Nobody Home

Nobody Home 3:26
     (written by Roger Waters)

Lyrics:
TV:
No, but this Rose, I mean who is she?
She was Fifth Armoured Division in 1951...
Oh, I get the picture... how'd you get to meet her?

I've got a little black book with my poems in (echoed)
Got a bag, got a toothbrush and a comb in (echoed)
When I'm a good dog
They sometimes throw me a bone in (echoed)
I got elastic bands keeping my shoes on (echoed)
Got those swollen hand blues (echoed)
I got thirteen channels of shit
On the TV to choose from (echoed)
I got electric light
And I got second sight
I got amazing powers of observation
And that is how I know
When I try to get through
On the telephone to you      

All right men, let's go. I'll get you...

There'll be nobody home

I got the obligatory Hendrix perm
And the inevitable pinhole burns
All down the front of my favorite satin shirt
I got nicotine stains on my fingers
I got a silver spoon on a chain
Got a grand piano to prop up my mortal remains
I got wild, staring eyes
And I got a strong urge to fly
But I got nowhere to fly to (echoed)
Oh, babe, when I pick up the phone

Surprise, surprise, surprise! ...Pyle!
There's still nobody home
Sergeant, looks like we're gonna be sharin' the same...

I got a pair of Gohills boots
And I got fading roots

Where the hell are you? 
Where the hell are you Tyler?
Over 47 German planes were destroyed,
with the loss of only 15 of our own aircraft.

The character now submits himself to a sad self-examination, a summing-up of his perceivable characteristics. This is an opportunity for Roger to include references to many people he has known throughout the years. References are made to Syd Barrett, such as the Hendrix perm and the Gohills boots (Gohills ankle boots were standard fashion accessories in late 60's London).

The line about the grand piano is apparently a reference to delicate Rick Wright, who (according to Roger) was too 'burnt out' at the time of the album to make more than a token showing. Other lines are simply references to many older rock stars in general (such as 'silver spoon' — Roger himself did not use cocaine).

Roger Waters: "There are some good lines in here that harp back to the halcyon days of Syd Barrett, it's partly about all kinds of people I've known, but Syd was the only person I used to know who used elastic bands to keep his boots together, which is where that line comes from, in fact the 'obligatory Hendrix perm' you have to go back ten years before you understand what all that's about."

At the end of the song, the character makes a reference to his roots, which is a subtle lead-in to a World War II reverie that emphasises his most important 'root.'

TRACK LISTING
Disc One
In the Flesh?
Thin Ice, The
Another Brick in the Wall part 1
Happiest Days of Our Lives, The
Another Brick in the Wall part 2
Mother
Goodbye Blue Sky
Empty Spaces
Young Lust
One of My Turns
Don't Leave Me Now
Another Brick in the Wall part 3
Goodbye Cruel World
Disc Two
Hey You
Is There Anybody Out There?
Nobody Home
Vera
Bring the Boys Back Home
Comfortably Numb
Show Must Go On, The
In the Flesh
Run Like Hell
Waiting for the Worms
Stop
Trial, The
Outside the Wall