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The Tide is Turning (After Live Aid) Lyrics
I used to think the world was flat
Rarely threw my hat into the crowd
I felt I had used up my quota of yearning
Used to look in on the children at night
In the glow of their Donald Duck light
And frighten myself with the thought of my little ones burning
But oh, oh, oh, the tide is turning
The tide is turning
Satellite buzzing through the endless night
Exclusive to moonshots and world title fights
Jesus Christ imagine what it must be earning
Who is the strongest, who is the best
Who holds the aces, the East or the West
This is the crap our children are learning
But oh, oh, oh, the tide is turning
The tide is turning
Oh, oh, oh, the tide is turning
Now the satellite's confused
'Cos on Saturday night
The airwaves were full of compassion and light
And his silicon heart warmed
To the sight of a billion candles burning
Oo, oo, oo, the tide is turning
Oo, oo, oo, the tide is turning
The tide is turning Billy
I'm not saying that the battle is won
But on Saturday night all those kids in the sun
Wrested technology's sword from the hand of the
War Lords
Oh, oh, oh, the tide is turning
The tide is turning Sylvester
The tide is turning.
Rarely threw my hat into the crowd
I felt I had used up my quota of yearning
Used to look in on the children at night
In the glow of their Donald Duck light
And frighten myself with the thought of my little ones burning
But oh, oh, oh, the tide is turning
The tide is turning
Exclusive to moonshots and world title fights
Jesus Christ imagine what it must be earning
Who is the strongest, who is the best
Who holds the aces, the East or the West
This is the crap our children are learning
But oh, oh, oh, the tide is turning
The tide is turning
Oh, oh, oh, the tide is turning
'Cos on Saturday night
The airwaves were full of compassion and light
And his silicon heart warmed
To the sight of a billion candles burning
Oo, oo, oo, the tide is turning
Oo, oo, oo, the tide is turning
The tide is turning Billy
But on Saturday night all those kids in the sun
Wrested technology's sword from the hand of the
War Lords
Oh, oh, oh, the tide is turning
The tide is turning Sylvester
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amazing song that never gets much recognition
amazing song that never gets much recognition
Yeah, you bastard politicians and destroyers, the tide is turning. The song sums it up well. BTW, the Billy that is mentioned is the Billy of the album's storyline and Sylvester is Sylvester Stallone. Originally there was an extra lyric that Roger took out because he didn't want to be sued by Sylvester Stallone. Basically in that lyric, he was demeaning Sylvester and his "mediocrity" and "macho bullshit"
At the risk of stating the obvious, RW is saying here that in spite of all his well-founded pessimism over global affairs, the events of Live Aid have given him at least some cause for hope. Live Aid scored a world first in linking the UK and US events live by satellite; RW sees this as a significant victory for compassion over military/political interests and vacuous entertainment.
Last year, the Live Aid 20th Anniversary event, Live 8, saw RW reunited with DG, RW and NM as the highlight of the London show.
What exactly is he referring to with the lines about Sylvester Stallone? As BrainDamage said, they were cut out, but they were actually re-added as Morse Code messages, which read as such:
"That's it! Now the past is over but you are not alone Together we'll fight Sylvester Stallone We will not be dragged down in his South China Sea Of macho bullshit and mediocrity"
What is he referencing? As far as I know, Stallone was just an actor who played such characters as Rocky. What did he do to get Waters upset with him enough to include him in a song?
Stallone made his name also in a series of Godaweful movies called Rambo. Hollywood war propaganda. in short.
Stallone made his name also in a series of Godaweful movies called Rambo. Hollywood war propaganda. in short.
I remember this when we were beginning to feel optimistic that we had stared down WW3 and avoided it.
I listened again and it nearly had me in tears because we didn't turn a corner but hurtled of into a new bunch of shit : the balkans, Iraq, 9/11, Bush jr and two more wars without end.
it should also be noted that this has been used to replace the song outside the wall, on live performances of THE WALL, by waters, most notably in the live in Berlin album