“In some ways, it’s one of the simplest pieces on the record, but it was also the hardest to get right. It’s all about the dynamics and sustained sense of tension and release. There’s really only one or two musical motifs in it, so it’s all about the way it’s layered and structured. We did the most takes of this song than any other.
“Lyrically, it’s one of two songs, consecutively on the record, about marriages or relationships gone wrong — The Watchmaker being the other one. They’re both songs about the idea of inertia or spaces within marriage; it's the concept that you can be with someone because it’s comfortable and convenient, not because there’s any love or empathy.
“The song is basically sung by the wife. She’s dead, she’s been thrown in the river by the husband, and she’s floating down in the river while singing this song — from beyond death, beyond the grave, as it were. It’s quite macabre.
“The idea is that sometimes in a relationship there can be so much tension, so much unspoken resentment and hatred, that the tiniest thing can set off a violent episode, and in this case, one that ends in tragedy. The sound of a pin dropping on a floor can be the thing that instigates the fury.
“With this band, I’ve been able to concentrate more on being a singer. I tried something a bit different: I opened up my throat and sang in a less contained, less controlled way. I was very inspired by a singer called Nick Harper — he's the son of Roy Harper. They both sing in a dramatic way that I love. I was thinking of Nick when I did the vocals.
“Guthrie plays another extraordinary solo towards the end. This time we fed it through a Leslie cabinet. I’m a big fan of Leslies. A lot of people associate them with the past, but I think it’s a timeless sound. I’ll put anything through a Leslie — guitars, keyboards, vocals. It’s such a wonderfully rich sound.”
In Steven Wilson's own words:
“In some ways, it’s one of the simplest pieces on the record, but it was also the hardest to get right. It’s all about the dynamics and sustained sense of tension and release. There’s really only one or two musical motifs in it, so it’s all about the way it’s layered and structured. We did the most takes of this song than any other.
“Lyrically, it’s one of two songs, consecutively on the record, about marriages or relationships gone wrong — The Watchmaker being the other one. They’re both songs about the idea of inertia or spaces within marriage; it's the concept that you can be with someone because it’s comfortable and convenient, not because there’s any love or empathy.
“The song is basically sung by the wife. She’s dead, she’s been thrown in the river by the husband, and she’s floating down in the river while singing this song — from beyond death, beyond the grave, as it were. It’s quite macabre.
“The idea is that sometimes in a relationship there can be so much tension, so much unspoken resentment and hatred, that the tiniest thing can set off a violent episode, and in this case, one that ends in tragedy. The sound of a pin dropping on a floor can be the thing that instigates the fury.
“With this band, I’ve been able to concentrate more on being a singer. I tried something a bit different: I opened up my throat and sang in a less contained, less controlled way. I was very inspired by a singer called Nick Harper — he's the son of Roy Harper. They both sing in a dramatic way that I love. I was thinking of Nick when I did the vocals.
“Guthrie plays another extraordinary solo towards the end. This time we fed it through a Leslie cabinet. I’m a big fan of Leslies. A lot of people associate them with the past, but I think it’s a timeless sound. I’ll put anything through a Leslie — guitars, keyboards, vocals. It’s such a wonderfully rich sound.”