The Show Must Go On

The Show Must Go On 1:36
     (written by Roger Waters)

Lyrics:
Oh, Ma, oh, Pa
Must the show go on?
Oh, Pa, take me home (echoed)
Oh, Ma, let me go (echoed)
There must be some mistake
I didn't mean to let them take away my soul
Am I too old, is it too late?
Oh, Ma, oh, Pa
Where has the feeling gone?
Oh, Ma, oh, Pa
Will I remember the songs?
The show must go on

Backing vocals: Bruce Johnston, Toni Tenille, John Joyce, Joe Chemay, Stan Farber, Jim Haas

The Show Must Go On begins the fourth and final part of The Wall, by far the most disturbing and difficult to listen to but also steeped in subtle meaning. Pink is now on his way to the show, and this song expresses his feelings about the situation he finds himself in. But more importantly, the song is a commentary on the desperate cruelty of an industry which forces spontaneous creativity out of its stars, regardless of the state of body or mind they may be in at the time. Though Pink is suffering from a serious psychological breakdown as well as a depressed emotional state, he is forced to the show where he is expected to perform.

Roger Waters: "Because they're not interested in any of these problems, all they're interested in is how many people there are and tickets have been sold and the show must go on, at any cost, to anybody. I mean, I, personally, have done gigs when I've been very depressed, but I've also done gigs when I've been extremely ill, where you wouldn't do any ordinary kind of work."

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