Waiting for the Worms
Encyclopedia
"Waiting for the Worms" (working title "Follow the Worms") is a song from the 1979 Pink Floyd
album The Wall
. It is preceded by "Run Like Hell
" and followed by "Stop
".
dictator
who spreads hatred, with the promise that his followers would see "Britannia rule again" and "send our coloured cousins home again," and announces he is "waiting to turn on the showers and fire the ovens." The count-in is Eins, zwei, drei, Alle — German
for "one, two, three, everybody". In the beginning and end the crowd chants "Hammer", a word that is a recurring theme on The Wall, particularly in the film.
The song is quite strident but starts out quietly, then at 1:21 a voice yelling from a megaphone starts providing a commentary-like speech, and continues at 1:26, where the song proceeds into a very heavy section. For the rest of the song it switches back and forth from heavy to calm, the different voices coming in at different times, until the very end where the voice from the megaphone begins very desperate calls and the music and the crowd's chanting grows louder, making the voice incomprehensible. In the film version, it goes to an animated sequence with marching hammers. Also, at some points a riff from "Another Brick in the Wall
" can be heard.
") running over a rag doll replica of Pink. He then shouts through a megaphone while his followers march through the street. Following the images of the fascist crowd, the screaming head and a fascist breaking a man's skull from "What Shall We Do Now?
", a dog biting meat off a hook then consumed by a larger one (from the Animals tour), and the famous goose-stepping hammer sequence, we see Pink yell "Stop
".
Later concerts, performed by Waters after his departure from the band, featured a similar scene. Backing singers provided Gilmour's lines, and most memorably in the 2010-2012 tour of The Wall, the song ended with the marching hammers filling the entire wall.
plays briefly, the sky goes dark grey, a symbol of evil
. The scene scrolls down to reveal London
being enveloped in darkness as "Would you like to see..." and the rest of the verse is sung. Then, an abandoned tricycle is shown, as "Would you like to send..." and the rest of that verse is sung. An abandoned playground is shown as the final verse is sung. Then a viaduct appears, where something is goose-stepping. At long last it is revealed to us that the objects on the hill, what possibly scared the children and what was under the viaduct, are marching hammers. As the fascist dictator shows increasing desperation, louder and angrier, there is a whip pan
in to the hammers, and as the camera pans there is a sudden, loud, abrupt instrumental sound, which is quickly replaced by a piano. The animation stops, as the audience is taken into "Stop
".
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...
album 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...
. It is preceded by "Run Like Hell
Run Like Hell
"Run Like Hell" is a song from the 1979 Pink Floyd album The Wall.-Overview:The song is written from the point of view of anti-hero Pink during a hallucination in which he becomes a fascist dictator and turns a concert audience into an angry mob...
" and followed by "Stop
Stop (Pink Floyd song)
"Stop" is a song from the 1979 Pink Floyd album, The Wall. It was written by Roger Waters.-Overview:Pink is tired of his life as a fascist dictator and the hallucination ends. He is also tired of 'The Wall', accordingly he devolves into his own mind and puts himself on trial...
".
Overview
At this point in the album, story protagonist, Pink, has lost all hope and has let bad ideas, the "worms", control his thoughts. In his hallucination, he is a fascistFascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
dictator
Dictator
A dictator is a ruler who assumes sole and absolute power but without hereditary ascension such as an absolute monarch. When other states call the head of state of a particular state a dictator, that state is called a dictatorship...
who spreads hatred, with the promise that his followers would see "Britannia rule again" and "send our coloured cousins home again," and announces he is "waiting to turn on the showers and fire the ovens." The count-in is Eins, zwei, drei, Alle — German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
for "one, two, three, everybody". In the beginning and end the crowd chants "Hammer", a word that is a recurring theme on The Wall, particularly in the film.
The song is quite strident but starts out quietly, then at 1:21 a voice yelling from a megaphone starts providing a commentary-like speech, and continues at 1:26, where the song proceeds into a very heavy section. For the rest of the song it switches back and forth from heavy to calm, the different voices coming in at different times, until the very end where the voice from the megaphone begins very desperate calls and the music and the crowd's chanting grows louder, making the voice incomprehensible. In the film version, it goes to an animated sequence with marching hammers. Also, at some points a riff from "Another Brick in the Wall
Another Brick in the Wall
"Another Brick in the Wall" is the title of three songs set to variations of the same basic theme, on Pink Floyd's 1979 rock opera, The Wall, subtitled Part 1 , Part 2 , and Part 3...
" can be heard.
Film version
The imagery features a cartoon segment with some teenagers (the same ones from "In the Flesh?In the Flesh?
"In the Flesh?" is a song by Pink Floyd. It was released on The Wall album in 1979. The title is a reference to the band's 1977 "In the Flesh" tour, during which bassist and songwriter Roger Waters, in frustration, spat at a fan attempting to climb the fence separating the band from the crowd "In...
") running over a rag doll replica of Pink. He then shouts through a megaphone while his followers march through the street. Following the images of the fascist crowd, the screaming head and a fascist breaking a man's skull from "What Shall We Do Now?
What Shall We Do Now?
"What Shall We Do Now?" is a song by Pink Floyd, written by Roger Waters.It was originally intended to be on their 1979 album The Wall, and appeared in demo versions of The Wall, but was omitted due to the time restraints of the vinyl format...
", a dog biting meat off a hook then consumed by a larger one (from the Animals tour), and the famous goose-stepping hammer sequence, we see Pink yell "Stop
Stop (Pink Floyd song)
"Stop" is a song from the 1979 Pink Floyd album, The Wall. It was written by Roger Waters.-Overview:Pink is tired of his life as a fascist dictator and the hallucination ends. He is also tired of 'The Wall', accordingly he devolves into his own mind and puts himself on trial...
".
Concerts
In the concerts of The Wall, a member of Pink Floyd, often Waters, would wear a dictator uniform. Gilmour would provide the high pitched "Ooooh, you cannot reach me now, ooooooh!" The song would build up until the lights extinguish in preparation to introduce the "Pink puppet" that sings "Stop". The marching hammers animation would be displayed on a circular screen above the stage during concerts.Later concerts, performed by Waters after his departure from the band, featured a similar scene. Backing singers provided Gilmour's lines, and most memorably in the 2010-2012 tour of The Wall, the song ended with the marching hammers filling the entire wall.
Animation
The full, uncut animation shown at the concert begins with a cartoon image of a hill. On top of the hill are indistinct objects, moving. Suddenly, as the guitar leitmotifLeitmotif
A leitmotif , sometimes written leit-motif, is a musical term , referring to a recurring theme, associated with a particular person, place, or idea. It is closely related to the musical idea of idée fixe...
plays briefly, the sky goes dark grey, a symbol of evil
Evil
Evil is the violation of, or intent to violate, some moral code. Evil is usually seen as the dualistic opposite of good. Definitions of evil vary along with analysis of its root motive causes, however general actions commonly considered evil include: conscious and deliberate wrongdoing,...
. The scene scrolls down to reveal London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
being enveloped in darkness as "Would you like to see..." and the rest of the verse is sung. Then, an abandoned tricycle is shown, as "Would you like to send..." and the rest of that verse is sung. An abandoned playground is shown as the final verse is sung. Then a viaduct appears, where something is goose-stepping. At long last it is revealed to us that the objects on the hill, what possibly scared the children and what was under the viaduct, are marching hammers. As the fascist dictator shows increasing desperation, louder and angrier, there is a whip pan
Whip pan
A whip pan is a type of pan shot in which the camera moves sideways so quickly that the picture blurs into indistinct streaks. It is commonly used as a transition between shots, and can indicate the passage of time and/or a frenetic pace of action....
in to the hammers, and as the camera pans there is a sudden, loud, abrupt instrumental sound, which is quickly replaced by a piano. The animation stops, as the audience is taken into "Stop
Stop (Pink Floyd song)
"Stop" is a song from the 1979 Pink Floyd album, The Wall. It was written by Roger Waters.-Overview:Pink is tired of his life as a fascist dictator and the hallucination ends. He is also tired of 'The Wall', accordingly he devolves into his own mind and puts himself on trial...
".
Reaction
- Jorge Sacido Romero and Luis Miguel Varela Cabo opined that "Waiting for the Worms" represented Waters' fears of a "potential ideological drift towards an ultranationalist, imperialist and racist stand that calls for the resurrection of a Britannia that is both pure and almighty."
- In 2010, Dublin band Twinkranes covered the song for a MojoMojo (magazine)MOJO is a popular music magazine published initially by Emap, and since January 2008 by Bauer, monthly in the United Kingdom. Following the success of the magazine Q, publishers Emap were looking for a title which would cater for the burgeoning interest in classic rock music...
magazine tribute album.
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...
— EMS VCS 3EMS VCS 3The VCS 3 is a portable analog synthesiser with a flexible semi-modular voice architecture, by Electronic Music Studios Limited in 1969....
, lead and backing vocals, megaphone vocals - 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 - Richard WrightRichard Wright (musician)Richard William Wright was an English pianist, keyboardist and songwriter, best known for his career with Pink Floyd. Wright's richly textured keyboard layers were a vital ingredient and a distinctive characteristic of Pink Floyd's sound...
— organ - 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, backing vocals (intro), laughter, guitars, bass guitar Prophet-5 synthesiser - Bruce JohnstonBruce JohnstonBruce Arthur Johnston is a member of The Beach Boys and a songwriter, remembered especially for composing "I Write the Songs". Johnston was not one of the original members of the band...
— backing vocals - Bob EzrinBob EzrinRobert Alan "Bob" Ezrin is a Canadian music producer and keyboardist, known for his work with artists including Alice Cooper, Kiss and Pink Floyd. He was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2004.-Biography:...
— piano, backing vocals (intro) - Joe Chemay — backing vocals
- Stan Farber — backing vocals
- Jim Haas — backing vocals
- John Joyce — backing vocals
- Toni TennilleToni TennilleCathryn Antoinette "Toni" Tennille is one-half of the 1970s Grammy Award-winning duo Captain & Tennille. Tennille has also done musical work independently of her husband Daryl Dragon. Tennille has a contralto vocal range.-Biography:...
— backing vocals
Further reading
- Fitch, Vernon. The Pink Floyd Encyclopedia (3rd edition), 2005. ISBN 1-894959-24-8.