Breathe (Pink Floyd song) explained

Breathe
Alt:	Cover of the dark side of the moon album.
Type:	song
Artist:	Pink Floyd
Album:	The Dark Side of the Moon
Published:	World Copyrights Ltd.
Released:	1 March 1973
Recorded:	22 June 197227 January 1973^[1]
Genre:	Progressive rock psychedelic rock
Length:	2:47 3:54 (combined with "Speak to Me")
Label:	Harvest
Composer:	Richard Wright David Gilmour
Lyricist:	Roger Waters
Producer:	Pink Floyd

"Breathe" (sometimes called "Breathe (In the Air)") is a song by English rock band Pink Floyd. It appears on their 1973 album The Dark Side of the Moon.^[2]

Authorship and composition

The authorship and composition of this song is credited to David Gilmour and Richard Wright for the music and Roger Waters for the lyrics.^[2] Dark Side, admitted the latter, "is a little adolescent and naïve in its preoccupations, but I'm not belittling it. It's like a rather wonderful, naïve painting. 'Breathe in the air / Don't be afraid to care' – that's the opening couplet. Well, yeah, I can cop that, but it's kind of simplistic stuff."^[3]

The song is slow-paced and rich in texture, and features Gilmour playing the electric guitar with a Uni-Vibe and lap steel guitar with a volume pedal and several overdubs.^[4] On the original album, it is a separate track from "Speak to Me", the sound collage that opens the first side.^[2] Since this track segues into "Breathe" via a sustained backwards piano chord, the two are conjoined on most CD versions of the album.^[5] A one-minute reprise features at the end of the song "Time",^[2] without the slide guitar and using Farfisa organ and Wurlitzer electronic piano in place of Hammond organ and Rhodes piano.

The chords for much of the song alternate between E minor(add9) and A major, with a turnaround appearing before the verses and then functioning as a chorus, consisting of C major seventh, B minor seventh, F major seventh, G major, D7(9) and D7(9).^[6] Wright admitted to having lifted the D7(#9) in the progression from Miles Davis' Kind of Blue. It is an exact quote from bar 9 of "All Blues" even though the 2 songs are in different keys.^[7]

Along with the other Pink Floyd tracks "Time" and "The Great Gig in the Sky", "Breathe" is seen as Gilmour "carving out a more distinctive style" with the introduction of blues-based chords and solos.^[8] "Breathe" has also been seen to "embrace ecology".^[9]

This song was one of several to be considered for the band's "best of" album, .^[10]

Alternative and live versions

• The Pulse CD and DVD features a live version of the song^[2] with a run time of 2:33.
• The song was played at the Live 8 concert and features on the DVD. For that performance, "Breathe" and "Breathe (Reprise)" were combined to form one song. Although Pink Floyd themselves had never done this before, the London Philharmonic Orchestra had previously covered the song in this manner on their 1995 album .
• The solo Roger Waters DVD and CD, In the Flesh – Live, features a version of the song sung by Doyle Bramhall and Jon Carin.
• Live versions with Richard Wright appear on the Gilmour solo Remember That Night DVD and Live in Gdańsk CD. The Live in Gdańsk version is titled "Breathe (In the Air)" rather than just "Breathe".
• "Breathe (Reprise)" appears (along with "Time") on Gilmour's 2017 live video and album Live at Pompeii.
• A live version is found on The Dark Side of the Moon Live at Wembley 1974 (2023).

Personnel

• David Gilmour – electric guitar, pedal steel guitar, lead and backing vocals
• Roger Waters – bass guitar
• Richard Wright – Hammond organ, Fender Rhodes electric piano
• Nick Mason – drums

Cover versions

• An orchestrated version, arranged by Jaz Coleman, appears on the 1995 London Philharmonic Orchestra album .^[11]
• Sea of Green covered "Breathe" and "Breathe (Reprise)" on their album Time to Fly in 2001.
• "Breathe" is covered on 2002 Pink Floyd tribute album An All Star Lineup Performing the Songs of Pink Floyd featuring McAuley Schenker Group vocalist Robin McAuley and Steely Dan/Doobie Brothers guitarist Jeff "Skunk" Baxter.
• Flaming Lips included a version of "Breathe" in their act at the Glastonbury Festival in 2003 and frequently during their subsequent tour^{[12] [13]} and performed a live version for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon in 2010.^[14] Flaming Lips also covered the song with Stardeath and White Dwarfs on the band's 2009 album The Flaming Lips and Stardeath and White Dwarfs with Henry Rollins and Peaches Doing The Dark Side of the Moon.
• A version of "Breathe" by The Shins is included on the 2007 compilation album .^[15]
• Brit Floyd plays Breathe (Reprise) as a staple, directly following Time. It can be found on all CDs and DVDs. Space and Time Live in Amsterdam also contains Breathe.
• Capital Cities covered the song and incorporated a sample of Tupac Shakur's rap from Scarface's "Smile," which features a similar lyric to the Pink Floyd song.^[16]
• Ocean Alley covered the song in a medley as well as Comfortably Numb and Money for Triple J's Like A Version in 2021.

Roger Waters version

Breathe
Type:	single
Artist:	Roger Waters
Album:	The Dark Side of the Moon Redux
A-Side:	Speak to Me
Released:	21 September 2023
Genre:	Art pop
Length:	3:22 5:16 (with "Speak to Me")
Label:	SGB Cooking Vinyl
Composer:	Wright Gilmour
Lyricist:	Waters
Prev Title:	Time
Prev Year:	2023
Speak to Me
Title2:	Breathe
Year:	2023

Pink Floyd bassist Roger Waters released "Breathe" alongside "Speak to Me" on 21 September 2023 as the third single in promotion of his seventh studio album, The Dark Side of the Moon Redux, a complete recreation of the original album The Dark Side of the Moon. The two tracks came with a lyric video.^[17]

Around early 2023, Waters announced that in celebration of the 50th anniversary of The Dark Side of the Moon, he would be releasing a complete recreation of the record that wouldn't feature the rest of Pink Floyd members, trying to re-address the emotional and political statements made on that record.^[18] The album was released on 6 October 2023, preceded by the singles "Money" and "Time", with "Breathe" and "Speak to Me" being released together as the final singles.^[19]

Personnel

• Roger Waters – vocals
• Gus Seyffert – bass, guitar, percussion, keys, synth, backing vocals
• Joey Waronker – drums, percussion
• Jonathan Wilson – guitars, synth, organ
• Johnny Shepherd – organ, piano
• Via Mardot – theremin
• Azniv Korkejian – vocals
• Gabe Noel – string arrangements, strings, sarangi
• Jon Carin – keyboards, lap steel, synth, organ

Notes and References

1. Book: Guesdon, Jean-MIchel . Pink Floyd All The Songs . Running Press . 2017 . 9780316439237 .
2. Book: Mabbett, Andy . Omnibus . 9780711943018 . The Complete Guide to the Music of Pink Floyd . London . 1995.
3. News: Matthew . Gwyther . The dark side of success . . 7 March 1993 . 34.
4. Book: Chapman, Richard . Guitar: Music, History, Players . 2003 . DK Pub. . New York . 9780789497000 . 1st pbk..
5. Web site: [{{AllMusic|class=song|id=t1534070|pure_url=yes}} Speak to Me/Breathe ]. William . Ruhlmann . Allmusic.com . Rovi . 2012-07-08.
6. Web site: Pink Floyd "Breathe (In the Air)" Guitar Tab. Waters, Roger. Wright, Richard. Gilmour, David. Musicnotes . 10 November 2008 .
7. Web site: Pink Floyd darkside of the moon breathe . .
8. Book: Gulla, Bob . Guitar Gods: The 25 Players Who Made Rock History . 2008 . Greenwood Press . Westport, Conn. . 9780313358067 . 93 .
9. Book: Schinder, Scott . Icons of rock : an encyclopedia of the legends who changed music forever . 2008 . Greenwood Press . Westport, Conn. . 9780313338472 . Schwartz, Andy . 447.
10. Web site: James Guthrie: Audio: Building A Compilation Album. Guthrie. James. Pink Floyd. 17 June 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20100602090835/http://www.pinkfloyd.co.uk/echoes/ae/james.html. 2 June 2010.
11. Web site: Us and Them: Symphonic Pink Floyd by London Philharmonic Orchestra; Alibris UK . London Philharmonic Orchestra . Alibris.co.uk . 10 October 1995 . 2010-06-02.
12. News: Saturday Review - Glastonbury Festival 2003 . Paul . Heyes . eFestivals.com . 8 July 2003 . 2010-06-02.
13. Web site: The Flaming Lips Tour Statistics setlist.fm. www.setlist.fm. 2017-03-17.
14. Web site: Video: The Flaming Lips Do Pink Floyd's "Breathe" on "Jimmy Fallon" . Tom . Breihan . 19 April 2010 . Pitchfork.com . Pitchfork Media . 2010-06-02.
15. Web site: [{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r1110994|pure_url=yes}} The Saturday Sessions: The Dermot O'Leary Show' ]. Jon . O'Brien . Allmusic.com . Rovi . 9 July 2007 . 2010-06-02 .
16. Web site: Capital Cities Explains How They United Pink Floyd & Tupac For 'Breathe' . radio.com . May 7, 2013 . May 18, 2014 . Tilles, Jay . https://web.archive.org/web/20140519060414/http://radio.com/2013/05/07/capital-cities-explains-how-they-united-pink-floyd-tupac-for-breathe/ . May 19, 2014 . dead .
17. Web site: Roger Waters - "Speak to Me/Breathe" 94 Rock . 2023-09-30 . The Morning Show with Swami, Skyler and Mahoney . en.
18. Web site: 2023-07-21 . Roger Waters / The Dark Side of the Moon Redux – SuperDeluxeEdition . 2023-08-08 . en-US.
19. Web site: Mendelsohn . Jon . 2023-09-21 . Roger Waters Updates "Speak to Me/Breathe" With Chilling Spoken Word Intro . 2023-09-30 . American Songwriter . en-US.