Planetary Misalignment: The Meaning Behind “Echoes” by Pink Floyd

David Gilmour described “Echoes” as “the one where we were all discovering what Pink Floyd was all about.”

On Pink Floyd’s 1971 album Meddle, “Echoes” fills the whole second side of the album. It’s the sound of the band finding its compositional footing, on the way to their 1973 masterpiece, The Dark Side of the Moon. 

The original title for the song was “The Return of the Son of Nothing”—a reflection of the band’s frustration as they entered the studio without preparing material. Fatigued and uninspired from constant touring, the band had only the “pinging” sound of a distant piano to begin “Echoes.” Together in a rehearsal room, they worked out the nearly 24-minute arrangement. Pink Floyd had written their first masterwork. 

The song was pieced together using musical fragments from previous sessions. Some parts were recorded without knowing what the other band members would play. Experimental sounds and performances were layered on top of each other across multiple studios. 

After arranging the entire piece, the band rehearsed “Echoes” before the final recording. They rehearsed and recorded the basic tracks at Abbey Road Studios. Overdubs were completed at AIR Studios in London. A third studio, Morgan, was used for assembling additional components.

From the Sky to the Sea

Richard Wright gave life to the song’s basic structure. He wrote the piano intro and chord progression. Wright’s piano reverberates like a call from the unknown corners of the ocean. On previous albums, Pink Floyd sounded like a band with its head in the clouds. They were a psychedelic band tripping their way through the 1960s. The sound of the deep sea beginning “Echoes” may be a kind of musical metaphor for a band looking inward. 

Roger Waters wrote the lyrics about the heavy weight of loneliness. The theme of grasping for human connection was inspired by the Muhammad Iqbal poem “Two Planets.” In the poem, two planets meet and embrace. They dream of being together but the laws of changeless orbits will keep them apart. 

Waters reminisced about his time in London, staring at a busy street but feeling alone. He writes of big-city disconnection with the line Strangers passing in the street. Themes of human connection and communication would become a regular feature of Waters’ work.

Cloudless everyday
You fall upon my waking eyes
Inviting and inciting me to rise
And through the window in the wall
Come streaming in on sunlight wings
A million bright ambassadors of morning
And no one sings me lullabies
And no one makes me close my eyes
So I throw the windows wide
And call to you across the sky

Gilmour Finds Order in the Madness

David Gilmour found what became his signature guitar tone and go-to effects on “Echoes.” He was no longer Syd Barrett’s replacement; he was now a dominant creative force in the band. Gilmour replaced Barrett’s chaos with order. Each band member was finding their individual voices together. Thus, what became the definitive sound of Pink Floyd was born. This was no longer “space rock.” Pink Floyd had finally mastered the art of composition. 

Syd Barrett had a vision for Pink Floyd. The band was built to travel the outer limits of popular art. They were never a singles-driven band. They were a band of explorers. Barrett’s personal struggles and demise led to David Gilmour joining the band, though, and the effect of this change was Pink Floyd arriving at its creative destination. Barrett, the band’s architect, had to exit to make room for the complete evolution of Pink Floyd. 

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Live at Pompeii

For their live 1972 concert film, Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii, the band performed at the ancient amphitheatre in Pompeii, Italy. Most concert films at the time focused on a crowd of worshipping fans. Live at Pompeii was shot without an audience. Performing the colossal “Echoes,” the band looks small inside the ruins of ancient Roman might. 

A fascinating part of Pink Floyd’s story is how commercially successful they’ve been. They are one of the biggest-selling bands in history. Pink Floyd are ambitious and intensely experimental, yet they’ve sold more than 250 million albums worldwide. 

Meddle was well received by critics. The album reached No. 3 on the UK Albums chart. 

The Dark Side of the Moon was only two years away. Meddle and Dark Side are separated by Obscured by Clouds, a soundtrack for the French film La Vallée. 

Pink Floyd were busy experimenting on their previous two releases, Atom Heart Mother and Ummagumma. Syd Barrett was gone and they were searching for their voice. Those albums sound like a journey. “Echoes” is the destination. Through years of laborious exploration, Pink Floyd finally found themselves. 

Photo: YouTube screen shot from “Pink Floyd LIVE AT POMPEII HD FULL” posted by user Franz Floyd