Pink Floyd’s “Money” is undoubtedly one of the greatest songs on one of the greatest albums of all time. The song was written by the band’s co-founder Roger Waters and was released on The Dark Side of The Moon in 1973. In this article, I’m going over 8 facts you didn’t know about Pink Floyd’s “Money”. Unless you’re a dedicated Pink Floydian of course, then I expect you to know all of these things. Let’s dive into it!
1. The Song was Pink Floyd’s First Hit in America
“Money” was released as the first single of The Dark Side of The Moon. The song became Pink Floyd’s breakthrough single in the United States and reached number 13 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Prior to “Money”, Pink Floyd had a top-10 hit in the UK and Ireland with “See Emily Play”, but the single failed the reach the US Charts.
Read more: The 10 Best Pink Floyd Songs of All Time
2. “Money” is About Capitalistic Greed
The song criticizes the obsessive pursuit of wealth. Weirdly enough, a lot of people interpret the song as a tribute to money, much to the surprise of the band members of Pink Floyd. “We still get people coming up to us who think that “Money – it’s a gas” is a direct and literal statement that ‘we like money,” Gilmour said.
The song’s lyrical content certainly contains an element of irony, as “Money” and The Dark Side of the Moon gave the band members of Pink Floyd extreme amounts of wealth.
3. Odd Time Signature
The iconic bassline of “Money” uses the unusual time signature of 7/4. According to Pink Floyd’s guitarist David Gilmour, the unusual time signature is also the giveaway that the song was written by Roger Waters. “It’s not a song I would have written. It points itself at Roger,” Gilmour told Uncut about “Money”.
4. The Time Signature Changes Throughout the Song
During the guitar solo of “Money”, the time signature of the song changes to 4/4. The change is evidently heard and gives the feel the members of Pink Floyd are entering a bluesy jam session.
5. Roger Waters Turned His Back on the Lyrics
While “Money” criticizes capitalistic greed, lyricist Roger Waters admitted he himself became a capitalist. “I’m still keen on a general welfare society, but I became a capitalist,” He told The Observer. “You have to accept it. I remember coveting a Bentley like crazy. The only way to get something like that was through rock or the football pools. I very much wanted all that material stuff.”
6. The Saxophone Solo is Played by one of David Gilmour’s Childhood Friends
Dick Parry is his name. He also plays saxophone on Pink Floyd’s “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” and “Us and Them”. Parry was also part of Pink Floyd’s touring band between 1973 and 1977.
7. The Song Ends with Interview Snippets
The interview snippets are a recurring theme throughout The Dark Side of The Moon. It was an idea from Roger Waters, who asked people around Abbey Road studios to participate in the interviews. Some of the replies are iconic, especially the album’s closing lines ‘There is no dark side in the moon really. Matter of fact, it’s all dark’ by doorman Gerry O’Driscoll.
On “Money”, you hear snippets from various people answering the questions ‘When was the last time you were violent?’ and ‘Were you in the right?’ Paul and Linda McCartney participated in the interviews as well, but their answers do not feature on the album. McCartney’s Wings bandmate Henry McCullough’s answers do feature on the album, and can be heard at the end of “Money”.
8. “Money” is Pink Floyd’s Most Played Live Song
Given the fact Pink Floyd’s last proper tour was in 1994, and they won’t ever tour again, it’s a record that will never be broken. Pink Floyd played the song an impressive 537 times. During most live performances of “Money”, the song was extended to over 10 minutes. David Gilmour and Roger Waters have also frequently played the song during solo tours.
That concludes “Money” by Pink Floyd: 8 Interesting Facts You Didn’t Know’. How many things did you already know? Are there any other interesting things about the song that should’ve been included? Let me know in the comments below!
