Allusions to WW2 in Pink Floyd Albums, the Wall and The Final Cut

[Wandering Monk]

The more I listen to these albums and study WW2, the more allusions to that war I find in the albums. There are a few direct references, but most are subtle requiring some familiarity with events, conditions, phrases and societal effects of that war.

Thought it might be fun for us to dissect their lyrics and see how many of these allusions we can tease out.

 

[Kathryn]

Daddy's flown across the ocean
Leaving just a memory
Snapshot in the family album
Daddy what else did you leave for me?
Daddy, what'd'ja leave behind for me?!?

source: Pink Floyd - The Wall Lyrics - Full Album - Lyrics On Demand

 

[Kathryn]

Did you see the frightened ones?
Did you hear the falling bombs?
Did you ever wonder why we had to run for shelter when the
promise of a brave new world unfurled beneath a clear blue
sky?

Did you see the frightened ones?
Did you hear the falling bombs?
The flames are all gone, but the pain lingers on.

Goodbye, blue sky
Goodbye, blue sky.
Goodbye.
Goodbye.
Goodbye.

source: Pink Floyd - The Wall Lyrics - Full Album - Lyrics On Demand

 

[Wandering Monk]

Does anyone remember Vera Lynn?​

Remember how she said​

that would meet again​

some sunny day.​

​

Vera Lynn was a popular British singer during WW2. One of her hits was 'We'll Meet Again.' Here are part of the lyrics to that song.

We'll meet again​

Don't know where​

Don't know when​

But I know we'll meet again some sunny day​

 

[Wandering Monk]

Did you see the frightened ones?​

Did you hear the falling bombs?​

Did you ever wonder why we had to run for shelter when the​

promise of a brave new world unfurled beneath a clear blue sky?​

​

Did you see the frightened ones?​

Did you hear the falling bombs?​

The flames are all gone, but the pain lingers on.​

​

Goodbye, blue sky​

Goodbye, blue sky.​

Goodbye.​

Goodbye.​

Goodbye.​

​

Brave New World is a dystopian novel by English author Aldous Huxley, written in 1931 and published in 1932.[2] Largely set in a futuristic World State, whose citizens are environmentally engineered into an intelligence-based social hierarchy, the novel anticipates huge scientific advancements in reproductive technology, sleep-learning, psychological manipulation and classical conditioning that are combined to make a dystopian society which is challenged by the story's protagonist.

The title Brave New World derives from Miranda's speech in William Shakespeare's The Tempest, Act V, Scene I:[9]

O wonder!
How many goodly creatures are there here!
How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world,
That has such people in 't.
— William Shakespeare, The Tempest, Act V, Scene I, ll. 203–206[10]

Brave New World - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org