Roger Waters was the main lyricist for the classic British rock band Pink Floyd. He, along with Syd Barrett, Nick Mason, and Richard Wright, formed the band in 1965 and released their first album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn in 1967. In 1968, Syd Barrett was replaced by guitarist/singer David Gilmour. He and Gilmour were the main creative forces behind the albums Meddle, Dark Side of the Moon, and Wish You Were Here; Waters eventually became the primary songwriter, being the driving force behind Animals, and The Wall as well as the sole songwriter of The Final Cut. Waters became well-known for being an intense perfectionist and his controlling nature alienated the rest of the band. The Final Cut, released in 1983, was essentially a Roger Waters solo album "performed by Pink Floyd" as the credits stated. This would be the group's last album with Waters. David Gilmour decided to carry on with Pink Floyd and Waters, believing that Pink Floyd was a "non-entity" without him, sued the rest of the band to retire the Pink Floyd name. His lawsuit ultimately failed, and Pink Floyd released three more studio albums and two double live albums, without him.
The feud between David Gilmour and Roger Waters lasted for decades, and it wasn't until Live 8 in 2005 that they finally decided to set their differences aside and perform a brief set for the charity gig. This would be the last time that Pink Floyd would ever perform together in their "classic" lineup. Shortly after the show, there was much speculation that Pink Floyd would get back together for a full reunion tour, but Gilmour ultimately nixed the idea, stating that although the Live 8 gig was fun, the rehearsals were not.
Much to everyone's surprise, Gilmour and Waters reunited once again on July 11, 2010 for a charity performance for “The Hoping Foundation,” an organization that supports Palestinian refugee kids. At Ronnie Scott’s club in London, the duo performed four songs together: “To Know Him Is to Love Him” (a cover of the old Teddy Bear’s song), “Wish You Were Here,” “Comfortably Numb,” and finally (after a special request) “Another Brick in the Wall Part 2.” Once again, just like after the Live 8 Reunion, speculation began regarding future reunions. No official Pink Floyd reunion has yet been set, but Gilmour did promise that he would join Roger Waters for one show on his 2010-11 “The Wall” tour, performing “Comfortably Numb.” Gilmour fulfilled his promise on May 14, 2011 in London.
Waters has so far released the following solo albums:
* Music from The Body soundtrack with Ron Geesin(1970)
* The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking (1984)
* When the Wind Blows soundtrack with contributions from other artists as well (1986)
* Radio K.A.O.S. (1987)
* The Wall: Live in Berlin (1990)
* Amused to Death (1992)
* In the Flesh live (2000)
* Flickering Flame: The Solo Years, Vol. 1 (2003)
* Ça Ira (Opera) (2005)
*Is This the Life We Really Want? (2017)
*Igor Stravinsky's The Soldier's Tale (2018)
*The Lockdown Sessions (2022)
Let Us Break All The Shields
Roger Waters Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Let us break all the shields
And soil the ermine
Take the oak and the olive tree
Make their philosophy our own
The pigs eat the acorns
The rich eat the pork
The poor eat the olives and spit out the stones
REVOLUTIONARY PRIEST
We only ask a little tax from the nobility
The spat out stone will grow in time into an olive tree
We will smoke our pork over a fire of basilic
TROUBLEMAKER
And we will plant the laurel tree
REVOLUTIONARY PRIEST
To make
TROUBLEMAKER
To make
REVOLUTIONARY PRIEST
A wreath
TROUBLEMAKER
A wreath
A wreath to crown the République
REVOLUTIONARY PRIEST
We will smoke our pork upon the pyre of privilege
The flames of castles burning will dance from ridge to ridge
We'll break all the shields
Spit out all the stones
Make the oak and the olive trees' philosophy our own
The pigs eat the acorns
The rich eat the pork
The poor eat the olives and spit out the stones
CHORUS
We will smoke the pork on a fire of basilic
We will plant the laurel tree to make our laurel wreaths
To crown, to crown, to crown the République!
Scene 3
"The Grievances of the People"
The lyrics to Roger Waters's song "Let Us Break All The Shields" portray a revolutionary spirit calling for the overthrow of the ruling class and a redistribution of wealth and power. The troublemaker in the song advocates for breaking down the shields of the nobility and defiling their symbols of honor like ermine fur, while adopting the symbols and philosophy of the oppressed, like the oak and olive trees. The revolutionary priest proposes a modest tax on the nobility and the planting of olive trees, which will grow into a means of sustenance for the poor. The pork will be smoked over a fire of basilic, which represents the working class taking over the luxury of the wealthy. They will break down all shields and spit out the stones, meaning they will tear down the barriers that shield the nobility from the masses and take ownership of the symbols that represent power to the ruling class.
The lyrics depict the dismantlement of a hierarchy through a smoldering fire of revolt, representing that the aristocracy will have to give up their pork on the altar of privilege being taken over by the lower classes. The song highlights the discrepancy between the wealthy, who eat pork, and the disenfranchised, who only have olives to eat, which represent the class divide. The chorus reinforces the idea that their newly forged society will use laurel crowns to crown the République! This, in turn, can be seen as a symbol of the rebirth of a Nation through the revolt, uprising, and revolution of oppressed people.
Facts about the song:
* "Let Us Break All The Shields" is a song from the rock opera "Ça Ira" by Roger Waters.
* "Ça Ira" means "It'll Be Fine" in French.
* The rock opera deals with the French Revolution; "Let Us Break All The Shields" is a part of Act III of the opera, titled "Debtors, Pigs, and the Divine Right of Kings."
* The opera features a 120-piece orchestra, a 60-piece choir, a children's choir, and a rock band.
* It was released in 2005 and is Roger Waters's first solo album in 13 years.
* Waters recorded the opera at Abbey Road Studios in London, where The Beatles recorded most of their albums.
* The orchestration is by Rick Wentworth, who did full orchestrations for Waters's previous works, including Pink Floyd's "The Wall."
* The album features guest appearances by Bryn Terfel, Paul Carrack, and Paul Weller, among others.
* The album has been performed live with full symphony orchestras and choirs in several countries, including the UK, Italy, and Poland.
* The song's guitar chord progression is unknown, as the album's sheet music is not publicly available.
Chords for "Let Us Break All The Shields" are not publicly available.
Line by Line Meaning
Let us break all the shields
Let us bring down all forms of protection and authority.
And soil the ermine
Let us disgrace and sully the reputation of the aristocracy.
Take the oak and the olive tree
Let us adopt the ideologies of both strength and peace.
Make their philosophy our own
Let us form our own beliefs inspired by these trees.
The pigs eat the acorns
The wealthy enjoy the luxurious food.
The rich eat the pork
The bourgeoisie indulge in abundance.
The poor eat the olives and spit out the stones
The less fortunate only have access to the bare minimum necessities.
We only ask a little tax from the nobility
The common people will require only a small contribution from the aristocracy.
The spat out stone will grow in time into an olive tree
Even the smallest action can lead to significant change.
We will smoke our pork over a fire of basilic
We will cook our food with fragrant herbs.
And we will plant the laurel tree
We will cultivate an iconic symbol of victory.
To make
In order to create
A wreath
A symbol of honor and achievement.
A wreath to crown the République
A symbol of glory and triumph for the Republic.
We will smoke our pork upon the pyre of privilege
We will consume the prosperous's wealth and power.
The flames of castles burning will dance from ridge to ridge
The destruction of the aristocracy's strongholds will be a great event.
Spit out all the stones
Reject any burdens or oppression that society throws at us.
We'll break all the shields
We will dismantle any system of authority or defense.
We will plant the laurel tree to make our laurel wreaths
We will cultivate a symbol of our victories and accomplishments.
To crown, to crown, to crown the République!
To celebrate and honor our Republic.
Contributed by Henry H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.