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)
One Of My Turns
Roger Waters Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Love turns gray
Like the skin on a dying man
Night after night
We pretend it's all right
But I have grown older
And you have grown colder
And nothing is very much fun, anymore
One of all my turns coming on
I feel
Cold as a razor blade
Tight as a tourniquet
Dry as a funeral drum
Run to the bedroom
In the suitcase on the left
You'll find my favorite axe
Don't look so frightened
This is just a passing phase
One of my bad days
Would you like to watch TV?
Or get between the sheets?
Or contemplate the silent freeway?
Would you like something to eat?
Would you like to learn to fly?
Would you like to see me try?
Would you like to call the cops?
Do you think it's time I stopped?
Why are you running away?
In Roger Waters's song, One Of My Turns, he depicts the gradual decay of a relationship. The initial verse is an expression of the disappointing reality of love, where everyday love turns grey, like the skin of a dying man. Nevertheless, the couple continues to pretend things are okay every night, but the singer has noticed something's amiss. He realizes he's grown old, while his partner has become colder, resulting in a situation where nothing in their love life is enjoyable anymore.
The second verse takes on darker tones where the singer depicts the onset of one of his "turns." He feels cold, tight, and dry - feelings that resemble the use of a razor blade, a tourniquet, and a funeral drum. The singer then goes into their bedroom and makes a reference to a suitcase, where he keeps his favorite axe, suggesting that he may endanger himself or someone near him. When his partner begins to look frightened, he tries to calm her down, saying that it's just one of his bad days. He then poses some questions, asking if she'd like to watch TV or get between the sheets or contemplate the silent freeway. These are all distractions that seem to be failing, as things gradually deteriorate.
Line by Line Meaning
Day after day
Every single day
Love turns gray
The love between two people loses its passion
Like the skin on a dying man
Just like how the skin of a man losing his life seems dull and lacking in vibrancy
Night after night
Every single night
We pretend it's all right
We pretend that everything is okay
But I have grown older
But I have aged
And you have grown colder
And you have become less loving
And nothing is very much fun, anymore
And nothing brings us enjoyment anymore
And I can feel
And I sense
One of all my turns coming on
One of my episodes of erratic behavior is about to occur
I feel
I experience
Cold as a razor blade
I feel very cold, similar to how a razor blade feels
Tight as a tourniquet
I feel constricted, like a tourniquet tightly wrapped around a limb
Dry as a funeral drum
I feel completely emptied out, just like a drum beaten during a funeral procession
Run to the bedroom
We quickly go to the bedroom
In the suitcase on the left
In the left suitcase
You'll find my favorite axe
You will see my preferred tool, an axe
Don't look so frightened
Don't appear scared
This is just a passing phase
I am going through a momentary stage
One of my bad days
One of the times when I am not on my best behavior
Would you like to watch TV?
Do you want to watch television?
Or get between the sheets?
Or do you want to have sex?
Or contemplate the silent freeway?
Or do you want to reflect on the quiet motorway?
Would you like something to eat?
Do you want to eat something?
Would you like to learn to fly?
Would you be interested in learning how to fly?
Would you like to see me try?
Do you want to witness me attempt it?
Would you like to call the cops?
Do you want to get the police involved?
Do you think it's time I stopped?
Do you believe it's time for me to quit?
Why are you running away?
Why are you trying to flee from me?
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Roger Waters
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Luisa Iudice
Roger Waters con il suo talento ed alta professionalità musicale ha creato un' opera artistica, filosofica, psicologica, ideologica unica nel panorama musicale mondiale.
madkittyjoey70
Awesome! One of my classmates saw Roger perform live a few years ago and told me that he was fabulous. I have zero doubt about that! :-)
Kelly Johns
When it comes to live shows, Roger sounds just like the studio recording... David just didn't; but his guitar skills are unsurpassed.
Blind Man Bert
Wow… awesome stereo sound from what I would presume is your vantage point with a decent smartphone or tablet with 720p optics. Nice, job. The kick drum is oversaturating your audio sensor a bit, which is a common problem for concert captures like yours (most people don’t know to stand as far as possible from PA systems so as to get decent sound from consumer-grade AV devices).
Awesome… plus I’m looking for examples of “Don’t Leave Me Now” to cover as a wedding night gift for by bride-tobe. So seeing Roger Water’s hand gestures is key to doing the song “right” on stage (with banjo and not e.guitar doing those echo'ed twangs and things). Great stuff!!
Whoa… at 6:40, I totally didn’t expect the creepy green loverbabe thing to appear. [Another reason to support live music.] But I’d still date it if it weren’t for the wifey. :-)
Trevor Clark
i think the key is dropped a little to help him sing. if it isn’t a prerecorded vocal track that is
Canal do Berga
Pink Floyd is really unique... This guy not even sings like when they recorded The wall!
Psyche
Why would you refer to Water’s as “this guy”?
Tumid
@Psyche he may not remember his name dude I forgot many people’s names
Winds of March Journey/Perry tribute band
Please don't refer to a legend as "that guy."
Note that there's a 35+ year difference (at that time in 2011) between when it was recorded and this recording.
I guarantee you, your voice changes over 35+ years.
I see nothing wrong with it. It's in pitch. I'm a music major with a decent ear.
Ari
Nice