Another Brick in the Wall #2

If you haven't read the first post, click here to read it!

A baby cries: the official beginning of the flashback that is The Wall and Pink Floyd's story. "Thin Ice" is the start of a cautionary tale for Pink, told by his mother. Though it starts with a soothing mother cooing to her baby that she loves him and "Daddy loves [him] too," it warns that "the sea may look warm,...the sky may look blue," but "don't be surprised if a crack in the ice appears under your feet."

Eric Fletchers Waters, a victim of war.

This song also has reference to the toll that war can take not only on the populace, but the children left behind from it. When Waters performs this song, he displays a picture of his father who died in World War II. This photo is replaced with others that have been submitted by fans for those who were also victims of war, terrorism, or intolerance.

"Thin Ice" leads into "Another Brick in the Wall Pt. 1" in which Pink learns of his father's death in the war and starts to begin building The Wall. At the end, we hear wailing, screaming, shouting kids in the background and we crossfade into "Happiest Days of Our Lives."

The Schoolteacher

With the sounds of the helicopter, we hear the school teacher yelling at a student to "stand still." Pink's school life was strict and often abusive. In video versions of this song, Pink is hit by a belt by the schoolteacher in order to cover up his own humiliation at home.

We then segue with a classic Waters scream into "Another Brick in the Wall Pt. 2." After Pink is humiliated by his teacher, he dreams that the other school children are revolting against the schoolteacher. He sees education as "thought control" and forcing children to learn to conform, "just another brick in the wall" of life.With his abuse from the schoolteacher, Pink continues to build his wall.

We'll continue on again with Pink's story soon! Stay tuned for #3