Not Now John
Encyclopedia
"Not Now John" is a song from Pink Floyd
's 1983
album, The Final Cut
. The track is the only song from the album featuring the vocals of David Gilmour
, found in the verses, with Roger Waters
singing the refrains and interludes. (All other tracks from the album are sung solely by Roger Waters.) The song was released as a single in modified form, with the word "fuck
" obscured. The song was also the only official single released from the album.
, deal with war (particularly the Falklands War
) and criticism of UK Prime Minister
Margaret Thatcher
, as well as general criticisms of the greed and corruption
that Waters saw as dangers to society
. It also shows the corruptible and fruitless labor of post-war America, Europe and Japan. The wording is such that it mainly tells of the changing of global trade and that a new leader is emerging in the consumer goods industry, Japan.
Despite the political content of the album and the specific references in other songs to public figures of the time, the "John" of the title is not intended to refer to any particular person named John. It is being used in the British colloquial sense, where "John" can be employed in the same way as "mate", "pal" or "Guv" to refer to anyone to whom one is speaking, particularly if the speaker does not know their name. At the time, this usage of "John" as a general means of address to others would have been particularly associated with blue-collar worker
s, who were the people being most strongly affected by the changes to manufacturing and trade referred to in the song.
for the song depicts a Japanese child walking through a factory searching for a soldier. The child is confronted by factory workers playing cards and geisha girls before he falls to his death from a scaffold and is discovered by a World War II veteran (played by Alex McAvoy
, who also played the schoolteacher in Pink Floyd The Wall).
style—for much of its duration. Gilmour and Waters split vocals duties, similar to the song "Comfortably Numb
" from The Wall
, and they represent different "characters" or points of view—Gilmour is the self-serving ignorant layperson while Waters is the intellectual, responsible observer of the world's woes. However, Waters sings verses associated with Gilmour's character near the end of the song. Gilmour sings the three main verses, and Waters sings the two interludes—which feature a musical reprise of "One of the Few"—as well as the lead-in to the first interlude and the outro following the second. During the demo stages of the album, the song was sung entirely by Roger Waters. Like all of the tracks on The Final Cut, "Not Now John" was written and composed entirely by Roger Waters. It is the only track on the album not to exclusively feature Waters on vocals. The interludes feature Waters' vocals and a 12-string acoustic guitar
mimicking the structure of "One of the Few"; the acoustic guitar, however, is barely audible except for the fill on each fourth bar between Waters' vocals. Also, the lead-in to the first interlude—"Can't stop, lose job, mind gone, silicon, ..."—has Waters' high-pitched singing voice double-tracked with a low-pitched spoken voice—in a similar manner to his singing on the choruses of the song "The Hero's Return".
on 3 May 1983. The words "fuck all that", which comprised the opening line of the song and were repeated several times in later verses, were overdubbed as "stuff all that" by Gilmour, Waters, and the female backing singers. (The word "fuck
" occurs in the album version seven times—six references are "fuck all that"; the seventh occurs in the outro: "Oi — where's the fucking bar, John?"—a lyric that's sung in four consecutive languages—the last time in English
.)
"The Hero's Return" was released as the B-side
, featuring an additional verse not included on the album. A 12" single
was released in the UK, featuring the two 7" tracks on side 1 and the album version of "Not Now John" on side 2. The single hit number thirty in the UK and number seven on the US Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
's 1983
1983 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1983.-January-April:*January – ZTT Records is founded.*January 8 – The UK singles chart is tabulated from this week forward by The Gallup Organization...
album, The Final Cut
The Final Cut (album)
The Final Cut is the twelfth studio album by English progressive rock group Pink Floyd. It was released in March 1983 by Harvest Records in the United Kingdom, and several weeks later by Columbia Records in the United States. A concept album, The Final Cut is the last of the band's releases to...
. The track is the only song from the album featuring the vocals of David Gilmour
David Gilmour
David Jon Gilmour, CBE, D.M. is an English rock musician and multi-instrumentalist who is best known as the guitarist, one of the lead singers and main songwriters in the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. In addition to his work with Pink Floyd, Gilmour has worked as a producer for a variety of...
, found in the verses, with Roger Waters
Roger Waters
George Roger Waters is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. He was a founding member of the progressive rock band Pink Floyd, serving as bassist and co-lead vocalist. Following the departure of bandmate Syd Barrett in 1968, Waters became the band's lyricist, principal songwriter...
singing the refrains and interludes. (All other tracks from the album are sung solely by Roger Waters.) The song was released as a single in modified form, with the word "fuck
Fuck
"Fuck" is an English word that is generally considered obscene which, in its most literal meaning, refers to the act of sexual intercourse. By extension it may be used to negatively characterize anything that can be dismissed, disdained, defiled, or destroyed."Fuck" can be used as a verb, adverb,...
" obscured. The song was also the only official single released from the album.
Meaning
The lyrics, written by Roger WatersRoger Waters
George Roger Waters is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. He was a founding member of the progressive rock band Pink Floyd, serving as bassist and co-lead vocalist. Following the departure of bandmate Syd Barrett in 1968, Waters became the band's lyricist, principal songwriter...
, deal with war (particularly the Falklands War
Falklands War
The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
) and criticism of UK Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
, as well as general criticisms of the greed and corruption
Political corruption
Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...
that Waters saw as dangers to society
Society
A society, or a human society, is a group of people related to each other through persistent relations, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or virtual territory, subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations...
. It also shows the corruptible and fruitless labor of post-war America, Europe and Japan. The wording is such that it mainly tells of the changing of global trade and that a new leader is emerging in the consumer goods industry, Japan.
Despite the political content of the album and the specific references in other songs to public figures of the time, the "John" of the title is not intended to refer to any particular person named John. It is being used in the British colloquial sense, where "John" can be employed in the same way as "mate", "pal" or "Guv" to refer to anyone to whom one is speaking, particularly if the speaker does not know their name. At the time, this usage of "John" as a general means of address to others would have been particularly associated with blue-collar worker
Blue-collar worker
A blue-collar worker is a member of the working class who performs manual labor. Blue-collar work may involve skilled or unskilled, manufacturing, mining, construction, mechanical, maintenance, technical installation and many other types of physical work...
s, who were the people being most strongly affected by the changes to manufacturing and trade referred to in the song.
Video
The music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for the song depicts a Japanese child walking through a factory searching for a soldier. The child is confronted by factory workers playing cards and geisha girls before he falls to his death from a scaffold and is discovered by a World War II veteran (played by Alex McAvoy
Alex McAvoy
Alex McAvoy was a Scottish actor, known for his role as Sunny Jim in the BBC Scotland adaptation of Neil Munro's Para Handy stories, The Vital Spark....
, who also played the schoolteacher in Pink Floyd The Wall).
Composition
Unlike the majority of other tracks on The Final Cut, "Not Now John" takes an upbeat, driving, tempo—and hard rockHard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
style—for much of its duration. Gilmour and Waters split vocals duties, similar to the song "Comfortably Numb
Comfortably Numb
"Comfortably Numb" is a song by the English rock band Pink Floyd, which first appears on the 1979 double album, The Wall. It was also released as a single in the same year with "Hey You" as the B-side. It is one of only three songs on the album for which writing credits are shared between Roger...
" from The Wall
The Wall
The Wall is the eleventh studio album by English progressive rock group Pink Floyd. Released as a double album on 30 November 1979, it was subsequently performed live with elaborate theatrical effects, and adapted into a feature film, Pink Floyd—The Wall.As with the band's previous three...
, and they represent different "characters" or points of view—Gilmour is the self-serving ignorant layperson while Waters is the intellectual, responsible observer of the world's woes. However, Waters sings verses associated with Gilmour's character near the end of the song. Gilmour sings the three main verses, and Waters sings the two interludes—which feature a musical reprise of "One of the Few"—as well as the lead-in to the first interlude and the outro following the second. During the demo stages of the album, the song was sung entirely by Roger Waters. Like all of the tracks on The Final Cut, "Not Now John" was written and composed entirely by Roger Waters. It is the only track on the album not to exclusively feature Waters on vocals. The interludes feature Waters' vocals and a 12-string acoustic guitar
Acoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
mimicking the structure of "One of the Few"; the acoustic guitar, however, is barely audible except for the fill on each fourth bar between Waters' vocals. Also, the lead-in to the first interlude—"Can't stop, lose job, mind gone, silicon, ..."—has Waters' high-pitched singing voice double-tracked with a low-pitched spoken voice—in a similar manner to his singing on the choruses of the song "The Hero's Return".
Single
"Not Now John" was released as a singleSingle (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
on 3 May 1983. The words "fuck all that", which comprised the opening line of the song and were repeated several times in later verses, were overdubbed as "stuff all that" by Gilmour, Waters, and the female backing singers. (The word "fuck
Fuck
"Fuck" is an English word that is generally considered obscene which, in its most literal meaning, refers to the act of sexual intercourse. By extension it may be used to negatively characterize anything that can be dismissed, disdained, defiled, or destroyed."Fuck" can be used as a verb, adverb,...
" occurs in the album version seven times—six references are "fuck all that"; the seventh occurs in the outro: "Oi — where's the fucking bar, John?"—a lyric that's sung in four consecutive languages—the last time in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
.)
"The Hero's Return" was released as the B-side
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
, featuring an additional verse not included on the album. A 12" single
12-inch single
The 12-inch single is a type of gramophone record that has wider groove spacing compared to other types of records. This allows for louder levels to be cut on the disc by the cutting engineer, which in turn gives a wider dynamic range, and thus better sound quality...
was released in the UK, featuring the two 7" tracks on side 1 and the album version of "Not Now John" on side 2. The single hit number thirty in the UK and number seven on the US Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.
- "Not Now John" (single version) — 4:12
- "The Hero's Return (Parts I and II)" — 4:02
- "Not Now John" (album version) — 4:56 (12" single only)
Personnel
- Roger WatersRoger WatersGeorge Roger Waters is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. He was a founding member of the progressive rock band Pink Floyd, serving as bassist and co-lead vocalist. Following the departure of bandmate Syd Barrett in 1968, Waters became the band's lyricist, principal songwriter...
— lead vocals, bass guitar, tapes, synthesizer - David GilmourDavid GilmourDavid Jon Gilmour, CBE, D.M. is an English rock musician and multi-instrumentalist who is best known as the guitarist, one of the lead singers and main songwriters in the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. In addition to his work with Pink Floyd, Gilmour has worked as a producer for a variety of...
— lead vocals, guitars - Nick MasonNick MasonNicholas Berkeley "Nick" Mason is an English drummer and songwriter, best known for his work with Pink Floyd. He was the only constant member of the band since its formation in 1965...
— drums - Andy BownAndy BownAndy Bown is an English musician, who has specialised in keyboards and bass guitar. He is a member of the rock band Status Quo.-Career:...
— Hammond organ