Outside the Wall (Wall album)

Outside the Wall 1:41
     (written by Roger Waters)

Lyrics:
All alone, or in twos
The ones who really love you
Walk up and down outside the wall
Some hand in hand
And some gathered together in bands
The bleeding hearts and the artists make their stand
And when they've given you their all
Some stagger and fall
After all it's not easy
Banging your heart against some mad bugger's wall
Isn't this where—

In the aftermath of the wall's destruction, strains of a gentle, poignant tune arise: Outside the Wall. We have left Pink and his story behind now, and this final song bears the feeling of an author's afterword. Roger addresses the listener directly, appealing to him or her to come outside their wall, where 'the ones who really love you' are. The double meaning of 'some gathered together in bands' is obvious, and 'some stagger and fall' could be a reference to Syd Barrett, or any artist or compassionate person who wears themselves out trying to make a difference in the world. And as for the final words of the album, as Karl Dallas says, "the 'mad bugger' against whose wall the singer bangs his heart at the end is you and me."

Interviewer: "Outside the Wall... really is the statement of the album."
Roger Waters: "...which I have no intention of even beginning to explain."

At the very end can be heard the beginning of the sentence 'Isn't this where we came in?' which 'continues' at the very beginning of the album. If it were not for this tiny snippet, The Wall might be considered a very uplifting piece of music thematically. Instead, the implication is that the entire thing is a cycle — that once the wall has been destroyed, the process of building it up begins all over again. Whether this bit of breathtaking cynicism indicates that this cycle recurs in the life of each individual or in successive generations is up to individual interpretation, as is the entire Wall album. This author has made his best attempt to explain it correctly, drawing on all available sources, but in the end understanding it is a wholly individual experience.

Interviewer: "So now it has really turned full circle."
Roger: "Almost, yeah. That kind of circular idea is expressed in just snipping the tape at a certain point and just sticking a bit on the front, that tune, you know this Outside the Wall tune, at the end."
Roger: "You make your own decisions, your own life. What 'they' do clearly impinges on your life, but in the end, the responsibility for what you do and how you feel about yourself is yours. You are an individual. You're alone, but that's all right." [Rolling Stone 16 Sep 82]

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