...to "The Pink Floyd Story". Everyone, at least those of us who are true fans, knows that Roger Waters, the lyrical genius behind most of the
Floyd's greatest songs, wrote the bulk of his music in tribute to his father, Eric Fletcher Waters, who was killed in WWII in January 1944 during the
battle for the Anzio Beachhead just months after Roger was born. His entire battalion, The Royal Fusiliers Company C, was wiped out. That was the
foundation for both The Wall (To chronicle Roger's continuing struggles with his father's death) and The Final Cut albums. The musical soliloquay
"When the Tigers Broke Free" provided both the starting point for the Movie The Wall and the pathway to the Album The Final Cut, which was written
and dedicated to his father's memory.
PINK FLOYD - When The Tigers Broke Free Lyrics
It was just before dawn
One miserable morning in black 'forty four.
When the forward commander
Was told to sit tight
When he asked that his men be withdrawn.
And the Generals gave thanks
As the other ranks held back
The enemy tanks for a while.
And the Anzio bridgehead
Was held for the price
Of a few hundred ordinary lives.
And old King George
Sent Mother a note
When he heard that father was gone.
It was, I recall,
In the form of a scroll,
With gold leaf and all.
And I found it one day
In a drawer of old photographs, hidden away.
And my eyes still grow damp to remember
His Majesty signed
With his own rubber stamp.
It was dark all around.
There was frost in the ground
When the tigers broke free.
And no one survived
From the Royal Fusiliers Company C.
They were all left behind,
Most of them dead,
The rest of them dying.
And that's how the High Command
Took my daddy from me.
For a detailed account of that bloody battle, visit:
www.army.mil... and
www.everything2.com...
Understanding this bit of history illuminates much of Pink Floyd's philosophical views of the world, life and our internal struggles.