I am quite surprised that nobody noticed the key elements in the song (and also the most memorable out of the 4 movements): "Syncopated Pandemonium" and "Celestial Voices".
It is definitely about a battle between good and evil with links to the Paradise Lost's angelic war over Heaven. Pandemonium (roughly translated as "all-demons") is the name invented by John Milton for the capital of Tartarus (or Hell). "Syncopated Pandemonium" is a metaphor describing Hell's transformation (or syncopation) during the three days of the battle, while "Celestial Voices" could either mean the mourning of the defeated fallen angels, or the celestial voices of the victorious angels of God.
Considering the experimental, almost arbitrary, writing of the track (Gilmour once said "I can't say as I fully understood what was going on when it was being made, with Roger sitting around drawing little diagrams on bits of paper") there is a lot of room for interpretation and for sure there's more than one meaning, as each band member contributed to the track adding his own message. However, I always think to Milton's Paradise Lost when listening to it.
I am quite surprised that nobody noticed the key elements in the song (and also the most memorable out of the 4 movements): "Syncopated Pandemonium" and "Celestial Voices".
It is definitely about a battle between good and evil with links to the Paradise Lost's angelic war over Heaven. Pandemonium (roughly translated as "all-demons") is the name invented by John Milton for the capital of Tartarus (or Hell). "Syncopated Pandemonium" is a metaphor describing Hell's transformation (or syncopation) during the three days of the battle, while "Celestial Voices" could either mean the mourning of the defeated fallen angels, or the celestial voices of the victorious angels of God.
Considering the experimental, almost arbitrary, writing of the track (Gilmour once said "I can't say as I fully understood what was going on when it was being made, with Roger sitting around drawing little diagrams on bits of paper") there is a lot of room for interpretation and for sure there's more than one meaning, as each band member contributed to the track adding his own message. However, I always think to Milton's Paradise Lost when listening to it.