"Louder than Words" is a song by English

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band Pink Floyd, written by David Gilmour and

Polly Samson Polly Samson (born 29 April 1962) is an English novelist, lyricist, and journalist. She is married to the musician David Gilmour and has written the lyrics to many of Gilmour's works, both as a solo artist and with the group Pink Floyd. Life an ...

. The song, featuring lyrics written by Samson to accompany a composition by Gilmour, was recorded by the band as the closing track of their fifteenth studio and final album, ''

The Endless River ''The Endless River'' is the fifteenth studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released in November 2014 by Parlophone, Parlophone Records in Europe and Columbia Records in the rest of the world. It was the third Pink Floyd album rec ...

''. The track features a posthumous appearance by former keyboardist and founder member of Pink Floyd, Richard Wright, and an appearance by

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

string quartet Escala. "Louder than Words" is the only song on the album with lyrics, which were sung by Gilmour. The track was released to US mainstream rock radio on 14 October 2014, serving as the first and only release in promotion of ''The Endless River''.

Composition

The music accompanying the song, composed by David Gilmour, has been described by various music critics and writers, including '' Exclaim!'' writer Josiah Hughes as "a slow-burning, melodramatic track complete with plenty of intense guitar and synth work" and by '' Clash'' writer Robin Murray as a "sparse, trippy track, one which is heavy on guitar led atmosphere and ominous electronic production". The lyrics, written by Gilmour's wife,

, provide "stately depiction of undying love, a tribute to Richard Wright and the importance of overcoming petty differences". Gilmour spoke about the song with ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', stating: Gilmour and Mason eventually reversed that decision in 2022, releasing the single "

Hey, Hey, Rise Up! "Hey, Hey, Rise Up!" (also written "Hey Hey Rise Up") is a song by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on digital platforms on . It is based on a 1914 Ukrainian anthem, " Oh, the Red Viburnum in the Meadow", and features vocals in Ukrain ...

", in aid of humanitarian relief during the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

Lyrics

David Gilmour's wife Polly Samson wrote the lyrics for "Louder than Words." She based the lyrics on observations of the band's behaviour during the rehearsals, downtime and performance at Live 8 in July 2005, the band's first reunion as Pink Floyd with Roger Waters in over 24 years.

Music video

The majority of the music video for "Louder than Words" was shot in Kazakhstan on what was once the Aral Sea. Director Po Powell said to ''Rolling Stone'' that the arid landscape that once held one of the world's four largest inland lakes was now "A surreal image if ever I saw one ... a shocking example of human mismanagement and one of the planet's worst environmental disasters. ... The river has shrunk to 10 percent of its original size, destroying the fishing industry and whole townships." As the disaster is somewhat well-known, Powell tried to focus on what it means to a younger generation that was now growing up without the fishing and maritime influences of their forefathers. In contrast, the opening of the music video features a man paddling through clouds (evoking the album cover) and footage of Gilmour, Wright, and Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason during the ''Division Bell'' sessions, with contemporary footage of Gilmour singing at his Medina studio.

Reception

"Louder than Words" received generally positive reviews from music critics. Tom Breihan of Spin Media music

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Stereogum wrote positively of the song, stating that "the song is a lovely piece of work, a slow prog-rock elegy with a gospel choir and some classic Floyd guitar". Brad Bershad of Zumic also gave the song a positive review. "Gilmour's guitar parts are stellar, although perhaps softer than the classic jagged tone of the '70s records.", he said. "Time has softened The Floyd a bit, but this is still a beautiful song. The autobiographical lyrics, referring to the power behind Pink Floyd's music and infighting are excellent." The song reached number 1 on Polish Radio 3 Chart on 24 October.

Personnel

Adapted from ''

'' liner notes. ;Pink Floyd * David Gilmour – guitars, vocals, Hammond organ, effects,

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

* Nick Mason – drums,

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

* Richard Wright – Rhodes piano, piano, synthesiser ;Escala *

Chantal Leverton Escala (formerly known as Scala) is an Electronic music, electronic string quartet, from London, England who rose to fame when they performed on and reached the final of the second series of ''Britain's Got Talent'' on ITV1 in May 2008. Backgr ...

–

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* Victoria Lyon –

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

*Helen Nash –

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G ...

*Honor Watson – violin ;Additional musicians *

Bob Ezrin Robert Alan Ezrin (born March 25, 1949) is a Canadian music producer and keyboardist, best known for his work with Lou Reed, Alice Cooper, Aerosmith, Kiss, Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, Peter Gabriel, Andrea Bocelli and Phish. As of 2010, Ezrin's car ...

– bass guitar, producer (original 1993 sessions) *

Durga McBroom Durga McBroom is an American singer who has performed backing vocals for Pink Floyd and is a member of the house music band Blue Pearl, best known for their hit single " Naked in the Rain". She works as an actress, dancer, and singer in the Unit ...

– backing vocals *Louise Marshal – backing vocals *Sarah Brown – backing vocals ;Production *

Phil Manzanera Phillip Geoffrey Targett-Adams (born 31 January 1951), known professionally as Phil Manzanera, is an English guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He is the lead guitarist with Roxy Music, and was the lead guitarist with 801, and Quiet Su ...

– producer *

Martin Glover Martin Glover (born 27 December 1960), better known by his stage name Youth, is a British record producer and musician, best known as a founding member and bassist of the rock band Killing Joke. He is also a member of the Fireman, along with P ...

– producer * Andy Jackson –

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...

, producer *Damon Iddins – engineer

Charts

Release history

References

External links

Official music video
{{authority control 2014 songs Pink Floyd songs British songs 2010s ballads Rock ballads Songs written by David Gilmour Songs with lyrics by Polly Samson Songs released posthumously 2014 singles Parlophone singles Song recordings produced by David Gilmour Songs about music