls, little, about a foot high, or something,
The little structure had walls that were only about a foot high.
It looked like that, two feet high, in fact it was a sort of,
Upon closer inspection, the walls were actually two feet high.
On top of it, there was a flat roof and I thought, oh I see,
The small structure had a flat roof on top.
And then, I pointed as the car got passed it what was that?
As we drove past the structure, I pointed at it and asked about it.
And the, the country person that was with me, er, said, oh, er,
The person from the country who was with me responded.
That's where they keep pigs, I tought, oh, yes, I see,
The small structure is actually a pig pen.
That's where they keep pigs, and the sun was shining down and, er, The grass was green and It was all very lovely,
The sun was shining and the grass surrounding the pig pen was green and beautiful.
Driving in the country and I suddently thought that, That building must have been, like, from the inside.-.
As we continued to drive, I had a sudden realization about the pig pen.
Pigs, in there, pigs in there? Pigs in there? Pigs in there? Pigs in there? Pigs in there? Pigs, on a day like this, in there, pigs in there, Pigs huddled up in there, in die dark, in there, living in there?
I began to ponder the conditions that the pigs must be living in inside the structure.
Pigs, in there, PIGS
The idea of pigs being trapped in a small, dark structure is unsettling to me.
Writer(s): Robert Wyatt
Contributed by Tristan T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@TimHewison
This has been going around my head for the last 24 years. More relevant today than ever. We are pigs.
@jonathanpork-sausage617
We are all being farmed.
@SimonRobinson137
It's funny how you remember this on John Peel. I was 16 and always remembered this song, but thank God that the internet was invented as I could only remember the line "pigs in there?" and couldn't remember who sang this. What an awesome little song. "They don't make them like they used to etc etc. :)
@NJ-nm4fj
Recommend tripping to this song
@fridgeways2300
Yee, it's etched into me thanks to one friend
@lonelyboatman
love it, spat beer when i heard it.. jist got hold of the ep box set.. thanks for sharing
@veganbonnie
"That's where they keep pigs." I could cry at that line. I know what those buildings are like - torture chambers.
@WELLBRAN
Only Robert wyatt could write a song like this...haha Genius!
@tedmills
I too heard this on Peel in 86 and he played it enough that I had my old tape recorder ready! Still it remained hard to find until it came out on the "mid-eighties" Wyatt CD.
@nicholasjenkins8146
I remember John peel putting that on years ago .