(written by Roger Waters)
Lyrics:
Wooo! Yeah! Whoa!
I was standing by the Nile
When I saw the lady smile
I would take her out for a while
For a while
Light tears wept like a child
How her golden hair was blowing wild
Then she spread her wings to fly
For to fly
Soaring high above the breezes
Going always where she pleases
She will make it to the island in the sun
I will follow in her shadow
As I watch her from my window
One day I will catch her eye
She is calling from the deep
Summoning my soul to endless sleep
She is bound to drag me down
Drag me down
Yeah! Oh my God!
Oh, yeah! Yeah!
Yeah!
Yeah, hey! Yeah!
The Floyd's first venture into the arena of 'heavy metal,' this is a fun song (when taken in a satiric way) featuring power chords and shouting vocals from Dave, but interestingly enough, written by Roger. This helped to provide the inspiration for Young Lust on The Wall many years later. This piece was re-released on the Relics compilation in 1971.
The Nile Song seems to be a tribute to an unknown (and probably unknowable) woman, a golden and unreachable goddess with the characteristics of a siren: 'she is bound to drag me down.' The song is featured in the party scene early in the film when the main characters, Stefan and Estelle, first meet. It is an edit of the album cut.
TRACK LISTING
Cirrus MinorNile Song, The
Crying Song
Up the Khyber
Green is the Colour
Cymbaline
Party Sequence
Main Theme
Ibiza Bar
More Blues
Quicksilver
Spanish Piece, A
Dramatic Theme
Having heard it for the first time when I watched the film, I've always understood it as an allegory comparing heroin rush to love at first sight(wich we call « coup de foudre » in french, literally « thunderbolt strike »)
ReplyDeleteI’d like to say, as an Egyptian there’s a folk tale about a siren “the caller” who disguises as very beautiful and calls upon men in order for her to drag them with her in the Nile so they would become her slaves or worse kill them. She looks beautiful then transforms. I think that’s something else they thought of.
DeleteI'm flabbergasted that nobody has brought this up before. Could you point us to a site that refers to this tale?
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