What Do You Want from Me (Pink Floyd song)
{{Infobox song
| name = What Do You Want from Me
| cover =
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Pink Floyd
| album = The Division Bell
| released = {{Start date|1994|05|06|df=y}}
| format =
| recorded = 1993
| studio = Astoria, London
| genre = Progressive rock, blues rock
| length = 4:21
| label = Columbia
| writer =
| producer =
- Bob Ezrin
- David Gilmour
| prev_title = Lost for Words
| prev_year = 1994
| next_title = Take It Back
| next_year = 1994
}}
"What Do You Want from Me" is a song by Pink Floyd featured on their 1994 album, The Division Bell.{{Cite book
| last = Strong
| first = Martin C.
| title = The Great Rock Discography
| publisher = Canongate Books
| location = Edinburgh
| isbn = 1-84195-551-5
| page = 1178
| date = 2004
| edition = 7th
| last = Mabbett
| first = Andy
| title = The Complete Guide to the Music of Pink Floyd
| publisher = Omnibus Press
| location = London
| isbn = 0-7119-4301-X
| date = 1995
}} Richard Wright and David Gilmour composed the music, with Gilmour and his 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.9016.pdf| title=RPM Top 100 Singles - July 10, 1995}}
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.{{cite magazine|author=Brad Tolinski|url=http://www.pinkfloydfan.net/t1479-david-gilmour-sounds-silence-guitar.html|title=Sounds of Silence|magazine=Guitar World|date=September 1994|access-date=28 July 2010|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120620030133/http://www.pinkfloydfan.net/t1479-david-gilmour-sounds-silence-guitar.html|archive-date=20 June 2012}}
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".{{cite web | title=The Color of Floyd | work=Interview Magazine, p. 20-21 | url=http://www.pinkfloydfan.net/t1481-david-gilmour-color-floyd-interview.html | author=Fuller, Graham | date=July 1994 | access-date=22 July 2011 | url-status=usurped | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110730095139/http://www.pinkfloydfan.net/t1481-david-gilmour-color-floyd-interview.html | archive-date=30 July 2011 }}
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".{{cite magazine|last1=Graves|first1=Tom|title=The Division Bell|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/the-division-bell-19940616|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=11 August 2017|date=16 June 1994}}
Personnel
Pink Floyd
- David Gilmour{{snd}}guitars, lead vocals
- Richard Wright{{snd}} Wah wah Wurlitzer piano, Hammond organ, backing vocals
- Nick Mason{{snd}}drums
Additional musicians:
- Jon Carin – synthesizers
- Guy Pratt – bass guitar
- Sam Brown – backing vocals
- Durga McBroom – backing vocals
- Carol Kenyon – backing vocals
- Jackie Sheridan – backing vocals
- Rebecca Leigh-White – backing vocals
Releases
- The Division Bell, Pink Floyd (1994){{snd}}original release
- Pulse, Pink Floyd (1995){{snd}}live album
- Pulse, Pink Floyd (2006){{snd}}concert film; the song did not appear on the original VHS release (1995), but was added as a bonus feature on the DVD re-release (2006)
- Live at Pompeii, David Gilmour (2017){{snd}}live album and video recorded during Gilmour's Rattle That Lock Tour
References
{{Reflist}}
{{The Division Bell}}
{{Pink Floyd}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Columbia Records singles
Category:British blues rock songs
Category:Songs written by David Gilmour
Category:Songs written by Richard Wright (musician)
Category:Songs with lyrics by Polly Samson