The Nile Song

"The Nile Song"
Single by Pink Floyd
from the album More
B-side	"Ibiza Bar" (France and New Zealand) "Main Theme" (Japan)
Released	July 1969[1]
Recorded	February 1969
Genre	Hard rock acid rock heavy metal
Length	3:27
Label	Columbia Harvest
Songwriter(s)	Roger Waters
Producer(s)	Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd singles chronology
"Point Me at the Sky" (1968) "The Nile Song" (1969) "One of These Days" (1971)

"The Nile Song", written by Roger Waters and sung by David Gilmour, is the second song from Pink Floyd's 1969 album More, the soundtrack to the film of the same name.^[2][3] It was released as a single in 1969 (only in France, Japan and New Zealand),^[4] and included on the 1971 compilation album Relics. While Pink Floyd never played the song in concert, Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets performed it in 2018.^[5]

While the rest of the More album was issued in true stereo, "The Nile Song" was mixed in mono and processed into Duophonic stereo for release.

Composition

Andy Kellman of AllMusic feels that "The Nile Song" is "one of the heaviest songs the band ever recorded".^[6] The chord progression is a series of modulations, beginning at A and then rising a whole step with each repeat, cycling through six different keys, returning to the starting point of A and continuing this pattern as the song fades out.^[7] The song's style has been described as heavy metal,^[8][9] acid rock^[10] and hard rock.^[11][12]

Personnel

• David Gilmour – lead vocals, guitar
• Roger Waters – bass
• Nick Mason – drums

Covers

"The Nile Song" was covered by:

• The Human Instinct, on their 1971 album Pins In It.^[13]
• The Necros, on their 1986 album Tangled Up.^[14]
• Red Temple Spirits, on their 1988 album Dancing to Restore an Eclipsed Moon.^[15]
• The Melvins, live at UCLA in 1993.
• Panthers, on their 2004 album Things Are Strange.^{[citation needed]}
• The Morlocks, on their 1991 album Wake Me When I'm Dead.^[16]
• Voivod, on their 1993 album The Outer Limits.^[17]
• Dreadnaught, on their 2001 EP One Piece Missing.^[18]
• Gov't Mule, on their 2018 tour Dark Side of the Mule^[19]

References

1. Fielder, Hugh (2013). Pink Floyd - Behind The Wall (1st ed.). Race Point Publishing. ISBN 978-90-8998-451-7.
2. Strong, Martin C. (2004). The Great Rock Discography (7th ed.). Edinburgh: Canongate Books. p. 1177. ISBN 1-84195-551-5.
3. Mabbett, Andy (1995). The Complete Guide to the Music of Pink Floyd. London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-4301-X.
4. "The Official Site". Pink Floyd. Retrieved 2016-10-02.
5. "Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets Setlist at the Half Moon, London". setlist.fm.
6. Kellman, Andy. Pink Floyd - Relics at AllMusic. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
7. Pink Floyd: Anthology (1980 Warner Bros. Publications, Inc., Secaucus N.J.)
8. Andy Mabbett (28 September 2010). Pink Floyd- The music and the mystery: The Music and the Mystery. Omnibus Press. p. 75. ISBN 978-0-85712-418-0.
9. Pink Floyd- Uncensored on the Record. Coda Books Ltd. p. 37. ISBN 978-1-908538-27-7.
10. Kopp, Bill (2018). Reinventing Pink Floyd: From Syd Barrett to the Dark Side of the Moon. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 72. ISBN 9781538108284.
11. Mark Fogarty (14 August 2008). Went to See the Gypsy. Lulu.com. p. 293. ISBN 978-1-4357-5140-8.
12. Riley Haas (13 September 2013). The Beatles Are the Greatest Rock Band of All Time and I Can Prove It. Riley Haas. p. 241. ISBN 978-0-9921513-0-0.
13. "Human Instinct* - Pins In It". Discogs. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
14. "The Necros* - Tangled Up". Discogs. 1987. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
15. "Red Temple Spirits - Dancing To Restore An Eclipsed Moon". Discogs. 1988. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
16. "Morlocks* - Wake Me When I'm Dead". Discogs. 1991. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
17. "Voivod* - The Outer Limits". Discogs. 1993. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
18. "Dreadnaught - One Piece Missing". Discogs. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
19. "Gov't Mule Concert Setlist Jones Beach State Park, NY July 12, 2018". setlist.fm.