Nobody Home

"Nobody Home"
Song by Pink Floyd from the album The Wall
Released	30 November 1979 (UK), 8 December 1979 (US)
Recorded	April–November, 1979
Genre	Soft rock, art rock
Length	3:26
Label	Harvest Records (UK) Columbia Records (US)/Capitol Records (US)
Writer	Waters
Producer	Bob Ezrin, David Gilmour, James Guthrie and Roger Waters
The Wall track listing
"Is There Anybody Out There?" (2 of disc 2) "Nobody Home" (3 of disc 2) "Vera" (4 of disc 2)

"Nobody Home" is a song from the Pink Floyd album The Wall.^[1][2]

Overview

In the song, the character Pink describes his lonely life of isolation behind his self-created mental wall. He has no one to talk to, and all he has are his possessions. The song describes what Roger Waters says he experienced during the band's 1977 tour, the band's first major stadium tour. Additionally, the song contains some references to founding Pink Floyd member, Syd Barrett. The song was written after an argument between Gilmour, Waters, and co-producer Bob Ezrin during production of The Wall in which Gilmour and Ezrin challenged Waters to come up with one more song for the album. Waters then wrote "Nobody Home" and returned to the studio two days later to present it to the band. It was the last song written for The Wall. On the 30th anniversary of The Wall episode of the US radio show In the Studio with Redbeard, David Gilmour revealed that "Nobody Home" was one of his favorite songs from the album.

The song also has some references to Pink's broken relationship with his adulterous wife. He contemplates calling her, but doesn't because he has "amazing powers of observation" and knows that she won't answer because he feels she no longer loves him. It is played in a manner that is reminiscent of a piano player in a bar.

A television playing in the background is frequently heard, including the line, "Surprise! Surprise, Surprise!" from Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. This recalls the line:

I got thirteen channels of shit on the TV to choose from

Much of the song describes Syd Barrett's fragile mental state during 1967. In the documentary "Behind The Wall", Gilmour states that it describes the state of mind of many rockstars while on tour. However, the lyrics

I got nicotine stains on my fingers
I got a silver spoon on a chain
Got a grand piano to prop up my mortal remains

are said to have been written specifically about Floyd's pianist Richard Wright, who was allegedly struggling with cocaine addiction at the time.^[3]

The song tails off quietly with an abortive final verse, starting off in the same manner as the previous verses but only two lines long:

I got a pair of Gohill's boots
and I've got, fading roots

Personnel

• Roger Waters — vocals, VCS3^[4]
• David Gilmour — bass guitar^[4]
• Richard Wright — Prophet-5 synthesiser^[4]
• Bob Ezrin — piano^[4]
• New York Orchestra — strings and brass section^[4]

Cover versions

• An orchestrated version, arranged by Jaz Coleman and performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Peter Scholes, appears on the 1995 instrumental album Us and Them: Symphonic Pink Floyd.
• On Metric's 2009 album Fantasies, one of the pre-order bonus tracks was James Shaw performing a piano-only version of the song.^{[citation needed]}
• On the tribute album Back Against the Wall, the track is performed by Rick Wakeman.^[5]

Bibliography

• Fitch, Vernon; Richard Mahon (2006). Comfortably Numb: A History of The Wall 1978–1981.
• Fitch, Vernon (2005). The Pink Floyd Encyclopedia (3rd edition). ISBN 1-894959-24-8.

References

1. ^ Strong, Martin C. (2004). The Great Rock Discography (7th ed.). Edinburgh: Canongate Books. p. 1177. ISBN 1-84195-551-5. 
2. ^ Mabbett, Andy (1995). The Complete Guide to the Music of Pink Floyd. London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-4301-X. 
3. ^ Nicholas Schaffner, A Saucerful of Secrets — The Pink Floyd Odyssey, 3rd edition, p. 219.
4. ^ ^{a b c d e} Fitch and Mahon, p. 94.
5. ^ Pink Floyd's The Wall tribute, The Rock Radio, 2005.