Dogs

Pink Floyd

About Dogs

"Dogs" (originally composed as "You've Got to Be Crazy") is a song by English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released on the album Animals in 1977. This song was one of several to be considered the band's best.


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You gotta be crazy, you gotta have a real need
You gotta sleep on your toes, and when you're on the street
You gotta be able to pick out the easy meat with your eyes closed
And then moving in silently, down wind and out of sight
You gotta strike when the moment is right without thinking

And after a while, you can work on points for style
Like the club tie, and the firm handshake
A certain look in the eye and an easy smile
You have to be trusted by the people that you lie to
So that when they turn their backs on you,
You'll get the chance to put the knife in

You gotta keep one eye looking over your shoulder
You know it's going to get harder, and harder, and harder as you get older
And in the end you'll pack up and fly down south
Hide your head in the sand,
Just another sad old man
All alone and dying of cancer

And when you loose control, you'll reap the harvest you have sown
And as the fear grows, the bad blood slows and turns to stone
And it's too late to lose the weight you used to need to throw around
So have a good drown, as you go down, all alone
Dragged down by the stone (stone, stone, stone, stone, stone)

I gotta admit that I'm a little bit confused
Sometimes it seems to me as if I'm just being used
Gotta stay awake, gotta try and shake off this creeping malaise
If I don't stand my own ground, how can I find my way out of this maze?

Deaf, dumb, and blind, you just keep on pretending
That everyone's expendable and no-one has a real friend
And it seems to you the thing to do would be to isolate the winner
And everything's done under the sun
And you believe at heart, everyone's a killer

Who was born in a house full of pain
Who was trained not to spit in the fan
Who was told what to do by the man
Who was broken by trained personnel

Who was fitted with collar and chain
Who was given a pat on the back
Who was breaking away from the pack
Who was only a stranger at home

Who was ground down in the end
Who was found dead on the phone
Who was dragged down by the stone

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Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd were an English rock band formed in London. They achieved international acclaim with their progressive and psychedelic music. more »

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Written by: DAVID JON GILMOUR, ROGER WATERS

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind


10 facts about this song

Album Classification
"Dogs" is a song by British rock band Pink Floyd, it appears on their tenth studio album, "Animals" released in 1977.
Duration
With a runtime of 17 minutes and 8 seconds, "Dogs" is the longest song on the "Animals" album.
Songwriting Credits
Roger Waters and David Gilmour are both credited for writing the song. This was one of the few Pink Floyd songs that was co-written by Gilmour and Waters during this period.
Lyrics Interpretation
The song's lyrics violently critique people who betray others for their own gain, metaphorically labelling them as "dogs."
Musical Structure
The track is structured in a way that allows for a multitude of solo guitar sections by David Gilmour and keyboard work by Richard Wright.
Studio Techniques
The song uses a variety of studio recording techniques. One example is at the end of the track where audibly a pack of dogs barks and howls pan from one speaker to another to give the illusion of movement and distance.
Initially an Older Song
"Dogs" was originally written in 1974 with the title, "You Gotta Be Crazy". It was performed live but was never included on an album until it was reworked for "Animals".
Live Performance
Despite the song's length, Pink Floyd frequently performed "Dogs" live during their "In The Flesh" tour supporting the "Animals" album.
Vocal Distribution
Roger Waters sings the whole first half of the song before David Gilmour provides the song’s second vocal portion in the second half.
Animal Metaphor
The song is one of three tracks on the album to use an animal as a metaphor, alongside ‘Pigs (Three Different Ones)’ and ‘Sheep’, to critique varying aspects of society.

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