Nobody Home

"Nobody Home" is a song from the Pink Floyd album The Wall.[1][2] This song was one of several to be considered for the band's "best of" album, Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd.[3]

For the 1919 film, see Nobody Home (film).
"Nobody Home"
Song by Pink Floyd
from the album The Wall
PublishedPink Floyd Music Publishers Ltd
Released30 November 1979 (UK)
8 December 1979 (US)
RecordedApril–November 1979
Genre
Length3:26
LabelHarvest (UK)
Columbia (US)
Songwriter(s)Roger Waters
Producer(s)Bob Ezrin, David Gilmour, James Guthrie and Roger Waters

Background

"Nobody Home" was written late into the development of The Wall after an argument between the band and Roger Waters. David Gilmour said that the song "came along when we were well into the thing [The Wall] and he’d [Waters] gone off in a sulk the night before and came in the next day with something fantastic."[4]

Lyrics

In the song, the character Pink describes his lonely life of isolation behind his self-created mental wall.[5] He has no one to talk to, and all he has are his possessions. The song describes what Roger Waters says he experienced during the band's 1977 tour, the band's first major stadium tour. Additionally, the song contains some references to founding Pink Floyd member, Syd Barrett.[5] The song was written after an argument between Gilmour, Waters, and co-producer Bob Ezrin during production of The Wall in which Gilmour and Ezrin challenged Waters to come up with one more song for the album. Waters then wrote "Nobody Home" and returned to the studio two days later to present it to the band. It was the last song written for The Wall. On the 30th anniversary of The Wall episode of the US radio show In the Studio with Redbeard, Gilmour revealed that "Nobody Home" was one of his favorite songs from the album.

A television playing in the background is frequently heard, including the line, "Surprise! Surprise, Surprise!" from Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.[5] This recalls the line:

I got thirteen channels of shit on the TV to choose from

Much of the song describes Syd Barrett's fragile mental state during 1967.[5] In the documentary "Behind The Wall", Gilmour states that it describes the state of mind of many rockstars while on tour. However, the lyrics:

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

are said to have been written specifically about Floyd's pianist Richard Wright, who was allegedly struggling with cocaine addiction at the time.[6]

The song tails off quietly with an abortive final verse, starting off in the same manner as the previous verses but only two lines long:

I got a pair of Gohil's boots
And I got fading roots

Personnel

with:

Personnel per Fitch and Mahon.[7]

Cover versions

Bibliography
  • Fitch, Vernon; Richard Mahon (2006). Comfortably Numb: A History of The Wall 1978–1981.
  • Fitch, Vernon (2005). The Pink Floyd Encyclopedia (3rd edition). ISBN 1-894959-24-8.

References
  1. Strong, Martin C. (2004). The Great Rock Discography (7th ed.). Edinburgh: Canongate Books. p. 1177. ISBN 1-84195-551-5.
  2. Mabbett, Andy (1995). The Complete Guide to the Music of Pink Floyd. London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-4301-X.
  3. Guthrie, James. "James Guthrie: Audio: Building A Compilation Album". Pink Floyd. Archived from the original on 2 June 2010. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  4. Simmons, Sylvie, ed. (October 2009). ""Good Bye Blue Sky", (Pink Floyd: 30th Anniversary, The Wall Revisited.)". Guitar World. Future. 30 (10): 79–80.
  5. Janovitz, Bill. "Nobody Home - Pink Floyd : Listen, Appearances, Song Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
  6. Schaffner, Nicholas (2005). "Pigs on the Wing". Saucerful of Secrets: The Pink Floyd Odyssey (New ed.). London: Helter Skelter. p. 219. ISBN 1-905139-09-8.
  7. Fitch and Mahon, p. 94.
  8. "Nobody Home by Metric Concert Statistics". setlist.fm. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
  9. Pink Floyd's The Wall tribute Archived 2011-09-29 at the Wayback Machine, The Rock Radio, 2005.
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