Roger Waters says The Wall remains relevant today thanks to ‘allegory’ found on album

Roger Waters believes an allegory heard on Pink Floyd‘s 1979 album, The Wall, is the reason it remains relevant to listeners.

Waters, who has made his opinions on political strife known in recent times, believes that revisiting The Wall allowed him the chance to explore how it remains a relevant piece of work. The Pink Floyd bassist had adapted his touring in the early 2000s to include scathing criticism of the Iraq War, namely with the addition of his solo single, Leaving Beirut. But additional material and comments made on The Wall remain relevant now, and that is what keeps the album modern, Waters believes. The veteran songwriter says the original release can now be seen as an “allegory for the broader political situation” more than anything else.

He said: “When I decided to do The Wall again, I gave some thought as to what I could bring to it. I didn’t want to go out and whine about how miserable I was when I was a young man, but you can see nations in the same way an individual is, and they’re subject to fears, particularly the citizens of certain nations, where fear is used as an exercise of control. The original story of 1979 could be seen as an allegory for the broader political situation that is very relevant and pertains to now.”

Waters made it clear in the past that The Wall is the best album he has worked on. Waters was asked if The Wall is his favourite and most personal album that he made with Pink Floyd, and he replied that it was. He went on to explain the deeper connection with the record, which released in 1979.

He said: “Yes, and because of the way the narrative works and the shape of the thing and it’s maybe the most accomplished technically and philosophically.” Waters would delve a little deeper into the meaning behind specific songs on the album, with the veteran songwriter also believing the success of the album had been inevitable.

The bassist and songwriter behind the hit double album says it has now outsold The Dark Side of the Moon in the United States, and that The Wall has cracked the top three best-selling albums.

He told Word Magazine in May 2008: “Funnily enough, The Wall has sold a lot more than The Dark Side of the Moon in America now. I think it goes Thriller, The Eagles, The Wall, then The Dark Side of the Moon. But it always sounded like a very popular record. 

“I remember when we finished it off, thinking it would be a huge hit. I honestly don’t know why. I just did. It had a lot of class, but it was also deeply appealing. And of course, Money was seriously embraced by the AM radio; the cash register thing struck a chord. 

“And radio was a big factor then. Which is why they were always bribing them with cocaine and cash! But I like to think there’s a political dimension of honesty about the whole record that gives it a flavour of truth. That’s also a contributing factor to its longevity. People understand immediately when they hear it that there’s nothing contrived about it.”