Covid Island Discs

Day 173: The final Cut, Pink Floyd

In the 80s Pink Floyd released what was then to be their last album entitled “The Final Cut”. This represent the point where Roger Waters left the band. Some years later the remaining members of Pink Floyd released another album suitably titled “A Momentary lapse of Reason”. However, “the final cut” is more Roger Waters than Pink Floyd per se and the main theme of the album’s songs is based around a strong protest against Thatcher’s Falklands war.

This song however returns to Water’s other major theme captured in their album “The Wall”. The idea of how we all hide our genuine selves from other people. In this context the final cut is full of double meaning from suicide to the cutting away of all external pretence to reveal one’s “dark side”. And yet “if I show you my dark side, will you still hold me tonight?” is the age-old question Waters considers in this heavy but moving song.

My Video Summary

If you click on the Playlist Video for Week 25 (top right of this page) you will be taken to a single video which allows you to play each song in this week's list one after the other. Alternatively, if you watch my own video summary below of this week's songs at the end of the video two playlist links will appear. The one on the left hand side will take you to the video playlist for this week while the one on the right will take you to a single video playlist that allows you to play the complete Covid Island Discs collection for all the currently completed weeks so far — well over 200 songs and counting!