This song is about fear of nuclear holocaust in England. In the song it says the sun is in the East, even though the day is done (the sun sets in the West). Roger Waters told Uncut in 2003: "It describes a nuclear war – the remnants of all that paranoia about nuclear war from the '60 – and it's that idea that it may be at the end of life, one may have that kind of realization that you could have when you're alive and living, and you go, "Hold on a minute, maybe this is what I should do."
Waters adds that the song is meant to encourage us to live in the moment. "Don't be scared to live it," he says. "Don't be scared to take risks."
This song featured a sax solo by Raphael Ravenscroft, who played on many of the songs from The Final Cut, and is known for his sax solo on Gerry Rafferty's "Baker Street."
A session musician named Andy Newmark played drums on this track in place of Pink Floyd's regular drummer Nick Mason. Roger Waters explained why: "Rhythmically, there are some five/four timings thrown in so the downbeat changes from bar to bar and it's confusing for Nick. His brain doesn't work that way. That's why he didn't play on 'Mother' on The Wall."
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