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High Hopes (Pink Floyd song)
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Wikipedia article
{{Infobox song
| name = High Hopes
| cover = highhopes.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Pink Floyd
| album = The Division Bell
| B-side =
| released = 17 October 1994
| recorded = January December 1993
| studio = Astoria, London
| genre = Progressive rock
| length =
| label =
| writer =
| producer =
| prev_title = Take It Back
| prev_year = 1994
| next_title = Wish You Were Here (Live)
| next_year = 1995
| misc =
}}
"'High Hopes'" is a song by English rock band Pink Floyd, composed by guitarist David Gilmour with lyrics by Gilmour and Polly Samson. It is the closing track on their fourteenth studio album, 'The Division Bell' (1994); it was released as the second single from the album on 17 October 1994. An accompanying music video was made for the song and was directed by Storm Thorgerson.
Douglas Adams, a friend of Gilmour, chose the title for 'The Division Bell' from one verse in this song. Live versions are featured on Pink Floyd's 'Pulse', as well as Gilmour's 'In Concert', 'Remember That Night', 'Live in Gdask' and 'Live at Pompeii' releases. On 'Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd', a somewhat shortened version of the song segues into Syd Barrett's "Bike". The segue is accomplished by cutting from the church bell at the end of "High Hopes" to a new bicycle bell sound effect before "Bike" begins. A 7-inch vinyl version of the single was released on a transparent record.
A demo recording of the song appeared on the 2018 box set 'The Later Years' and was released as one of the preview tracks. Unlike the album version, this features the final solo played on a regular electric guitar instead of a lapsteel.
This song would be the last original recording of Pink Floyd until 2022's "Hey, Hey, Rise Up!"
Composition
The song is mostly in the key of C minor, and features the sound of a church bell chiming a 'C' throughout, except for a short section in the middle where the song briefly modulates into E minor for a guitar solo. The bell was taken from a sound effects record.
The lyrics refer to the band's early days in Cambridge, specifically before they started making music. It also references ex-bandmate Syd Barrett. Its lyrics speak of the things one may have gained and lost in life, written from Gilmour's autobiographic perspective. Gilmour has said that the song is more about his early days, and leaving his hometown behind, than about the seeds of division supposedly planted in Pink Floyd's early days.
The final couplet from the song ("The endless river/Forever and ever") recalls a line from the band's second single, "See Emily Play", from 1967, ("Float on a river/Forever and ever"); it inspired the name of their final studio album, 'The Endless River', released in 2014. Shortly after the song ends and the chimes fade out is a hidden track comprising a brief phone call between the band's manager Steve O'Rourke and Gilmour's son Charlie. This concludes 'The Division Bell'.
Track listings
;CD single
# "High Hopes" 8:34
# "Marooned" 5:29
;CD maxi
# "High Hopes" (radio edit) 5:16
# "Keep Talking" (radio edit) 4:55
# "One of These Days" (live) 6:57
Music video
The music video, directed by Storm Thorgerson, features a man looking over the Fens at Ely Cathedral, the same building which can be seen between the metal heads on the cover of the album. Also, the video has many references to Cambridge, where Syd Barrett, Roger Waters and David Gilmour grew up, the university scarves, bikes and punts on the river being obvious ones. In particular many scenes are set in St. John's College, including the Bridge of Sighs. Also shown is an oversized bust of Syd Barrett. It would later be used in live performances during Pink Floyd's 1994 Division Bell Tour and seen on the PULSE video.
Personnel
;'The Division Bell'
*David Gilmour lead and backing vocals, bass guitar, classical guitar and lap steel guitars
*Richard Wright Kurzweil synthesisers
*Nick Mason drums, tambourine
with:
*Jon Carin piano
*Michael Kamen orchestrations
*Edward Shearmur orchestrations
;'Pulse'
*David Gilmour lead vocals, classical guitar and lap steel guitars
*Richard Wright Kurzweil synthesisers, Hammond Organ
*Nick Mason drums, gong
with:
*Jon Carin piano, keyboards, additional and backing vocals
*Guy Pratt bass, backing vocals
*Tim Renwick classical guitar
*Gary Wallis percussion, church bell, drum kit
*Sam Brown backing vocals
*Claudia Fontaine backing vocals
*Durga McBroom backing vocals
Cover versions
*The song was covered by Shark 'n the Smoke on the 2003 tribute album 'A Fair Forgery of Pink Floyd'.
*The song was covered by Nightwish who released two different live versions; one on the compilation album 'Highest Hopes: The Best of Nightwish' and another one on the live DVD 'End of an Era'.
*The song was covered by Gregorian for their album 'Masters of Chant Chapter IV'.
*The song was covered by the German band Sylvan in 2000 for the album 'Signs of Life A Tribute to Pink Floyd'.
*The song was covered by the French power metal band Karelia in 2005 for the album 'Raise'.
*The song was covered by the German Metalcore band Caliban in 2012 for the deluxe version of 'I Am Nemesis'.
*The song was covered by the Scottish vocalist Ray Wilson in 2016 for his acoustic album 'Song for a Friend'.
*The song was covered by actor, comedian and vocalist Alexander Armstrong in 2016 for his second studio album 'Upon a Different Shore'.
*The song was covered by French neofolk group SKLD in 2019 for the 'Alfar Fagrahvl' edition of their album 'Vikings Chant'.
Charts
References
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