"Pigs on the Wing" is a two-part song by the progressive rock

Progressive rock

Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...

 band Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...

 from their 1977

1977 in music

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1977.-January–February:*January 1 – The Clash headline the gala opening of the London music club, The Roxy....

 concept album

Concept album

In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...

, Animals, starting and wrapping up the album. According to various interviews, it was written by Roger Waters

Roger Waters

George Roger Waters is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. He was a founding member of the progressive rock band Pink Floyd, serving as bassist and co-lead vocalist. Following the departure of bandmate Syd Barrett in 1968, Waters became the band's lyricist, principal songwriter...

 as a declaration of love to his then-love, Carolyne. This song is significantly different from the other three songs on the album, "Dogs", "Pigs

Pigs (Three Different Ones)

"Pigs " is a song from Pink Floyd's 1977 album Animals. In the album's three parts, "Dogs", "Pigs", and "Sheep", pigs represent the people whom Roger Waters considers to be at the top of the social ladder, the ones with wealth and power; they also manipulate the rest of society and encourage them...

", and "Sheep

Sheep (song)

"Sheep" is a song by the English band Pink Floyd. It was released on the album Animals in 1977. In 1974, it was originally titled "Raving and Drooling".-History:...

" in which the other songs are dark, whereas this one is lighter-themed.

Composition

The song is divided into two parts, which are the first and last tracks of the album. Both are in stark contrast to the album's middle three misanthropic songs, and suggest that companionship can help us overcome our flaws. The casual listener may ignore them for the most part; however they are keys to the album, summing up the album in its entirety in their short 1:25 time spans. Roger Waters apparently refers to himself as a "dog" in Part 2: "Now that I've found somewhere safe to bury my bone/And any fool knows, a dog needs a home/A shelter, from pigs on the wing." Another allusion is found in the line "So I don't feel alone, or the weight of the stone," which refers back to the dogs being "dragged down by the stone".

According to Nick Mason, and confirmed by Waters, it is a love song directed towards Waters' new wife at the time, Carolyn. She was really the only one Roger's friends had ever met who could hold her own in an argument with him; according to Mason you had to be very good with semantics to win an argument against him. Waters wrote the song because that's all he had been looking for all along: someone who could stand up to him, an equal.

The songs are constructed simply and feature no instrumentation besides a strummed acoustic guitar played by Waters.

On the 8-track cartridge release, the song order was changed, and Parts 1 and 2 were played back-to-back at the beginning of the album. They were linked by a guitar bridge performed by Snowy White

Snowy White

Snowy White is an English guitarist, known for having played with Thin Lizzy and with Pink Floyd and, more recently, for Roger Waters'...

. Snowy would play the guitar solo in live performances on the 1977 Animals tour. On the last US leg of the performances, David Gilmour

David Gilmour

David Jon Gilmour, CBE, D.M. is an English rock musician and multi-instrumentalist who is best known as the guitarist, one of the lead singers and main songwriters in the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. In addition to his work with Pink Floyd, Gilmour has worked as a producer for a variety of...

 would play bass guitar instead of the electric rhythm guitar he played on the European and first US legs of the Animals tour.

The complete version of the song, including the instrumental bridge, was re-released on Snowy White's Goldtop compilation album in 1995.

Personnel

• Roger Waters
  Roger Waters
  George Roger Waters is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. He was a founding member of the progressive rock band Pink Floyd, serving as bassist and co-lead vocalist. Following the departure of bandmate Syd Barrett in 1968, Waters became the band's lyricist, principal songwriter...
  
   — music, lyrics, acoustic guitar, vocals
• Snowy White
  Snowy White
  Snowy White is an English guitarist, known for having played with Thin Lizzy and with Pink Floyd and, more recently, for Roger Waters'...
  
   — guitar solo (8-track version only)
• Richard Wright
  Richard Wright (musician)
  Richard William Wright was an English pianist, keyboardist and songwriter, best known for his career with Pink Floyd. Wright's richly textured keyboard layers were a vital ingredient and a distinctive characteristic of Pink Floyd's sound...
  
   — Hammond organ (8-track version only)

Cover version

A cover version of "Pigs on the Wing" was released by Colonel Les Claypool's Fearless Flying Frog Brigade

Colonel Les Claypool's Fearless Flying Frog Brigade

Colonel Les Claypool's Fearless Flying Frog Brigade is one of many musical projects involving Primus bassist Les Claypool. The original band was formed in summer 2000 and consisted of: Les Claypool , Todd Huth , Jay Lane , Jeff Chimenti , Skerik , and Eenor...

 on the album Live Frogs Set 2

Live Frogs Set 2

Live Frogs Set 2 is the second set of live recordings by Les Claypool's Frog Brigade, released on July 24, 2001. The album is a complete performance of the Pink Floyd studio album Animals...

.

See also

• Pigs fly
• Pink Floyd live performances
  Pink Floyd live performances
  Pink Floyd were pioneers in the live music experience, renowned for their lavish stage shows that combine intense visual experiences with music to create a show in which the performers themselves are almost secondary. Pink Floyd's combination of music and visuals set the standard for rock musicians...
  
  (Roger Waters was playing "Pigs on the Wing Pt. 2" when he made his infamous "Oh for fuck's sake..." speech.)