High Hopes

Beyond the horizon of the place we lived when we were young
In a world of magnets and miracles
Our thoughts strayed constantly and without boundary
The ringing of the division bell had begun

Along the Long Road and on down the Causeway
Do they still meet there by the Cut?

There was a ragged band that followed in our footsteps
Running before times took our dreams away
Leaving the myriad small creatures trying to tie us to the ground
To a life consumed by slow decay

The grass was greener
The light was brighter
When friends surrounded
The nights of wonder

Looking beyond the embers of bridges glowing behind us
To a glimpse of how green it was on the other side
Steps taken forwards but sleepwalking back again
Dragged by the force of some inner tide

At a higher altitude with flag unfurled
We reached the dizzy heights of that dreamed of world

Encumbered forever by desire and ambition
There's a hunger still unsatisfied
Our weary eyes still stray to the horizon
Though down this road we've been so many times

The grass was greener
The light was brighter
The taste was sweeter
The nights of wonder
With friends surrounded
The dawn mist glowing
The water flowing
The endless river

Forever and ever

- Pink Floyd (1994)

As far as songs go, this one happens to be my favorite Pink Floyd song. It also has the honor of being on my list of all time favorites. David Gilmour was a master of creating moods with his guitar, and to me this song was the pinnacle of his creative genius. It's just too bad he couldn't translate that to a decent solo career, but I digress...

This song is about memories. I'm not talking about the utter nonsense we hear on the radio like Nickleback's "Photograph" or "Summer of '69" by Bryan Adams (note - both songs make my stomach turn and if I never hear either one ever again it will be too soon). This goes deeper into the emotions we feel now versus what we felt then. There is a yearning to return to the days when the grass was greener, the light was brighter. But the bridges have been burned. And as he looks back, life moves inexorably forward. The ultimate sadness is that even as he looks forward, he can only see what was in his past.

Who hasn't looked back? Back then it was a simpler time with a simpler truth. We knew what we knew and what we didn't know didn't really matter one bit. We think those days are going to last forever but time has a way of changing the dynamic. Whether it is a traumatic event or a subtle change over a period, nothing stays the same. The hard part is trying to stay focused on what's ahead of us in the journey, something here the singer is not able to accomplish.

Given that David Gilmour was probably in his mid-40's at the recording of this song, it could be argued that maybe he was venting out his own mid-life crisis. When taken into context with the rest of the album (with several seemingly direct attacks on a former Pink Floyd member), he could be recalling the glory days of the band. Whatever the motivation behind the lyrics, they are a powerful reminder of how strongly we are affected by our own personal histories and how we sometimes long to be back in those places. I myself have felt this longing more than once. Sometimes the longing is overwhelming but somehow I move forward. The funny part is I'm nowhere close to my mid-life crisis.

I'm sure the departure from metal is a welcome surprise to Mardi. So tell us, Mardi, what do you feel when you hear this song?