Pink Floyd Lyrics, Themes & Meanings: Young Lust

Young Lust 3:25
(written by Gilmour, Waters)

Lyrics:
I am just a new boy
Stranger in this town
Where are all the good times?
Who's gonna show this stranger around?
Oh, I need a dirty woman
Oh, I need a dirty gal

Will some woman in this desert land
Make me feel like a real man?
Take this rock 'n' roll refugee
Oh, babe, set me free
Oh, I need a dirty woman
Oh, I need a dirty girl

Oh, I need a dirty woman
Oh, I need a dirty girl

Man: Hello?
Operator: Yes, a collect call for Mrs Floyd from Mr Floyd. Will you accept the charges from United States? Now he's hung up. This your residence, sir? Well, I wonder why he hung up? Is there supposed to be someone else there besides your wife, sir, to answer?
Man: Hello?
Operator: This is United States calling, are we reaching? See, he keeps hanging up. And it's a man answering.

Pink's choice of career turns out to be (surprisingly enough) that of a rock star. The narrative skips forward to find Pink on the road in an American town, a little while before he has to do a show; and feelings of 'young lust' are stirred by the inordinate number of groupies in the vicinity. Roger explains the song's context in his own life and its more general meaning.

Interviewer: "Was there ever a young lust section of your life?"
Roger Waters: "Well, yes, I suppose, actually, yes it did happen to me, that was like me. But I would never have said it, you see, I'd never have come out with anything like that, I was much too frightened. When I wrote this song Young Lust the words were all quite different, it was about leaving school and wandering around town and hanging around outside porno movies and dirty bookshops and being very interested in sex, but never actually being able to get involved because of being too frightened actually. Now it's completely different, that was a function of us all working together on the record, particularly with Dave Gilmour and Bob Ezrin who, we co-produced the album together, the three of us co-produced it. Young Lust is a pastiche number. It reminds me very much of a song we recorded years and years ago called The Nile Song, it's very similar, Dave sings it in a very similar way. I think he sings Young Lust terrific, I love the vocals. But it's meant to be a pastiche of any young rock and roll band out on the road."

The most important part of the song in terms of the narrative, however, is the spoken dialogue at the end. This consists of Pink attempting to call his wife at home in England, only to hear another man answering when the operator tries to connect him, who rapidly hangs up when he hears the words 'Mr Floyd.'

Roger Waters: "I think it's great; I love that operator on it, I think she's wonderful. She didn't know what was happening at all, the way she picks up on... I mean it's been edited a bit, but the way she picks up, all that stuff about 'is there supposed to be someone else there beside your wife?' you know I think is amazing, she really clicked into it straight away. She's terrific!"

Listening to this section is significantly more saddening when one is aware that this incident seems to based on an actual event occuring during the deterioration of Roger's marraige with his first wife, Judy Trim. This forms the final major brick in Pink's wall; his cold and unfaithful wife plunges him into the depths of despair.

TRACK LISTING
Disc One