 | |
| B-side | "Time" |
| Released | March 1, 1973(album) February 4, 1974(single) |
| Recorded | June 1, 1972 - January 9, 1973 |
| Genres | Progressive rock • jazz fusion |
| Studio | Abbey Road Studios |
| Length | 7:49(album) 3:15(single) 7:51("Echoes" version) |
| Label | Harvest |
| Vocalists | David Gilmour • Richard Wright |
| Songwriters | Roger Waters • Richard Wright |
| Producers | Pink Floyd |
Info:
- "Us And Them" is quiet in tone and dynamic. It has two sax solos, one at the start and one at the end. Richard introduces the song with harmonies on his Hammond and put a piano chordal backing and short piano solo afterwards. The verses have a uniquely jazz-influenced chord sequence: Dsus2, D6(add9), D minor major 7,(or Faug/D) and G (with D in the bass, sustained as a pedal point throughout). The D6 with an added 9th is not unlike an Esus2 with a D in the bass, but because the bass line also provides the fifth, it's more accurately described as a kind of D chord. The D minor with a major seventh is rare in 70's rock. There's a break in the middle of the song in which the roadie Roger "The Hat" Manifold says this: "Well I mean, they're gonna kill ya, so like, if you give 'em a quick sh...short, sharp, shock, they don't do it again. Dig it? I mean he got off light, 'cause I coulda given 'im a thrashin', I only hit him once. It's only the difference between right and wrong innit? I mean good manners don't cost nothing do they, eh?"
- This song was made by changing an earlier Richard Wright song called Violent Sequence which was surprisingly unused previously.
Pink Floyd - "Us And Them"
- This describes society's tendency of ethnocentrism and isolation in cases of war, politics, and class. It's a description of the battle of the citizens' desires and the government. Some believe it's influenced by the death of Roger's father, Eric Fletcher Waters in Anzio during World War II, and created by the fact that the song is slow and jazzy.
- When Chris Thomas came in, he made a significant change by adding and perfectly timing the echo used in this song. The vocals are spread out to allow room for this.
| Credits | Chronology |