"What God Wants, Part I" is the first song in a series of songs written and released by former Pink Floyd bassist, Roger Waters on his third solo album, ''

Amused to Death ''Amused to Death'' is the third studio album by English musician Roger Waters, released 7 September 1992 on Columbia. Produced by Waters and Patrick Leonard, it is mixed in QSound to enhance its spatial feel. The album features Jeff Beck o ...

''. "What God Wants" is separated into three parts, similar to Pink Floyd's earlier "

Another Brick in the Wall "Another Brick in the Wall" is a three-part composition on Pink Floyd's 1979 rock opera '' The Wall,'' written by bassist Roger Waters. "Part 2", a protest song against corporal punishment, and rigid and abusive schooling, features a chil ...

". "What God Wants, Part I" was released as a lead single from the album b/w Part III.

Lyrics and music

"What God Wants, Part I" deals with the contradictory duality and hypocrisy perceived by Waters in dogmatic

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...

and its power over man. The following parts, along with other songs on the album, deal with worship in religion and in regard to materialism and

consumption Consumption may refer to: *Resource consumption *Tuberculosis, an infectious disease, historically * Consumption (ecology), receipt of energy by consuming other organisms * Consumption (economics), the purchasing of newly produced goods for curren ...

. All together, its viewpoint is on the power of simplistic conformity; how people adhere to something, not entirely by volition, but out of submission. "I'm very upset by religious dogma," Waters remarked. "I get angry – gobsmacked, in fact – when I hear George H. W. Bush, George Bush saying that God was on their side during the Gulf War. It's amazing that, in 1992, one of the most powerful men in the world can reduce political rhetoric to that level." The song features the guitar playing of Jeff Beck.

Music video

A video was released, featuring gorillas watching TV, Computer-generated imagery, CGI and stop motion animation of a frog skeleton picking at a piece of cheese on a mouse trap, only to be subdued by electrical wiring and fused with the cheese to create a small television set. The video was directed by Tony Kaye (director), Tony Kaye and produced by Sarah Whistler. Animation for the video was contracted out to several studios, including Pacific Data Images (CG) and Will Vinton Studios (stop-motion). Crew members for Pacific Data Images include Raman Hui, the stop-motion animation artists included Chuck Duke, Scott Nordlund, Webster Colcord and Schell Hickel. On July 21, 2015, Waters and ''Rolling Stone'' premiered a remastered version of the original video, featuring updated computer graphics and an all-new transfer of the original 35mm footage of Waters in the studio with guitarist Jeff Beck. The video is being presented exclusively through ''Rolling Stone'' by VEVO and Sony Music.

Release

BBC Radio 1 refused to play the single as it was too much of a "touchy" song to be played with such frequency, which angered Waters.

Personnel

* Roger Waters - vocals, EMU synthesizer, bass * Jeff Beck - lead guitar * Patrick Leonard - keyboards, choir arrangement * Geoff Whitehorn - "Arpeggio" guitar * Andy Fairweather-Low - rhythm electric and acoustic guitars * Tim Pierce - "Chorus" guitar * Randy Jackson - bass * Graham Broad - drums * Katie Kissoon, Doreen Chanter, N'Dea Davenport, and Natalie Jackson - backing vocals * London Welsh Chorale conducted by Kenneth Bowen (tenor), Kenneth Bowen All credits are according to 2015 reissue liner notes.

Chart performance

References

{{Authority control Roger Waters songs 1992 singles Songs critical of religion Songs written by Roger Waters 1992 songs Columbia Records singles