Don't Leave Me Now

"Don't Leave Me Now" is a song by Pink Floyd. It was released on The Wall album in 1979.

Composition

The song is split into two main portions; the first of which is very dissonant and quiet in dynamics, reflected in a sluggish piano and reverb-laden synthesizer. The lyrics are rather cynical-sounding (as in The Thin Ice) and have a lackluster quality to them, accentuating the plot. The second section contains a more protracted and emotional plea, and is louder in tone. The song ends as Pink quickly switches between different channels on his television, and finishes the song with a hysteric scream. The song, arguably the saddest in tone on the album, marks the infidelity of Pink's wife and his corresponding isolation from society. The music has a slow, haunting quality to it culminating in a mournful guitar solo. The song seems to have the sound of quiet breathing in the background at first. It then seems more angered, like a bull. Pink then begins watching TV.

Plot

As with the other songs on The Wall, Don't Leave Me Now tells a portion of the story of Pink, the album's protagonist. Having failed to win over his unfaithful wife or a groupie, Pink falls into a bout of depression. He pleads with his wife not to go, but in the next breath states that his need is to, metaphorically at least, put her through the shredder in public and beat her. Waters - in a 1980 interview with Jim Ladd - described this song as being about "two people who have treated each other very badly" and yet are devastated at the prospect of their relationship ending. He also stated on the 1992 US radio special Pink Floyd: The 25th Anniversary Special that the lyrics had nothing to do with his personal life and had a more cordial relationship with his wife in real-life than the character Pink did.

Film version

The song begins with a close-up of the debris in Pink's hotel room, then switches over to the hotel's pool, where Pink is seen floating in a crucifix position. With his right hand having been cut earlier in a shard of glass (when Pink thrashed his penthouse), his blood pours out and stains the pool water. What follows is a fantasy sequence in which Pink watches The Dam Busters on TV. The shadow of Pink's wife emerges on the back wall before materialising into a praying mantis-like monster, which then transforms into the vulva-shaped flower from "What Shall We Do Now?". The song ends with Pink cowering in a corner of the room, tortured by both the imaginary mantis in front of him and the thoughts of his wife's adulterous acts superimposed on the screen.

Personnel

• Roger Waters - VCS3, vocals^[1]
• Nick Mason - drums^[1]
• David Gilmour - bass guitar, guitars, backing vocals, breathing^[1]
• Richard Wright - bass pedals, organ, piano, synthesizer^[1]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Fitch, Vernon and Mahon, Richard, Comfortably Numb - A History of The Wall 1978-1981, 2006, p. 87