The Nile Song Explained

The Nile Song
Cover:	TheNileSong.jpg
Type:	single
Artist:	Pink Floyd
Album:	More
Released:	July 1969^[1]
Recorded:	February 1969
Producer:	Pink Floyd
Prev Title:	Point Me at the Sky
Prev Year:	1968
Next Title:	One of These Days
Next Year:	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". 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.^[6] The song's style has been described as heavy metal,^{[7] [8]} acid rock^[9] and hard rock.^{[10] [11]}

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.^[12]
• The Necros, on their 1986 album Tangled Up.^[13]
• Red Temple Spirits, on their 1988 album Dancing to Restore an Eclipsed Moon.^[14]
• The Melvins, live at UCLA in 1993.
• Panthers, on their 2004 album Things Are Strange.
• The Morlocks, on their 1991 album Wake Me When I'm Dead.^[15]
• Voivod, on their 1993 album The Outer Limits.^[16]
• Dreadnaught, on their 2001 EP One Piece Missing.^[17]
• Gov't Mule, on their 2018 tour Dark Side of the Mule^[18]

Notes and References

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