"What Do You Want from Me"
Single by Pink Floyd
from the album The Division Bell
Released6 May 1994 (1994-05-06)
Recorded1993
StudioAstoria, London
GenreProgressive rock, blues rock
Length4:21
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Pink Floyd singles chronology
"Lost for Words"
(1994) 		"What Do You Want from Me"
(1994) 		"Take It Back"
(1994)

"What Do You Want from Me" is a song by Pink Floyd featured on their 1994 album, The Division Bell.[1][2] Richard Wright and David Gilmour composed the music, with Gilmour and his then-girlfriend and subsequent wife Polly Samson supplying the lyrics. A live version from Pulse was released as a single in Canada, reaching number 28 in the Canadian Top Singles charts.[3]

Song structure and lyrics

The song is a slow, yet rocking ballad. It has a drum roll introduction, followed by a keyboard solo and then a guitar solo. David Gilmour has agreed with an interviewer that it is a "straight Chicago blues tune", while mentioning he is still a blues fan.[4]

In an interview, David Gilmour was asked if the song returned to the theme of alienation from the audience. He responded by saying that it "actually had more to do with personal relationships but drifted into wider territory".[5]

Reception

In a contemporary negative review for The Division Bell, Tom Graves of Rolling Stone described "What Do You Want from Me" as the only track on which "Gilmour sounds like he cares".[6]

Personnel

Pink Floyd

Additional musicians:

Releases

References

  1. ^ Strong, Martin C. (2004). The Great Rock Discography (7th ed.). Edinburgh: Canongate Books. p. 1178. 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. ^ "RPM Top 100 Singles - July 10, 1995" (PDF).
  4. ^ Brad Tolinski (September 1994). "Sounds of Silence". Guitar World. Archived from the original on 20 June 2012. Retrieved 28 July 2010.
  5. ^ Fuller, Graham (July 1994). "The Color of Floyd". Interview Magazine, p. 20-21. Archived from the original on 30 July 2011. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
  6. ^ Graves, Tom (16 June 1994). "The Division Bell". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
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