If

If  4:29
     (written by Roger Waters)

Lyrics:
If I were a swan, I'd be gone
If I were a train, I'd be late
And if I were a good man,
I'd talk with you more often than I do

If I were asleep, I could dream
If I were afraid, I could hide
If I go insane
Please don't put your wires in my brain

If I were the moon, I'd be cool
If I were a rule, I would bend
If I were a good man
I'd understand the spaces between friends

If I were alone, I would cry
And if I were with you, I'd be home and dry
And if I go insane, will you still let me join in with the game?

If I were a swan, I'd be gone
If I were a train, I'd be late again
If I were a good man, I'd talk with you more often than I do

A beautiful song, and though it is only one of many acoustic pieces Roger has written, it somehow seems unusually gentle for him. Perhaps this is because the lyrics seem straight from the heart, expressing regret over some of the difficult aspects of his character which may cause others pain, making Roger think he may not be a good man, and yet accepting that at the same time.

Ron Geesin: "What makes art, what makes creativity? It's a sort of imbalance, I think. Roger had a need for acceptance and applause — the egocentric — and then a need to repel the very applause that's coming. I even experienced that as a close friend, where sometimes I'd turn up at his house, having made arrangements to get together at a certain time, and he'd be going off to a squash match. To me, that was calculating. It was like saying, 'Come to my castle,' and then when you get there you get a bucket of hot oil, or a cannonball. With Roger, I learned to live with that switch between closeness and farness. If shows more of the real Roger than all that bloody political shouting his head off. Far more important than the Floyd's great astral wanderings. The line 'If I were a good man I'd understand the spaces between friends' — that's the essence of the man."

Roger sings and probably plays acoustic guitar in this song. Dave plays an understated electric guitar with lots of reverb in the bridge.

TRACK LISTING
Atom Heart Mother
If
Summer '68
Fat Old Sun
Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast