what do the lyrics of another brick in the wall mean?

Answer 1

"Another Brick in the Wall" is the title of three songs set to variations of the same basic tune, on Pink Floyd's 1979 concept album, The Wall, subtitled "Part I", "Part II", and "Part III", respectively, all of which were written by Pink Floyd's bassist and then- lead songwriter, Roger Waters.

"Part II", best known for the line "We Don't Need No Education", was released as a single, and provided the band's only number-one hit in the UK, the US, West Germany and many other countries. In the UK, it was their first single since 1968's "Point Me at the Sky". It is a protest song against rigid schooling in general and boarding schools in particular[1] which has led to the song being banned in several countries.

For "Part II", Pink Floyd needed a school choir, and approached music teacher Alun Renshaw of Islington Green School, around the corner from their Britannia Row Studios, in the middle of a lesson. The choir were not allowed to hear the rest of the song after singing the chorus, and were let down, as they wanted to hear Gilmour's solo. The chorus was overdubbed 12 times to give the impression that the choir was larger. Though the school received a lump sum payment of £1000, there was no contractual arrangement for royalties. Under 1996 UK copyright law, they became eligible, and after choir members found each other through the website Friends Reunited, they sued. Music industry professionals estimated that each student would be owed around £500.

"Part II" gave Pink Floyd a Grammy nomination for Best Performance by a Rock Duo or Group and lost to Bob Seger's "Against the Wind".

In 1980, the song was adopted as a protest anthem by black students during the "Elsie's River" uprising in South Africa, protesting against the racial propaganda and bias in the official curriculum. On May 2, it was banned by the government.

Part I

Composition
Part one of the song is very quiet in dynamics, and features a long, subdued guitar solo. The vocals are softer and more gentle in tone than in Parts II & III, although there is a short, sharp rise in dynamics and tone for a brief period towards the end of the lyrical portion.

No drums are used at any point in the song.


Plot
The Thin Ice discussed during the previous song breaks when Pink becomes older and learns of the death of his father. Pink is devastated by this reality and begins to build the wall.


Film Version
Pink's mother is seen praying in a church, after the death of her husband overseas. Pink however is, at this point, oblivious of his death, playing with a toy airplane. The song continues with Pink playing in a public park. His mother leaving him to go shopping. Pink sees a man who he takes a liking to in the absence of his own father. He gives Pink a lift onto a ride, and Pink feels as if this is his real father. Pink follows the man's son around, copying him, but doesn't understand why the other boy's father isn't paying attention to him. He grabs the man's hand, he then shoos Pink away, only to have him grab his hand again. The man pushes Pink away again, dejected he sits on the swing, pitifully.

Part II

Composition
In the album version of The Wall, "Another Brick in the Wall, Part II" transitions in from track four, "The Happiest Days of Our Lives", with a trademark scream from Roger Waters (Waters screams like this most notably on the track "Careful With That Axe, Eugene"). The two songs are usually played one after the other on the radio because of how the songs merge together. The song has strong drums and distinctive guitar parts in the background with a smooth yet edgy guitar solo. The song also features a school choir for lead vocals in some sections and back up vocals in other sections. As the song ends you can hear a school teacher yelling in a Scottish accent "Wrong, do it again" followed by "If you don't eat your meat, you can't have any pudding! How can you have any pudding if you don't eat your meat?" then with "You... Yes, you behind the bike shed... stand still laddie!" and ends with kids screaming and yelling on what sounds like a playground or outside area. You can also hear a faint connecting line signal from a phone with a deep sigh at the very end. The "bricks" are different traumatic events that make up the mental "wall" created by the protagonist.


Plot
The kids in Pink's school begin to protest against their abusive teachers. This causes Pink to continue to become more isolated from society.


Film Version/Music Video
Following "The Happiest Days of Our Lives" Pink starts to daydream during his class, he imagines several students marching towards a large machine, then appearing out the opposite ends, dressed with masks and sitting at leaflet desks. Afterwards, the kids are then seen marching single file, throughout corridors. The teacher is then seen in the middle, dressed in a gown, screaming commands. The children are seen in small rectangular enclosures, singing the chorus, it then segues to the teacher, yelling commands once again. It then quickly cycles back to scenes of children singing, and Pink being scolded. Near the end of the song, the children are marching towards a large, metal bin. They fall into it one by one. Panning down, they are seen being extruded into a thick meat-like substance, symbolising being, "fit for society." During the final guitar solo, the children break out, grabbing fire axes and destroying desks and chairs. Some students grab sledge hammers and break down walls. Finally at the end, the school is seen on fire, a massive bonfire ablaze on the exterior of the school, the school teacher is also seen being carried off by students. Pink is then seen, still sitting at his desk, not paying attention.

Prior to the film, the first video for the track depicted students running in a playground and the teacher puppet from The Wall concerts was used. Also, depicted some animated scenes which were used in The Trial and this clip was directed by Gerald Scarfe.


Alternate versions
The versions from live albums and videos Delicate Sound of Thunder and P*U*L*S*E (released after Waters departure from the band) feature extended solos by David Gilmour and touring guitarist Tim Renwick
The version from Is There Anybody Out There? The Wall Live 1980-81 (from the 1980-81 concerts at Earls Court, London also features an extended solo
An edit without the segue from "The Happiest Days of Our Lives" and with an early fade-out was included in the 1981 compilation A Collection of Great Dance Songs
The song was included with "The Happiest Days of Our Lives" in the compilation Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd, and segues into the first note of an edited version of "Echoes"

Part III
Pink decides to finish his wall as a result of his rage after his wife's betrayal. He concludes he no longer needs anything at all, dismissing the people in his life as just "bricks in the wall".

Answer 2

Brick In The Wall Lyrics

Answer 3

I'll assume you're talking about Pt. 2, the most popular of the trilogy. The three songs are part of a full narrative, known as the Wall, and describe various aspects of the protagonist's (named Pink) childhood which served as emotional blocks in his metaphorical wall (that which separates him from the world). In the case of this song, cruel authoritarian teachers who attempt to strip children of identity and make them into cookie cutter citizens. The other two parts of Another Brick in the Wall address the main character's deceased father, killed in WWII while he was still in the womb. The final part of the song, Pt. 3, sees our fully grown rock-star character (largely based on Roger Waters, who wrote the album, and whose father was actually killed in WWII while Waters was still in the womb) finally succumbing to his self-induced paralysis as he decidedly shuts everything and everyone off "All in all, you were all just bricks in the wall..." This is followed by a short closing to the first half of the album. The second half of the album shows us the drastic metamorphosis he undergoes and the psychoses that ensue from his isolation, culminating in an excruciating self-trial played out in his mind.

Answer 4

The song makes reference to the abuse some students received at the hands of some pretty domineering teachers in the English school system. In the case of the singer, he's saying that the abuse his teacher is giving to him (and the other students) is just causing him to build his wall between himself and the rest of society; alienating himself from the rest of the uncaring and abusive world.

Answer 5

It is a protest song against rigid schooling in general and boarding schools in particular which has led to the song being banned in several countries.

Answer 6

Roger Waters wrote this about his views on formal education. He hated his grammar school teachers and felt they were more interested in keeping the kids quiet than teaching them. The wall refers to the wall Waters built around himself because he wasn't in touch with reality. The bricks in the wall were the events in his life which propelled him to build this proverbial wall around him. His school teacher was another brick in the wall. (thanks, Daniel - Tyler, TX)
The chorus came from a school in Islington, England, and was chosen because it was close to the studio. It was made up of 23 kids between the ages of 13 and 15. They were overdubbed 12 times, making it sound like there were many more kids.
Their producer, Bob Ezrin, had the idea for the chorus. He used a choir of kids when he produced Alice Cooper's "School's Out" in 1972. Ezrin liked to use children's voices on songs about school.
There was some controversy when it was revealed that the chorus was not paid. It also didn't sit well with teachers that kids were singing an anti-school song. The chorus was given recording time in the studio in exchange for their contribution; the school received 1000 pounds and a platinum record.
The Disco beat was suggested by their producer, Bob Ezrin. This was completely unexpected from Pink Floyd, who specialized in making records you were supposed to listen to, not dance to. He got the idea for the beat when he was in New York and heard something Nile Rodgers was doing.
Pink Floyd rarely released singles that were also on an album. They felt their songs were best appreciated in the context of an album, where the songs and the artwork came together to form a theme. Producer Bob Ezrin convinced them that this could stand on it's own and would not hurt album sales.
The concept of the album was to explore the "walls" people put up to protect themselves. Any time something bad happens, we withdraw further, putting up "another brick in the wall."
The Wall was one of 2 ideas Waters brought to the band when they got together to record in 1978. His other idea was The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking, which he ended up recording as a solo album.
Water's original demo for this was just him singing over an acoustic guitar.
When they first recorded this, it was 1 verse and 1 chorus, and lasted 1:20. Producer Bob Ezrin wanted it longer, but the band refused. While they were gone, Ezrin made it longer by inserting the kids as the second verse, adding some drum fills, and copying the first chorus to the end. He played it for Waters, who liked what he heard.
This is often paired with "Happiest Days of Our Lives" when played on radio stations, and it follows "Happiest" on the album. "Happiest Days of Our Lives" depicts how childhood was great and there was nothing to worry about, until the teachers came along and tried to oppress and suppress the children. Waters then describes that the teachers must have it rough in their own homes, and take out their frustration on the students. (thanks, Patrick - Conyers, GA)
To make this album, they came up with the concept of the character "Pink." Bob Ezrin wrote a script, and they worked the songs around the character. The story was made into the movie The Wall, starring Bob Geldof as "Pink." Many people believe you have to be stoned to enjoy the film.
For the stage show, a giant wall was erected in front of the band using hidden hydraulic lifts as they played. It measured 160x35ft when completed, and about halfway through the show, the bricks were gradually knocked down to reveal the band.
Waters sang lead. When he left Pink Floyd and the band toured without him, Gilmour sang it.
The original idea for the concept of the actual Wall they wanted to create came from a problem Roger Waters was having during their concerts. When he started thinking about the show, he wanted to isolate himself from the public because he couldn't stand all the yelling and shouting. "The Wall" was not just a symbol and a concept, but a way of separating the band from their audience. (thanks, raul - Buenos Aires, Argentina)
The line "We don't need no education" is grammatically incorrect. It's a double negative and really means "We need education." This could be a commentary on the quality of the schools.
On July 21, 1990, Waters staged a production of The Wall in Berlin to celebrate the destruction of The Berlin Wall.
The 1998 movie The Faculty has a version of this song remixed by Class Of '99. (thanks, Riley - Elmhurst, IL)
In England, this was released in November 1979 and became the last UK #1 of the '70s. (thanks, Alan - Blackpool, Lancs, England)
Part 1 of this song is often overlooked. It is saying that because Pink's father went off and died in WWII, he built The Wall to protect him from other people. In the movie you see him at the playground with the other kids and their fathers, then one of the kids leaves with his father and Pink tries to touch the father's hand. The father pushes him away quite aggressively then leaves. (thanks, Andres - Santa Rosa, CA)
In 2004, Peter Rowan, a Scottish musician who runs a royalties firm, started tracking down the kids who sang in the chorus, who were by then in their 30s. Under a 1996 copyright law, they were entitled to a small amount of money for participating on the record. Rowan was no so much interested in the money as in getting the chorus together for a reunion.

Answer 7

Yep, literally, it means you don't get dessert (pudding) if you don't clean your plate (eat your meat), but they're using it as a metaphor.

Answer 8

Thank you all for your answers and opinions!