I have a favorite band of all time, Pink Floyd. I believe I have spoken of them in the past. They are a love that I have carried with me from my past. Most bands I have loved in the past, I have been able to let go of. Pink Floyd on the other hand is beloved by many and is continually played here, there, and everywhere. I can’t exactly leave or turn away in every setting. As a result, I listen occasionally.
I have noticed when things have gone south for me in my life, it seems to always be accompanied by listening to Pink Floyd. They are psychedelic band from the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s. I have lots of memories of listening to their music while tripping. Which is probably why they are so bad for me. They open doors that were closed. They speak words that are in a way strange and unrecognizable to everyone. They conjure up memories of my past. It’s not even that, I have often felt there are a few of their songs that are clearly anti-God.
Their song “Time,” off of the “Dark Side of the Moon” album, I consider to be the anthem of my past. The line “And then one day you find, Ten years have got behind you. No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun” is emblematic of all that was lost when I became captive to drugs. I have wept at times dwelling upon the years and opportunities that slipped by as I sat at the starting line, never hearing the gun signal that a race had begun. Not to mention the time it took to think normal again.
Flashback, I remember when I ran cross country in High School, years before all of this. I would sit and mediate running my races. The idea was to imagine yourself running and winning a race. I did this countless times. Do you know what my memories are of this? Every time I tried to visualize this, the faster I ran, the more I fell backward. It was always as though the forces against me were so strong that I could not move, I could not lean into it, and I could not power past it. I can still visualize it in my mind with the harder I dig my foot in, falling backward. Instead of breaking free and winning the race. It was the strangest thing. Looking back on life I have often wondered if God was trying to tell me about my future, or maybe warn me about it. Surely, what I did was the equivalent of never moving forward and landing on my back. And, never winning the race. This may also by why that line effects me so much.
What causes me to talk about Pink Floyd today? Well, this last week I found myself driving in the car one day with Robbie. We were toggling through radio stations looking for something to listen to. We came across the song “Comfortably Numb” by Pink Floyd. We started listening to the song per my suggestion. About 1/2 way through the song, Robbie turns to me and says dad, this song is about drugs. He is 12. How would he ever know?
These are the lyrics we listened to were:
There is no pain you are receding
A distant ship smoke on the horizon
You are only coming through in waves
Your lips move but I can’t hear what you’re saying
When I was a child I had a fever
My hands felt just like two balloons
Now I’ve got that feeling once again
I can’t explain you would not understand
This is not how I am
I have become comfortably numb
I have become comfortably numbOkay (okay, okay, okay) [This entire section is about drugs, either by yourself or being given to you]
Pink Floyd – Comfortably Numb
Just a little pinprick
There’ll be no more, ah
But you may feel a little sick
Can you stand up?
I do believe it’s working, good
That’ll keep you going through the show
Come on it’s time to go
It was in the middle of that second, “Can you stand up? I believe it’s working, good…” that Robbie told me it was about drugs. I thought for a moment. My first thought was; it was on the radio. My second thought was; he’ll live. My third thought was; I should set a better example for my son. Then I turned it off.
The next day, I was driving with Isaiah. Another Pink Floyd song came on. We listened to the last half of the song. To our surprise, a second song started after the first. That second son was Run Like Hell:
Run, run, run, run
Run, run, run, run
Run, run, run, run
Run, run, run, runYou better make your face up with your favorite disguise
Run Like Hell – Pink Floyd
With your button down lips and your roller blind eyes
With your empty smile and your hungry heart
Feel the bile rising from your guilty past
With your nerves in tatters as the cockleshell shatters
And the hammers batter down your door
You better run
If you have never heard the song, it feels dark as though something is chasing you. The vocals are rough and aggressive. It’s almost like a violent gang roaming the streets. I turned over to my son, who has been on these psychotic meds for this mental breakdown he had. The kid looked stoned and as though the song was physically affecting him. I had to take a second look. He turned to me and asked, “Dad, can you please change the song.” I did not hesitate and immediately changed it.
I can be a better dad and a better example.
Since I brought up the subject, I would like to address a few other things about Pink Floyd. I’m sure there is some satire in these lyrics but there are also some pretty blunt statements about God and humanity. In my mind, it is an incredibly well-written ballad.
I lived this life where I followed the religion of nature. So often they feel they are more giving, more compassionate, more tolerant than those who follow traditional Christianity. But they are not. More often than not, as I witnessed in my youth, their hearts are rooted in pride and self-indulgence. The memorizing mystical powers obtainable by a flame, are believed to have more power than God in heaven. There is self-righteousness and often acts of charity or generosity are expected to be reciprocated.
If you pay attention you will see similar patterns outlined by Nephi. There is opposition in all things. There are counters to every balance. I think there are many parallels in these lyrics. Honestly, it is unfortunate that a song so beautiful was not written to draw people to God.
On the turning away
From the pale and downtrodden
And the words they say
Which we won’t understandDon’t accept that what’s happening
Is just a case of others’ suffering
Or you’ll find that you’re joining in
The turning awayIt’s a sin that somehow
Light is changing to shadow
And casting its shroud
Over all we have knownUnaware how the ranks have grown
Driven on by a heart of stone
We could find that we’re all alone
In the dream of the proudOn the wings of the night
As the daytime is stirring
Where the speechless unite in a silent accordUsing words, you will find, are strange
Mesmerised as they light the flame
Feel the new wind of change
On the wings of the nightNo more turning away
From the weak and the weary
No more turning away
From the coldness insideJust a world that we all must share
Pink Floyd – On the Turning Away
It’s not enough just to stand and stare
Is it only a dream that there’ll be
No more turning away?