Roger Waters is still receiving heavy criticism for performing a Pink Floyd song he wrote, decades after singing it.
Though he co-wrote the song with David Gilmour for Wish You Were Here, Waters did not sing the song and, as such, has split fans with his own version of it. Though fans were interested to hear what Waters could offer to the title track of Pink Floyd’s 1975 album, listeners were not all that pleased by the performance. Gilmour provides vocals on the song, and has kept it as part of his live shows post-Pink Floyd, though it appears a particular rendition of it from Waters has split opinion.
A clip of Waters performing Wish You Were Here was shared to a Pink Floyd Reddit page, where fans of the band shared their thoughts on the performance. While some were relatively pleased with the instrumental and vocal changes Waters provided, others were less than impressed with the performance.
A post to the subreddit reads: “I realize he co-wrote the song, but Roger Waters singing Wish You Were Here annoys me.” Attached is a video of Waters’ performance of Wish You Were Here, which blew some away as they had never heard him sing the song. One user wrote: “I have no idea how I’ve never heard him sing it. David sings it with way more passion, but I must admit the low, slow way Roger sings it makes it come across as way more sad.”
Another added: “I admit that I may prefer Gilmor’s voice but I do enjoy Water’s more haunting version considering the meaning.” A third wrote: “I wonder if this bluesy soul is the way Waters envisioned the song from the start. The album version is magnificent, but I do like this.”
Other fans of the band have since defended Waters’ work, with one describing it as “different but it suits.” They added: “Less energy makes it feel a bit more depressing, which can be good if you like that sort of sound.”
Another user wrote: “Like it or not he really did write the lyrics so give him credit. I’m more of a Gilmour fan but hey the sum of their parts was always greater than the separation of them. Love me some Floyd no matter who is performing.” Some were pleasantly surprised by Waters’ vocal work on the song, adding: “I thought I would get weirded out but it’s good!”
It is not the first time Waters has covered Pink Floyd songs, with the tracks frequently appearing as part of his setlist when on tour. He also released a “redux” version of The Dark Side of the Moon in 2023, rewriting some songs and changing the instrumental arrangements. You can watch Waters perform the song with Eric Clapton below.
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It’s a debate as old as the band themselves. Who wrote what Who sang what. Waters has always been under the impression that as he wrote the lyrics it is his song…Roger has always had the tendency to belittle what the others contributed so there is nothing new in that Waters has redone a handful of Floyd songs and of course the redux so feels that he can do what he chooses with any pinkfloyd material.
FloydGuy