"The Fletcher Memorial Home" is a song by Roger Waters, performed by Pink Floyd. The song appears on their 1983 album, '' The Final Cut''. It is the eighth track on the album and is arranged between "Get Your Filthy Hands Off My Desert" and "

Southampton Dock "Southampton Dock" is a song from Pink Floyd's 1983 album, '' The Final Cut''. In World War II, many soldiers departed from Southampton to fight against the Germans. In the eighties, Southampton was again used as a departure base, this time for t ...

". The song is also featured on the Pink Floyd compilations '' Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd'' and '' A Foot in the Door – The Best of Pink Floyd''.

History

The song is about Waters' frustration with the leadership of the world since

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, mentioning many world leaders by name ( Ronald Reagan,

Alexander Haig Alexander Meigs Haig Jr. (; December 2, 1924February 20, 2010) was United States Secretary of State under President Ronald Reagan and White House Chief of Staff under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. Prior to and in between these ...

, Menachem Begin,

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...

, Ian Paisley,

Leonid Brezhnev Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev; uk, links= no, Леонід Ілліч Брежнєв, . (19 December 1906– 10 November 1982) was a Soviet politician who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union between 1964 and ...

, Joseph McCarthy and

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

), suggesting that these "colonial wasters of life and limb" be segregated into a specially-founded

retirement home A retirement home – sometimes called an old people's home or old age home, although ''old people's home'' can also refer to a nursing home – is a multi-residence housing facility intended for the elderly. Typically, each person or couple in ...

. It labels all the world leaders as "overgrown infants" and "incurable tyrants" and suggests they are incapable of understanding anything other than violence or their own faces on a television screen. In its concluding lines, the narrator of the song gathers all of the "tyrants" inside the Fletcher Memorial Home and imagines applying "the

Final Solution The Final Solution (german: die Endlösung, ) or the Final Solution to the Jewish Question (german: Endlösung der Judenfrage, ) was a Nazi plan for the genocide of individuals they defined as Jews during World War II. The "Final Solution to th ...

" to them. ''Fletcher'' in the name of the song is in honour and remembrance of Roger Waters' father, Eric Fletcher Waters, who was killed during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

Anzio Anzio (, also , ) is a town and ''comune'' on the coast of the Lazio region of Italy, about south of Rome. Well known for its seaside harbour setting, it is a fishing port and a departure point for ferries and hydroplanes to the Pontine Islands ...

. The Fletcher Memorial Home scenes in ''The Final Cut'' film were filmed at

Forty Hall Forty Hall is a manor house of the 1620s in Forty Hill in Enfield, north London. The house, a Grade I listed building, is today used as a museum by the London Borough of Enfield. Within the grounds is the site of the former Tudor Elsyng Palac ...

Enfield Enfield may refer to: Places Australia * Enfield, New South Wales * Enfield, South Australia ** Electoral district of Enfield, a state electoral district in South Australia, corresponding to the suburb ** Enfield High School (South Australia) ...

Reception

In a review for ''The Final Cut'', Patrick Schabe of ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

'' described "The Fletcher Memorial Home" as "majestic, but clunky".

Personnel

* Roger Waters – vocals, bass guitar * David Gilmour – guitar * Nick Mason – drums with: * The

National Philharmonic Orchestra The National Philharmonic Orchestra was a British orchestra created exclusively for recording purposes. It was founded by RCA Records producer and conductor Charles Gerhardt and orchestra leader and contractor Sidney Sax. The orchestra was creat ...

conducted and arranged by

Michael Kamen Michael Arnold Kamen (April 15, 1948 – November 18, 2003) was an American composer (especially of film scores), orchestral arranger, orchestral conductor, songwriter, and session musician. Biography Early life Michael Arnold Kamen was born ...

* Michael Kamen – piano

References

1983 songs Pink Floyd songs Anti-war songs Protest songs Songs written by Roger Waters Song recordings produced by Roger Waters Songs about politicians British hard rock songs {{1980s-rock-song-stub he:The Fletcher Memorial Home

History

Reception

Personnel

See also

References