Have a Cigar
"Have a Cigar" | ||||
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Single by Pink Floyd featuring Roy Harper | ||||
from the album Wish You Were Here | ||||
B-side | ||||
Released | November 1975 | (US)|||
Recorded | 10 March – 28 July 1975[5] | |||
Studio | Abbey Road, London | |||
Genre | ||||
Length |
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Label | ||||
Songwriter(s) | Roger Waters | |||
Producer(s) | Pink Floyd | |||
Pink Floyd singles chronology | ||||
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"Have a Cigar" is the third track on Pink Floyd's 1975 album Wish You Were Here.[8][9] It follows "Welcome to the Machine" and on the original LP opened side two. In some markets, the song was issued as a single. English folk-rock singer
Composition and recording
The song's music and lyrics were written by
The song is more straightforwardly rock-oriented than the rest of the album, and is the only one on the album that starts abruptly (the other four either fade in or segue from the previous song). It begins with a churning riff played on electric guitar and bass and is filled out with additional guitar, electric piano and synthesizer parts to create a rock texture.
"Have a Cigar" concludes with a
Harper's involvement with the recording arose from the dissatisfaction that Waters and
In his book Pigs Might Fly: The Inside Story of Pink Floyd, author Mark Blake recounts that Gilmour had been unwilling to sing the lead vocal as he did not share Waters' opinions, as expressed in the lyrics, on the nature of the music industry.[11] Waters has since said he dislikes Harper's version, saying he would have liked it to emerge "more vulnerable and less cynical", adding that Harper's version was too parodic while Gilmour loved Harper's vocal delivery and called it the "perfect version".[12]
Reception
Live
Harper performed the song with the band on one occasion, the group's 1975
Waters has also played the song on nearly every one of his solo tours, except for the 1999–2002 In the Flesh tour, the 2009–11 Wall tour, the 2006–08 The Dark Side of the Moon Live[15] and the 2017 Us + Them Tour.[16]
Personnel
- David Gilmour – electric guitars
- D6, piano
- Roger Waters – bass
- Nick Mason – drums
with:
- Roy Harper – lead vocals
Roy Harper Reaction
In a 2001 video interview with John Edginton, "Have a Cigar" singer Roy Harper said that he was unhappy he hadn't been credited by the band for singing the song "for the first 10 or 15 years" after it came out. He also said he wasn't paid the agreed payment; he wanted tickets for life to Lord's (cricket grounds) but received "a few hundred quid" instead. Harper had to go hire a lawyer to resolve his grievance, which he called "ironic" and said it made the song (which is about ripoffs in the music business) into a self-fulfilling prophecy by turning the collaboration among friends into "the dirty music business."[17]
Quotes
A lot of people think I can't sing, including me a bit. I'm very unclear about what singing is. I know I find it hard to pitch, and I know the sound of my voice isn't very good in purely aesthetic terms, and Roy Harper was recording his own album in another EMI studio at the time, he's a mate, and we thought he could probably do a job on it.
— Roger Waters, October 1975, Interviewed by Nick Sedgewick in the Wish You Were Here songbook[18]
"Have a Cigar" was a whole track on which I used the guitar and keyboards at once. There are some extra guitars which I dubbed on later, but I did the basic guitar tracks at one time.
— David Gilmour, October 1975, Interviewed by Gary Cooper in the Wish You Were Here songbook[18]
We did have people who would say to us "Which one's Pink?" and stuff like that. There were an awful lot of people who thought Pink Floyd was the name of the lead singer and that was Pink himself and the band. That's how it all came about, it was quite genuine.
— David Gilmour, December 1992,In the Studio with Redbeard for "Making of Shine On" and "Making of Wish You Were Here"[19]
Charts
Chart (1975) | Peak position |
---|---|
US Cash Box Looking Ahead[20] | 119 |
US Record World Singles Chart 101–150[20] | 126 |
Cover versions
- In 1979, "
- In 1992, the band Bob Cock?"
- Amazon.com bonus track on their 2009 Greatest Hits album and in the 2011 limited-edition vinyl only release Medium Rare, released for Record Store Day[26][27] Both versions were sung by drummer Taylor Hawkins.[28]
- The album
- The main riff of "Have a Cigar" is incorporated into the song "Peruvian Skies" by progressive metal band Dream Theater on their 1998 live album Once in a LIVEtime and on the Live DVD 5 Years in a Livetime. Also, from their album Images and Words (1992), using the main riff from "Have a Cigar" at the beginning of "Metropolis: Part I"
- A free CD given with the October 2011 issue of UK music magazine Mojo includes a cover version of "Have a Cigar" by John Foxx and The Maths[30] This version was later announced by Mojo as 'not the finished version' and the correct version was offered as a free download from the website[31]
- Gov't Mule performed the song as part of their Dark Side of the Mule live album from 2008, which consisted of half original material, half Pink Floyd covers[32][33]
- Fidlar recorded a cover of the song featuring Dr. Dre and AM in 2018 with slightly modified lyrics (“We’ll buy you a new liver. By the way, which one is FIDLAR/fiddler?”)[34]
References
- ^ Have a Cigar / Shine on You Crazy Diamond (Part I) (Media notes). Pink Floyd. EMI / Harvest. 4 C 006-97357.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) Side labels say SABAM. - ^ "Have A Cigar" (B-side single record label). Pink Floyd. US: Columbia Records. 1975. 3-10248 – via Discogs.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ "Have A Cigar" (B-side single record label). Pink Floyd. Italy: Harvest Records. 1976. 3C 006-97357 – via Discogs.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ "Have A Cigar" (B-side single record label). Pink Floyd. France: Harvest Records. 1976. 2C 010-97.357 – via Discogs.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ISBN 9780316439237.
- ^ Singh, Abhinav Jai (11 June 2018). "The Smashing Pumpkins, 070 Shake, Christina Aguilera — a playlist of the best new tracks from past week". Firstpost. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
- ^ Wawzenek, Bryan (4 September 2018). "All 167 Pink Floyd Songs Ranked Worst to Best". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
- ISBN 1-84195-551-5.
- ISBN 0-7119-4301-X.
- ^ The Story of Wish You Were Here. 2012.
- ^ Mark Blake (2007). Pigs Might Fly: The Inside Story of Pink Floyd.
- ^ The Story of Wish You Were Here.
- ^ "CashBox Singles Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. 15 November 1975. p. 22. Retrieved 2021-12-11.
- ^ "Single Picks" (PDF). Record World. November 15, 1975. p. 18. Retrieved 2023-03-09.
- ^ Setlist, FM (11 July 2021). "Setlist Fm". setlist.fm.
- ^ "Roger Waters Setlist at Meadowlands Arena, East Rutherford". setlist.fm. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
- ^ EDGINTON, JOHN. "ROY HARPER ON WHY HIS VOICE WAS ON PINK FLOYD'S 'HAVE A CIGAR'. NOT ROGER WATERS OR DAVID GILMOUR". YouTube. JOHN EDGINTON DOCUMENTARIES. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
- ^ ISBN 0-8256-1079-6).
- ^ "Pink Floyd-Wish You Were Here-Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Nick Mason - In The Studio with Redbeard". 6 September 2015. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-89820-213-7.
- ^ "Discoballs: A Tribute to Pink Floyd - Rosebud | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
- ^ "Rosebud - Discoballs (A Tribute To Pink Floyd)". Discogs. 1980. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
- ^ "Miscellaneous Debris - Primus | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
- ^ "Foo Fighters - Learn To Fly". Discogs. 1999. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
- ^ "Mission: Impossible 2 [Original Soundtrack] - Original Soundtrack | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
- ^ "Foo Fighters - Medium Rare". Discogs. Archived from the original on 2011-04-23. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
- ^ "Foo Fighters To Release Covers Album". ultimateguitar.com. 2011-03-14. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
- ISBN 978-0-9919840-4-6.
- ^ "Onetwo - Instead". Discogs. Archived from the original on 2012-07-31. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
- ^ "Connections: Have A Cigar: Interview - August 2011". Metamatic.com. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
- ^ "John Foxx & The Maths - Have A Cigar - News". Mojo4music.com. 25 August 2011. Archived from the original on 16 March 2012. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
- ^ Leggett, Steve. "Gov't Mule – Dark Side of the Mule". AllMusic. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
- Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
- ^ Haas, Anna (8 June 2018). "FIDLAR Drop Roughed-Up, Modern Version of Pink Floyd's "Have a Cigar"". Paste. Retrieved 2 February 2019.