The Happiest Days of Our Lives

"The Happiest Days Of Our Lives" is a 1:50 intro to "Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2)" on Pink Floyd's classic album The Wall. The title is ironic and doesn't appear in the lyrics, which explain how cruel teachers would take out their frustrations on their pupils. The kids could take some comfort knowing these teachers went home to fat, psychopathic wives who would give them a thrashing. "Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2)" picks up the story with the line, "We don't need no education." Radio stations would often plays the two songs together.

The Wall is a concept album starring the character Pink, a rock star whose childhood traumas lead to demagoguery and madness. He's based on Pink Floyd founder Roger Waters, who created the character and spearheaded the album. In this song, he was showing how the British education system failed Pink. Waters wrote the song and sang the lead vocal.

The song segues out of "Another Brick In The Wall (Part 1)" and opens with the sounds of a helicopter whirring, likening school to a military camp. These sound effects and transitions were the work of Bob Ezrin, who produced the album. He was no stranger to theatrical rock, having produced Alice Cooper's Billion Dollar Babies and Welcome to My Nightmare albums.