"If" is a song by English rock band

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...

on their 1970 album '' Atom Heart Mother''.

Writing

Written and sung by

Roger Waters George Roger Waters (born 6 September 1943) is an English musician and singer-songwriter. In 1965, he co-founded the rock band Pink Floyd as the bassist. Following the departure of the group's main songwriter Syd Barrett in 1968, Waters became ...

, like " Grantchester Meadows" before it, "If" carries on a

pastoral The pastoral genre of literature, art, or music depicts an idealised form of the shepherd's lifestyle – herding livestock around open areas of land according to the seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. The target au ...

and folky approach, but instead deals with

introspection Introspection is the examination of one's own conscious thoughts and feelings. In psychology, the process of introspection relies on the observation of one's mental state, while in a spiritual context it may refer to the examination of one's s ...

. The song is in the key of

E major E major is a major scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has four sharps. Its relative minor is C-sharp minor and its parallel minor is E minor. Its enharmonic equivalent, F-flat maj ...

Live

The song was performed live at a

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...

session on 16 July 1970, at

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's Paris Theatre,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Waters performed it on several occasions, during the 1984–85 'Pros and Cons' tour, and in support of '' Radio K.A.O.S.'' in 1987. For these performances, "If" was expanded with additional lyrics and chord sequences. The song was later played by Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets in 2018, 2019, 2022 and 2024 in a medley with the Atom Heart Mother suite.

Reception

In a review for the ''Atom Heart Mother'' album on release, Alec Dubro of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' gave "If" a negative review, calling the song "English folk at its deadly worst. It's soft and silly." Dubro said the same for " Fat Old Sun". ''Rolling Stone'' would later praise the song in 2007, however, writing "Roger Waters' pastoral ballad on this flawed album was a moving examination of the terror of isolation; Floyd were finally rooting their astral travels in true songwriting." Critic Mike Cormack notes that the song has "a quite radical lyric, neatly reversing the patriotic bombast and public-school derring-do of the

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English journalist, novelist, poet, and short-story writer. He was born in British Raj, British India, which inspired much ...

poem of the same name for the recognition (and thus valuing) of fragility and otherness", and that the "reversal of the values of patriarchal, class-bound Britain towards something more inclusive is one of Waters’ most enduring strengths as a songwriter". Stephen Deusner of '' Paste'' described "If" as one of Roger Waters' best compositions. Irving Tan of ''Sputnik Music'' believes "If" contains "very introspective lyrics that end up making a memorable outing", but also believed the track was not as well-written as some of his later and earlier pieces. Tan also believed the track was reminiscent of " Grantchester Meadows", another Waters-penned track from '' Ummagumma'' a year before.

Personnel

– lead and backing vocals,

classical guitar The classical guitar, also known as Spanish guitar, is a member of the guitar family used in classical music and other styles. An acoustic wooden string (music), string instrument with strings made of catgut, gut or nylon, it is a precursor of the ...

, bass guitar *

David Gilmour David Jon Gilmour ( ; born 6 March 1946) is an English guitarist, singer and songwriter who is a member of the rock band Pink Floyd. He joined in 1967, shortly before the departure of the founder member Syd Barrett. By the early 1980s, Pink F ...

– slide

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external electric Guitar amplifier, sound amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickup (music technology), pickups ...

* Richard Wright –

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...

, piano * Nick Mason – drums

References

External links

Pink Floyd songs 1970 songs 1970s ballads Rock ballads Songs written by Roger Waters Song recordings produced by David Gilmour Song recordings produced by Roger Waters Song recordings produced by Richard Wright (musician) Song recordings produced by Nick Mason {{1970s-rock-song-stub he:Atom Heart Mother#צד ב'