Behind the Meaning of the Subversive Pink Floyd Song “Money”

“Money,” before any meaning or singing prowess, opens with the sounds of cash flow, accompanied by one of the best and most signature rock bass lines of all time. Right away, you know you’re dealing with something powerful, lasting, and meaningful with the track by Pink Floyd. And the psychedelic, subversive British-born band wouldn’t have it any other way.

Released in 1973 on the group’s now-iconic album, The Dark Side of the Moon, an album which has become famous for its many hit songs and its connection to The Wizard of Oz, “Money” has since been used in any number of films and television shows, thanks to its ubiquitous message: Beware greed.

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Below, we will dive into the history, meaning, and subversive nature of the song.

Materialism

It’s a battle many of us face on a daily basis. One of materialism and greed. If we could, would we shower ourselves with possessions, with lavish cars and mansions, gold back scratchers, and more—all at the expense of those without? For money is a zero-sum game. If I have one of the dollars, that means you don’t.

This was the sort of moral quandary that Pink Folyd’s songwriter Roger Waters debated as he was writing the tune. Speaking to The Observer in 1993 on the 20th anniversary of The Dark Side of the Moon, Waters said, “Money interested me enormously. I remember thinking, ‘Well, this is it and I have to decide whether I’m really a socialist or not.’ I’m still keen on a general welfare society, but I became a capitalist. 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.”

Ironically, “Money” helped make Pink Floyd a great deal of it. While the song and the album it’s featured on remain popular amongst music fans and young people alike today, even fifty years later, the song originally hit the charts at No. 13 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. It was Pink Floyd’s first hit track in the United States, the home of big money.

The Lyrics

Given Waters’ moral reckoning, the lyrics for the song may seem a bit on the nose. But to many, they read as ironic (at least at first). As if the singer is playing a character, a greedy one at that. Either way, no matter the stance of the singer, the lyrics point out the inherent sense of human greed. In this way, the song remains an anthem for young people rebelling against the capitalist status quo.

Money
Get away
You get a good job with more pay and you’re okay
Money
It’s a gas
Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash

New car, caviar, four star, daydream
Think I’ll buy me a football team

Money
Get back
I’m alright, Jack, keep your hands off of my stack
Money
It’s a hit
Don’t give me that do goody good bullshit

I’m in the high-fidelity first-class traveling set
And I think I need a Lear jet

The Recording

As many rock historians, including Pink Floyd, have noted, the song “Money” includes odd time signatures. This should come as no surprise for fans of the progressive rock outfit since so many of their tracks include extended jams, long guitar solos, and challenging (though often pleasant) rhythms.

The average rock or pop song is in 4/4, meaning there are four quarter notes played per measure. But most of “Money” is in 7/4, which means that each measure has seven quarter note beats. This leaves the listener almost on a cliffhanger after each measure, the ear waiting for that eighth beat to make things feel square. But “Money” is different. You’re off-kilter.

The song also includes many psychedelic guitar tones and a brazen saxophone solo by Dick Parry that comes before an epic guitar solo. But more than anything, the three most significant elements of the song are Gilmour’s soaring voice, the thumping bass line that opens the track, and the string of cash register sounds that, in essence, thumb their noses at Western economics.

Hey, that’s the job of rock and roll, right? Even if it does make its performers rich in the process. Because money, after all, is nothing if not a hypocritical, necessary concept we all must live with.

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