One of These Days (instrumental)

{{Infobox song

| name = One of These Days

| cover = OneOfTheseDays.jpg

| alt =

| caption = Italian vinyl single

| type = single

| artist = Pink Floyd

| album = Meddle

| B-side = Fearless

| released = {{Start date|1971|11|29|df=yes}} (US){{cite book|author=Glenn Povey|title=Echoes: The Complete History of Pink Floyd|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qnnl3FnO-B4C|year=2007|publisher=Mind Head Publishing|isbn=978-0-9554624-0-5|page=344}}

| recorded = 15 March{{cite book |last=Guesdon |first=Jean-Michel |title=Pink Floyd All The Songs |publisher=Running Press |date=2017 |isbn=9780316439237 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rF0RDgAAQBAJ}} – 22 July 1971{{cite book |last=Povey |first=Glenn |title=Echoes |publisher=Mind Head Pub. |date=2007 |isbn=9780955462405 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qnnl3FnO-B4C}}

| studio = AIR, Abbey Road, & Morgan; London

| genre = *Progressive rock

experimental rock

| length = 5:57 (Album Version)

5:15 (Echoes Version)

| label = * Harvest

Capitol

| writer = {{hlist|David Gilmour|Roger Waters|Richard Wright|Nick Mason}}

| producer = Pink Floyd

| prev_title = The Nile Song

| prev_year = 1969

| next_title = Free Four

| next_year = 1972

| misc = {{External music video|{{YouTube|48PJGVf4xqk|"One Of These Days"}}|header=Audio video}}

}}

"One of These Days" is the opening track from Pink Floyd's 1971 album Meddle.{{Cite book

| last = Strong

| first = Martin C.

| title = The Great Rock Discography

| publisher = Canongate Books

| location = Edinburgh

| isbn = 1-84195-551-5

| page = 1177

| date = 2004

| edition = 7th

}}{{Cite book

| publisher = Omnibus Press

| isbn = 978-1-84938-370-7

| last = Mabbett

| first = Andy

| title = Pink Floyd — The Music and the Mystery

| location = London

| date = 2010

}} The composition is instrumental except for the spoken line from drummer Nick Mason, "One of these days, I'm going to cut you into little pieces." It features double-tracked bass guitars played by David Gilmour and Roger Waters,

Music

File:Pink Floyd Their Mortal Remains - 2017-10-13 - Andy Mabbett - 24.jpg exhibition ]]

The predominant element of the piece is that of a bass guitar played through a delay (Binson Echorec) unit, set to produce repeats in quarter-note triplets. The result of this setting is: that if the player plays simple quarter notes, the added echoes will produce a pattern of quarter note – eighth note, quarter note – eighth note. Pink Floyd would again use this technique on the bass line for "Sheep". This riff was first created by David Gilmour on guitar with effects, then Roger Waters had the idea of using bass instead of guitar, so they recorded the song on two different bass guitars.

Each bass part is hard panned into one channel of stereo, but one bass sound is quite muted and dull. According to Gilmour, this is because that particular instrument had old strings on it, and the roadie they had sent to get new strings for it wandered off to see his girlfriend instead.{{cite web|url=http://www.pinkfloyd-co.com/band/interviews/djg/djgGW93.html|title=Interview with David Gilmour|publisher=Guitar World|author=A. DiPerna|website=pinkfloyd-co.com|date=February 1993|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110115115157/http://www.pinkfloyd-co.com/band/interviews/djg/djgGW93.html|archive-date=15 January 2011}}

The piece is in B minor, occasionally alternating with an A major chord.

The distinctive keyboard accents on this track are composed of three components: A Hammond organ forms the 'fade in', followed by a "Stab" composed of a second Hammond organ with percussion stop, overdubbed with an acoustic piano fed through a Leslie speaker, as was also used on "Echoes". For live versions, the 'fade in' part was played on a Farfisa organ.{{Citation needed|date=October 2019}}

The threatening lyric, a rare vocal contribution by Nick Mason, was recorded through a ring modulator and slowed down to create an eerie effect. It was aimed at Sir Jimmy Young, the then BBC Radio 1 and Radio 2 DJ who the band supposedly disliked because he tended to babble. During early 1970s concerts, they sometimes played a sound collage of clips from Young's radio show that was edited to sound completely nonsensical, thus figuratively "cutting him into little pieces".[http://www.pink-floyd.org/faq/faq5.html#9 'One of These Days' section] Echoes FAQ, Ver. 4.0, [http://www.pink-floyd.org/ The Pink Floyd Fan Club].

{{Blockquote|Possibly the most interesting thing about "One of These Days" is that it actually stars myself as vocalist, for the first time on any of our records that actually got to the public. It's a rather startling performance involving the use of a high voice and slowed down tape. | Nick Mason|{{cite web| title=Shades of Pink – The Definitive Pink Floyd Profile| work=The Source Radio Show| author=Kendall, Charlie| url=http://www.pinkfloydfan.net/t1483-gilmour-waters-mason-wright-shades.html| date=1984| access-date=2011-07-26| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120927080840/http://www.pinkfloydfan.net/t1483-gilmour-waters-mason-wright-shades.html| archive-date=2012-09-27}}}}

According to John Peel, Waters described "One of These Days" as a "poignant appraisal of the contemporary social situation".{{cite AV media

|author=Pink Floyd

|title=The Early Years 1965-1972

|volume=5

|publisher=Pink Floyd Records

|date=1971-09-30

|publication-date=2016

|time=15:04 within the track.

|type=CD

|chapter=Fat Old Sun (BBC Radio Session, 30 September 1971)

|quote=This next one is described by Roger Waters as a "poignant appraisal of the contemporary social situation," make what you will of that.

}}

Gilmour said it was the most collaborative piece ever produced by the group.{{Citation needed|date=October 2019}}

A film, French Windows, was made by Ian Emes,This Could Happen To You: Ikon in the 1970s, exhibition programme, Ikon Gallery, Birmingham, England, July 2010. set to the piece and featuring people and gibbons dancing against various backgrounds. After being seen on television by the band, it was back-projected by Pink Floyd during live performances and Emes was commissioned to make further films for the band.

The tune also quotes Delia Derbyshire's realisation of Ron Grainer's Doctor Who theme music from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who.{{Cite book |last1=Hart |first1=Chris |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4VF-EAAAQBAJ&dq=one+of+these+days+doctor+who&pg=PT289 |title=The Routledge Handbook of Pink Floyd |last2=Morrison |first2=Simon A. |date=2022-09-20 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-000-64956-7 |language=en}}{{cite web |url=http://www.whosampled.com/sample/81430/Pink-Floyd-One-of-These-Days-Delia-Derbyshire-BBC-Radiophonic-Workshop-Doctor-Who/|title=Pink Floyd's 'One Of These Days' sample of Delia Derbyshire and BBC Radiophonic Workshop's 'Doctor Who'|website=WhoSampled }}{{dubious|date=September 2016}}{{Unreliable source?|date=September 2016}} This quotation is most clear in live performances.{{Cite web |title=BBC Music - BBC Music - Doctor Who: An adventure in space and time... and sound |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/1YVrMz2ZVF3ng3sB3p1RzPj/doctor-who-an-adventure-in-space-and-time-and-sound |access-date=2024-06-09 |website=BBC |language=en-GB}}

Part of the song was used on the Soviet television program "Mezhdunarodnaya Panorama" ("International Panorama"). The playing of the track in the program is also discussed in Victor Pelevin's 1992 novel Omon Ra.

The bass riff influenced Brian Eno's song "Third Uncle" from the album Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy).Thompson, Dave. "[https://www.allmusic.com/song/third-uncle-mt0010278348 Third Uncle Review]". AllMusic. Retrieved 4 November 2023 Depeche Mode cites "One of These Days" as a direct influence on their song "Clean" from their album Violator (1990).{{cite web |last=Turner |first=Luke |url=https://thequietus.com/articles/06219-alan-wilder-depeche-mode-favourite-records?page=14 |title=Alan Wilder Of Recoil & Depeche Mode's 13 Favourite LPs |website=The Quietus |date=9 May 2011 |access-date=18 November 2015 |page=14}}

Live performances

The song was a concert staple on the band's 1971–1973 and 1987–1994 tours. The Live at Pompeii version was retitled as "One of These Days I'm Going to Cut You into Little Pieces", the full spoken threat. It was resurrected for the group's 1987–1989 A Momentary Lapse of Reason & Another Lapse Tours and 1994's The Division Bell Tour, performed by David Gilmour on lap steel guitar, Tim Renwick on rhythm guitar, Guy Pratt on bass, Richard Wright and Jon Carin on keyboards, with Nick Mason and Gary Wallis on drums and percussion. It was included on the Delicate Sound of Thunder video (1989), CD, LP, and cassette (1988) and the Pulse album (1995) (cassette & LP only) & video, DVD and blu-ray (1995/2006/2019 respectively). It is absent from the iTunes version of the Pulse album. A live version was also included on the B-side of the "High Hopes/Keep Talking" double A-side single (1994).

On 25 June 2016, David Gilmour and his solo band performed the song during their set at the Plac Wolności in Wrocław, Poland, the first time Gilmour had played it live in more than 20 years and the first time he'd ever made it part of a solo set list. Gilmour also performed the song during his concerts at the Amphitheatre of Pompeii on 7 and 8 July 2016. This performance was released as part of his Live at Pompeii live album and was chosen to be the second single to promote the release. These concerts made "One of These Days" the only song played at Pink Floyd's 1971 performance and Gilmour's 2016 performance. Roger Waters played the piece in the first set of songs on his 2017 Us + Them Tour. The song also features in Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets show, again featuring Guy Pratt on bass.

A live version was released in 2016 on The Early Years 1965–1972, Volume 5: 1971: Reverber/ation, from a BBC Radio session on 30 September 1971.{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-early-years-1965-1972-mw0003005171 |title=The Early Years 1965-1972 - Pink Floyd |website=AllMusic |access-date= September 4, 2020}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.pinkfloyd.com/news/pdfs/Complete_Early_Years_Box_Track_Listing.pdf|title=Full Track Listing|access-date=5 August 2016}}

Reception

In a review for the Meddle album, Jean-Charles Costa of Rolling Stone described "One of These Days" as sticking to the usual Pink Floyd formula, but "each segment of the tune is so well done, and the whole thing coheres so perfectly that it comes across as a positive, high-energy opening."{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/meddle-19720106|title=Meddle|last=Costa|first=Jean-Charles|date=6 January 1972|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=25 July 2017}} Critic Mike Cormack describes the song as "a magnificent sonic wash, with the pulsating bass lines (played by both Waters and Gilmour, through the Binson Echorec), Gilmour’s slide guitar, the colorful organ work by Wright and his wonderful spacey bing! motif all cohering into wildly exciting waves of sound."{{Cite book |title=Everything Under The Sun: The Complete Guide to the Music of Pink Floyd |last=Cormack |first=Mike |publisher=History Press|year=2024|isbn=978-1803995359|location=London}}

Personnel

Pink Floyd

=''Meddle''=

David Gilmour – electric and slide guitars, bass guitarNick Mason, Inside Out, first edition p. 155 (double-tracked)
Roger Waters – bass guitar (double-tracked)
Nick Mason – drums, vocal phrase
Richard Wright – Hammond organ, piano