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)
Southampton Dock
Roger Waters Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And no one spoke
And no one smiled
There were too many spaces in the line
And gathered at the cenotaph
They all agreed with hand on heart
To sheath the sacrificial knives
But now
With her handkerchief
And her summer frock
Clings to her wet body in the rain
In quiet desperation
Knuckles white upon the slippery reins
She bravely waves the boys goodbye again
Ooo, Maggie what have you done?
And still the dark stain spreads between
Their shoulder blades
A mute reminder
Of the poppy fields and graves
When the fight was over
We spent what they had made
But
In the bottom of our hearts
We felt the final cut
The lyrics of Roger Waters’s Southampton Dock paint a very poignant picture of the men and women who disembarked from the ships in 1945, having just returned from the war. The somber and melancholic tone of the song, coupled with the haunting melody, creates a very powerful lyrical narrative that tugs at the heartstrings of anyone who listens to it. The opening words "They disembarked in '45 and no one spoke, and no one smiled," convey the sense of loss and sadness that these soldiers must have been feeling having just returned from a devastating war.
The collective grief and guilt of the soldiers who sacrificed their lives in war become evident in the lyric "They all agreed with hand on heart, to sheath the sacrificial knives." The sacraficial knives could refer to metaphorical knives used to kill, but it also references the bayonets and grenades used to kill soldiers, and the guilt pertaining to having to kill others as a part of their survival mechanism in the war. The line "But now she stands upon Southampton dock, with her handkerchief and her summer frock," tells the story of the women who had to wait for their husbands to return from the battlefield.
The final line of the song which says “In the bottom of our hearts we felt the final cut” can be interpreted as the deep sense of loss and grief that war creates, where normal life is forever severed by what the soldiers have seen and experienced.
Line by Line Meaning
They disembarked in '45
Soldiers arrived at the docks in 1945.
And no one spoke
The soldiers were quiet.
And no one smiled
The soldiers were not happy.
There were too many spaces in the line
The line of soldiers had gaps where their fallen comrades were supposed to be, reminding them of their losses.
And gathered at the cenotaph
The soldiers came together at a war memorial to remember those who lost their lives in battle.
They all agreed with hand on heart
They solemnly swore to remember and honor the fallen soldiers with their hands on their hearts.
To sheath the sacrificial knives
To promise not to fight again and to end the war.
But now
Fast forward to the present.
She stands upon Southampton dock
A woman is standing on the dock of Southampton port.
With her handkerchief
She is holding a handkerchief.
And her summer frock
She is wearing a summer dress.
Clings to her wet body in the rain
The dress is sticking to her body because it's wet from the rain.
In quiet desperation
She is feeling sad and hopeless.
Knuckles white upon the slippery reins
She is holding onto something (reins) tightly, her knuckles turning white due to the slippery and wet conditions.
She bravely waves the boys goodbye again
The woman is saying goodbye to soldiers who are leaving for war again, even though she is scared for them.
Ooo, Maggie what have you done?
A rhetorical question addressed to a person named Maggie because of the war that is still ongoing.
And still the dark stain spreads between
The war's negative impact and the memories of the past still linger.
Their shoulder blades
The soldiers' bodies.
A mute reminder
A silent but powerful reminder.
Of the poppy fields and graves
The memories of the deceased soldiers and the fields where poppies now grow to commemorate their lives.
When the fight was over
When the war was over.
We spent what they had made
We used the resources and treasures left behind by the fallen soldiers.
But
Despite all that.
In the bottom of our hearts
Deep inside of us.
We felt the final cut
We were still grieving the loss of the soldiers and the end of the war.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: ROGER WATERS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind