The Final Cut - Pink Floyd
Tuning: , E A D G B E
The Final Cut
The Post War Dream
------------------
/
Tell me true,
tell me why wa
s Jesus crucif
ied?
Is it for this
that daddy di
ed?
Was it you? Wa
s it me?
Did I watch to
o much T.V.?
Is that a hint
of accusation
in your eyes?
If it wasn't f
or the Nips
Being so good
at building sh
ips,
The yards woul
d still be ope
n on the Clyde
.
And it can't b
e much fun for
them
Beneath the ri
sing sun
With all their
kids committi
ng suicide.
What have we d
one, Maggie wh
at have we don
e?
What have we d
one to England
?
Should we shou
t, should we s
cream,
"What happened
to the post w
ar dream?"
Oh, Maggie,
Maggie what ha
ve we done?
Your Possible Pasts
-------------------
They flutter b
ehind you your
possible past
s,
Some brighteye
d and crazy, s
ome frightened
and lost.
A warning to a
nyone still in
command
Of their possi
ble future, to
take care.
In derelict si
dings the popp
ies entwine
With cattle tr
ucks lying in
wait for the n
ext time.
Do you remembe
r me, how we u
sed to be,
Do you think w
e shoud be clo
ser?
She stood in t
he doorway, th
e ghost of a s
mile
Haunting her f
ace like a che
ap hotel sign.
Her cold eyes
imploring the
men in their m
acs
For the gold i
n their bags o
r the knives i
n their backs.
Stepping up bo
ldly one put o
ut his hand.
He said, "I wa
s just a child
then, now I'm
only a man."
Do you remembe
r me, how we
used to be,
Do you think w
e should be cl
oser?
By the cold an
d religious we
were taken in
hand
Shown how to f
eel good and t
old to feel ba
d.
Strung out beh
ind us the ban
ners and flags
Of our possibl
e pasts lie in
tatters and r
ags.
Do you remembe
r me, how we u
sed to be,
Do you think w
e should be cl
oser?
One Of The Few
--------------
When you're on
e of the few t
o land on your
feet,
What do you do to make ends meet?
Teach.
Make them mad, make them sad, make them add two and two.
Make them me, make them you, make them do what you want them to.
Make them laugh, make them cry, make them lie down and die.
The Hero's Return
-----------------
Jesus, Jesus,
what's it all
about?
Trying to clout these little ingrates into shape.
When I was their age all the lights went out.
There was no time to whine or mope about.
And even now p
art of me flie
s over
Dresden at ang
els one five.
Though they'll
never fathom
it behind my
Sarcasm desper
ate memories l
ie.
Sweetheart swe
etheart are yo
u fast asleep?
Good.
'Cause that's the only time that I can really speak to you.
And there is something that I've locked away
A memory that is too painful
To withstand the light of day.
When we came b
ack from the w
ar the banners
and
Flags hung on
everyone's doo
r.
We danced and
we sang in the
street and
The church bel
ls rang.
But burning in
my heart,
My memory smou
lders on
Of the gunners
dying words o
n the intercom
.
The Gunner's Dream
------------------
+
Floating down
through the cl
ouds
Memories come
rushing up to
meet me now.
In the space b
etween the hea
vens
And in the cor
ner of some fo
reign field,
I had a dream,
I had a dream.
Goodbye Max, g
+
oodbye Ma.
After the serv
ice when you'r
e walking slow
ly to the car
And the silver
in her hair s
hines in the c
old November a
ir,
You hear the t
olling bell, a
nd touch the s
ilk in your la
pel,
And as the tea
r drops rise t
o meet the com
fort of the ba
nd,
You take her f
rail hand and
hold on to the
dream.
+ /
A place to sta
y, enough to e
at,
Somewhere old
heroes shuffle
safely down t
he street.
Where you can
speak out loud
about your do
ubts and fears
,
And what's mor
e no-one ever
disappears,
You never hear
their standar
d issue kickin
g in your door
.
You can relax
on both sides
of the tracks,
And maniacs do
n't blow holes
in bandsmen b
y remote contr
ol,
And everyone h
as recourse to
the law,
And no-one kil
ls the childre
n anymore.
No-one kills t
he children an
ymore.
Night after ni
ght, going rou
nd and round m
y brain,
His dream is d
riving me insa
ne____________
_______.
In the corner
of some foreig
n field,
The gunner sle
eps tonight.
What's done is
done.
We cannot just
write off his
final scene.
Take heed of h
is dream,
Take heed.
Paranoid Eyes
-------------
Button your li
p and don't le
t the shield s
lip.
Take a fresh g
rip on your bu
llet proof mas
k.
And if they tr
y to break dow
n your disguis
e with their q
uestions
You can hide,
hide, hide,
Behind paranoi
d eyes.
You put on our
brave face an
d slip over th
e road for a j
ar,
Fixing your gr
in as you casu
ally lean on t
he bar.
Laughing too l
oud at the res
t of the world
With the boys
in the crowd.
You hide, hide
, hide,
Behind petrifi
ed eyes.
You believed i
n their storie
s of fame, for
tune and glory
.
Now you're los
t in a haze of
alchohol soft
middle age.
The pie in the
sky turned ou
t to be miles
too high.
And you hide,
hide, hide,
Behind brown and mild eyes.
Get Your Filthy Hands Off My Desert
-----------------------------------
Brezhnev took
Afghanistan.
Begin took Bei
rut.
Galtieri took
the Union Jack
.
And Maggie, ov
er lunch one d
ay,
Took a cruiser
with all hand
s
Apparently to
make him give
it back.
Mm________.
The Fletcher Memorial Home
--------------------------
Take all your
overgrown infa
nts away, some
where,
And build them
a home, a lit
tle place of t
heir own.
The Fletcher M
emorial Home f
or incurable t
yrants and
#
kings.
And they can a
ppear to thems
elves every da
y,
On closed circ
uit T.V. to ma
ke sure they'r
e still real.
It's the only
connection the
y feel.
"Ladies and ge
ntlemen, pleas
e welcome Reag
an and Haig,
Mr. Begin and
friend, Mrs. T
hatcher and Pa
isley,
Mr. Brezhnev a
nd party, the
ghost of McCar
thy,
The memories o
f Nixon. And n
ow adding colo
ur,
A group of ano
nymous Latin-A
merican meat p
acking glitter
ati."
Did they expec
t us to treat
them with any
respect?
They can polis
h their medals
and sharpen t
heir smiles,
And amuse them
selves playing
games for a w
hile.
Boom boom, ban
g bang, lie do
wn you're dead
.
add9
Safe in the pe
rmanent gaze o
f a cold glass
eye,
With their fav
orite toys, th
ey'll be good
girls and boys
.
In the Fletc
her Memorial H
ome for coloni
al wasters of
life and lim
b.
Is everone in?
Are you havin
g a nice time?
Now the final
solution can b
e applied.
Southampton Dock
----------------
They disembark
ed in 45,
And no-one spo
ke and no-one
smiled
There were to
many spaces in
the line.
Gathered at the cenotaph
All agreed wit
h the hand on
heart,
To sheath the
sacrificial kn
ives.
But now she st
ands upon Sout
hampton dock
With her handk
erchief
And her summer
frock clings
To her wet bod
y in the rain.
In quiet desperation knuckles
White upon the
slippery rein
s
She bravely wa
ves the boys g
oodbye again.
Mm______.
And still the
dark stain spr
eads between
His shoulder b
lades.
A mute reminde
r of the poppy
fields and gr
aves.
And when the f
ight was over
We spent what
they had made.
But in the bot
tom of our hea
rts
We felt the fi
nal cut.
The Final Cut
-------------
Through the fi
sh-eyed lens o
f tear stained
eyes____
I can barely d
efine the shap
e of this mome
nt in time.
And far from f
lying high in
clear blue ski
es___,
I'm spiralling
down to the h
ole in the gro
und where I hi
de.
If you negotia
te the minefie
ld in the driv
e,
And beat the d
ogs and cheat
the cold elect
ronic eyes,
And if you mak
e it past the
shotgun in the
hall,
Dial the combi
nation, open t
he priesthole
And if I'm in
/
I'll tell you
what's behind
the wall.
There's a kid
who had a big
hallucination
Making love to
girls in maga
zines.
He wonders if
you're sleepin
g with your ne
w found faith.
Could anybody
love him
Or is it just
/
a crazy dream_
__?
And if I show
you my dark si
de
Will you still
hold me tonig
ht?
And if I open
my heart to yo
u
And show you m
y weak side,
What would you
do?
Would you sell
your story to
Rolling Stone
?
Would you take
the children
away
And leave me a
lone?
And smile in r
eassurance
As you whisper
down the phon
e,
Would you send
me packing,
/
Or would you t
ake me home?
/
Thought I ough
ta bare my nak
ed feelings,
Thought I ough
ta tear the cu
rtain down.
I held the bla
de in tremblin
g hands,
Prepared to ma
ke it but just
then the phon
e rang,
I never had th
e nerve to mak
e the final cu
t.
Not Now John
------------
Fuck all that
we've got to g
et on with the
se
Gotta compete
with the wily
Japanese.
There's too ma
ny home fires
burning
And not enough
trees,
So fuck all th
at
We've got to g
et on with the
se.
Can't stop Lose job Mind gone Silicon
What bomb Get away Pay day Make hay
Break down Need fix Big six
Clickity click
Hold on
Oh no B
rrrrrrrrrring
bingo!
Make 'em laugh
. Make 'em c
ry. Make 'em
dance in the
aisles.
Make 'em pay.
Make 'em s
tay. Make'em
feel ok.
Not nah John
We've got to g
et on with the
film show.
Hollywood wait
s at the end o
f the rainbow.
Who cares what
it's about
As long as the
kids go.
Not now John
Got to get on
with the show.
Hang on John w
e've got to ge
t on with this
.
I don't know w
hat it is
But it fits on
here like....
.
Come at the en
d of the shift
,
We'll go and g
et pissed.
But now now Jo
hn
I've got to ge
t on with this
.
Hold on John
I think there'
s something go
od on.
I used to read
books but....
.
It could be th
e news,
Or some other
abuse,
Or it could be
reusable show
s.
Fuck all that
we've got to g
et on with the
se
Got to compete
with the wily
Japanese.
No need to wor
ry about the V
ietnamese.
Got to bring t
he Russian bea
r to his knees
.
Well, maybe no
t the Russian
bear,
Maybe the Swed
es.
We showed Arge
ntina
Now let's go a
nd show these.
Make us feel t
ough
And wouldn't M
aggie be pleas
ed?
Nah nah nah na
h nah nah nah!
Two Suns In The Sunset
----------------------
In my rear vie
w mirror the s
un is going do
wn,
Sinking behind
bridges in th
e road
And I think of
all the good
things
That we have l
eft undone
And I suffer p
remonitions,
Confirm suspic
ions,
Of the holocau
st to come.
The wire that
holds the cork
That keeps the
anger in,
Gives way
And suddenly i
t's day again.
The sun is in
the east
Even though th
e day is done.
Two suns in th
e sunset
Hmmmmmmmmmm
Could be the h
uman race is r
un.
Like the momen
t when the bra
kes lock
And you slide
towards the bi
g truck
You stretch th
e frozen momen
ts with your f
ear.
And you'll nev
er hear their
voices,
And you'll nev
er see their f
aces,
You have no re
course to the
law anymore.
And as the win
dshield melts
My tears eveap
orate,
Leaving only c
harcoal to def
end.
Finally I unde
rstand the fee
lings of the f
ew.
Ashes and diam
onds,
Foe and friend
,
We were all eq
ual in the end
.