Echoes

I believe this song is a timeline of some sort. The "ping"s in the beginning represent the universe coming into existence, and the first verse refers to the first organisms on Earth.... everything was "green and submarine", peaceful, it was enough, but something drove some of those organisms to seek a new life on land, something drove them to journey into the unknown. Fast-forward millions of years later to the Cro-Magnon.... Perhaps by complete coincidence, two of these early humans see each other and recognize themselves. They are the same, or the same species rather - "I am you and what I see is me". These two specific cavemen go on to try and cooperate for protection, hunting, shelter, etc. They work together. The following guitar solo documents the evolution of man, and all his accomplishments AND follies. The groovy part right after that reflects modern society, and how its kinda fast-paced, stressful, and there's a lot of sleaze that comes with civilization. In the haunting, graveyard-esque portion that follows, I THINK it singles out one man in this society, a very depressed man for whatever reason. He feels he's trudging through life, and its a living hell for him. However, he soon somehow feels he's breaking out of that hell...... maybe its a dream, or his life is turning around, something of that sort.... he feels he's ascending towards heaven and escaping from everything that has ruined his life. But just when he's on the brink, he "wakes up" (the last verse) and reality dawns on him. He quickly falls back to where he once was. He is alone. But something inside him, just like what drove the first organisms to leave the ocean and what drove the Cro-Magnons to work together, drives him to continue trudging through life, in hope that he will find someone or something to live for soon (and so I throw the windows wide and call to you across the sky.

This is just my interpretation, and I think any song or work of art can be interpreted a thousand ways. Whatever its about, this song remains my favorite song of all time.... the entire song as a whole is surreal. Every time that guitar cannon we all know bursts in moments before the last verse, I feel like I'm ascending to a new level of consciousness. Pink Floyd (who is also my favorite band) was, and will always be, awe-inspiring.

I think this song is about the ephemeral stopping of time and what happens during those few moments. Also, in the second verse, it is talking about locking eyes with someone and for that minute second, wanting to share everything you know about everything with them, but instead you just keep walking. This is one of Floyds most heaviest, trippiest songs, sounds like it should belong on DSoTM...it sorta sounds like some of the songs on that album.

Love this song!

The first verse could be about the evolution of life moving out of the sea onto the land (towards the light). It may also be suggesting that we will never know why life IS or where it is going.

The second verse might tie in with this notion by suggesting that we are all part of a greater life system or conciousness or spirit. We can't describe it, but we might be able to experience it fleetingly through these chance glances. Insightful, inspiring and beautiful! (PF might be aware of other ways of expeiencing it also!)

If this makes any sense to you, check out some of the lyrics to Tool songs like Third Eye and Aenima - similar notions (although the similarity might only be in my interpretation!). The debate about their meanings is pretty interesting too.

I think people are looking to much into this song when they are speaking about evolution. I don't think it's about that at all. I think it has to deal with what about 75% of all songs are about: Love and more specifically, finding that special someone / soul mate. I'll explain.

First Verse- I think first verse is a metaphor for being completely lost in life due to the fact of having no one and finally finding that one person that means the world to you. They use a marine theme to suggest this. Waters compares a lost/ lonely soul to a sea creature at the very deepest depths of the ocean. I think the sonar "Ping" is like a lost submarine traveling and finally discovering that there is something else out there. This person or thing helps the creature see the light at the surface and swim towards the light.

Second Verse- This one is pretty obvious: this takes us to modern life and spontaneously meeting your soulmate / the one. "Strangers passing in the street / by chance two separate glances meet / and I am you and what I see is me" It seems that these two people complete each other "And do I take you by the hand / and lead you through the land / and help understand the best I can" Once these two meet, it seems that nothing can stop their love "And no one...."

Third Verse- This verse describes how influential this soulmate is to the person and how this person means everything to them, comparing them to the sun. Basically saying that as long as they have them in their lives, they have inspiration and a reason to live and be happy. The final set of "And no one..." suggests that with this person in their lives, nothing causes them to slip into the darkness, instead, to stay awake and see nothing but light "And no-one sings me lullabies And no-one makes me close my eyes"

I could be wrong but I'm not sure if Waters was necessarily sing about evolution. Pink Floyd was out there and dealt with complex themes but they tended to deal with human emotions and contemporary issues.

I think this song is about dealing with death of perent, maybe the death of roger´s father.

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The ´echoes´are the memories from the past that still écho´. every time the person in the poem dreaming about his past - but then he wake up from this illusion memory.

'Overhead the albatross hangs motionless upon the air And deep beneath the rolling waves In labyrinths of coral caves The echo of a distant tide Comes willowing across the sand And everything is green and submarine.' == here it's and epic description how the memory come to him - and everything is good. but then he realize again the truth: And no-one called us to the land And no-one knows the wheres or whys But something stirs and something tries And starts to climb towards the light == here you can see disappointment . you can see the person talking about his parent because ; father is the one that answer child question (the wheres of whys). the light that he talking about may refear to the sun , or just illusion full of light : either way he probaly talking about joining to that 'light' - his person. it's not have to be in suicidal way - he just miss and need him so much.

¨Strangers passing in the street By chance two separate glances meet And I am you and what I see is me And do I take you by the hand And lead you through the land And help me understand the best I can" = i think in this pharse he describe a exprient when he see a total stranger that look fimiliar to his father, and get sorta of deja vu. you can see he talking to his father because: "and i am you and what i see is me" - meaning that he is part from him, the same blood. again he describe activities of fahter and son: "take you by the hand", "lead you through the land (parallel to ¨called as to the land¨)", "help me understand the best i can(parallel to 'the where's and why's).

but again - he wake up from that illision memory : "And no-one calls us to move on And no-one forces down our eyes And no-one speaks and no-one tries And no-one flies around the sun" = again he describe father-son activity, now in the negative way (no one encourage him, make him sleep) "no one speak and no-one tries And no-one flies around the sun" - he intend to the first verse (But something stirs and something tries And starts to climb towards the light) he wrote this to emphasize that he woke up from the illision.

he enter to the illusion again (you can also see by the writing of this pharse that he reliving the memory of his father everyday): "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" ==he (the writer) is in his bed, morning - the sun come's out and the light reach to the room and to his eyes. the light symbolize for him his father - and that make him to remmember his father - and encourge him. but then he again woke up from his illision, and realize again that is life suck! ¨And no-one sings me lullabies And no-one makes me close my eyes And so I throw the windows wide And call to you across the sky" == you can see again he is talking about his father: lullabies are perent-son exprience. the lullabies and the 'makes me close my eyes' refering to: ("And no-one forces down our eyes")

then in a act of despair he open the window , look to the sky and call to his father.

so you can see this song is about the death of roger´s father.

also you can find 2 motifÑ

• this is circular song, the writer enter into illision\memory and then wake up and so forth
• there is resemblance to 'ikarus' story: (ikarus is a story of the greek mythology : ikarus and his father try to reach to the sun, but eventully ikarus die): bout ikarus and this talking about the connection between father and son, and in this poem there is alot of talking about: sun and light and wings.)

SORRY FOR MY ENGLISH. im not native speaker.

It's so fun to interpret songs. I have enjoyed reading these comments. I think it's about meeting yourself, hiding from your past and refusing the future. To me it says we are avoiding confronting ourselves and what we are capable of and that we can't be alone in anything we do. There are two sides of each of us, like a rosencrantz and a Guildenstern. Sometimes we meet. "Strangers passing in the street By chance two separate glances meet And I am you and what I see is me" I also get the feeling that we came on land from water in the beginning and have been trying to figure out what we're supposed to be doing up here. Are we supposed to help each other become who we are supposed to be? How would we do it alone? Only a piece of ART can prompt so much discussion. Thank you for the opportunity to join you all! Now, can anyone interpret See Emily Play for me?

I'll never forget the first time I heard this song. When I first heard it it made me think of the poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Coleridge. Probably because it talks about an albatross in the first line of the song.

This song means so much to me. Everything about it is mind-blowing.

To me this song is epic on the grandest scale. The song begins on the beach amidst the waves of the sea, but also amidst the waves of sunlight. The pinging of the opening notes suggests both the submarine sonar and the echoes of the big bang. This is about creation and evolution, wave-particle duality, and the call of evolving DNA to itself in a grand love song which echoes throughout all time, so that in each life, each reincarnation, we are calling to ourselves, and our soulmates, our fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, lovers, sons and daughters, our friends and even our enemies, as we have been all of these to each other throughout our countless incarnations, and in this endless cycle of rebirth and evolution, we are the Universe becoming conscious of itself, so that each morning when the sunlight hits our eyes, and we are conscious of it, of that echo of creation, we are the evolution from that time, calling back to our past and present self.

When I first heard this song I got goosebumps and was literally breathless. It kinda reminds me of going to a foreign country...

The best Pink Floyd song of all times. Good for an awesome trip.