# What is he saying in Pink Floyd's song "Empty Spaces" when he's talking backwards? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 31, 2000, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-he-saying-in-pink-floyds-song-empty-spaces-when-hes-talking-backwards/39142 "2000-10-31T21:20:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Zamboni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@The\_Great\_Zamboni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Zamboni)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2000, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-he-saying-in-pink-floyds-song-empty-spaces-when-hes-talking-backwards/39142/1 "2000-10-31T21:20:06Z")
First of all I don’t know if it’s Roger Waters or David Gilmour singing that song, but to the point what is he saying? Is it another one of those supposed hidden messages like some Beatles songs? ---
**Author:** ![Sofa\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2000, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-he-saying-in-pink-floyds-song-empty-spaces-when-hes-talking-backwards/39142/2 "2000-10-31T21:25:20Z")
Isn’t that the one that invites you to join their fan club? I think it even offers an address. ---
**Author:** ![Sofa\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2000, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-he-saying-in-pink-floyds-song-empty-spaces-when-hes-talking-backwards/39142/3 "2000-10-31T21:29:10Z")
‘“Congratulations. You have just discovered the secret message. Send your answer to Old Pink in care of the funny farm.” And then a second person says: “Roger, Carolyn is on the phone.”’ from [http://members.surfsouth.com/~breezy/#ES](http://members.surfsouth.com/~breezy/#ES) Old Pink doesn’t live at my place anymore. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2000, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-he-saying-in-pink-floyds-song-empty-spaces-when-hes-talking-backwards/39142/4 "2000-10-31T21:29:51Z")
Something very close to “Congratulations, you have found the secret message. Please send your answer to Old Floyd, care of the \ Funny Farm…” ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2000, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-he-saying-in-pink-floyds-song-empty-spaces-when-hes-talking-backwards/39142/5 "2000-10-31T21:31:52Z")
Simulpost! …do I have to say “bread and butter” or anything? ---
**Author:** ![Sofa\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2000, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-he-saying-in-pink-floyds-song-empty-spaces-when-hes-talking-backwards/39142/6 "2000-10-31T21:49:09Z")
Scissors! ---
**Author:** ![Diane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/2acd7d/32.png) [@Diane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diane)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2000, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-he-saying-in-pink-floyds-song-empty-spaces-when-hes-talking-backwards/39142/7 "2000-10-31T22:06:33Z")
No, you have to say “jinx” and then slug each other in the arm. ---
**Author:** ![Demo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demo/32/8472_2.png) [@Demo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Demo)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2000, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-he-saying-in-pink-floyds-song-empty-spaces-when-hes-talking-backwards/39142/8 "2000-10-31T22:16:14Z")
What shall we use to fill the empty spaces where waves of hunger roam? Shall we set out across this sea of faces in search of more and more applause? Shall we buy a new guitar? Shall we drive a more powerful car? Shall we work straight through the night? Shall we dare to fight sleep, leave lights on, drop bombs, do tours of the East, contract disease and bury bones-break up homes-send flowers by phone, take to drink, go to shrinks, eat meat, rarely sleep, keep people as pets, train dogs, race rats, fill the attic with cash, bury treasure, store up leisure but never relax at aaaaaalllll: With our backs to the wall. Or something like that. I love that song… ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2000, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-he-saying-in-pink-floyds-song-empty-spaces-when-hes-talking-backwards/39142/9 "2000-11-01T00:08:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Democritus \* > \*\*What shall we use to fill the empty spaces where waves of hunger roam? > Shall we set out across this sea of faces in search of more and more applause? > > Shall we buy a new guitar? > Shall we drive a more powerful car? > Shall we work straight through the night? > Shall we dare to fight sleep, leave lights on, drop bombs, do tours of the East, contract disease and bury bones-break up homes-send flowers by phone, take to drink, go to shrinks, eat meat, rarely sleep, keep people as pets, train dogs, race rats, fill the attic with cash, bury treasure, store up leisure but never relax at aaaaaalllll: > With our backs to the wall. > > Or something like that. I love that song… \*\* Wow…I have listened to that song a LOT of times and I didn’t know any of those lyrics. That’s either really pathetic or just amazing. Hehe… ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2000, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-he-saying-in-pink-floyds-song-empty-spaces-when-hes-talking-backwards/39142/10 "2000-11-01T00:17:49Z")
> [@](#): > > “Congratulations, you have found the secret message. Please send your answer to Old Floyd, care of the \ Funny Farm…” Nah, it’s “Old Pink”, not “Old Floyd”, just like Sofa King said. There’re references to “Pink” in several songs, like In The Flesh and Have A Cigar. ---
**Author:** ![waterj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2000, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-he-saying-in-pink-floyds-song-empty-spaces-when-hes-talking-backwards/39142/11 "2000-11-01T01:30:18Z")
Those lyrics were from “What shall we do now?”, not “Empty Spaces”. “What shall we do now?” wasn’t even on the album (it was dropped and the song order rearranged after the sleeves were printed), but was in the movie, and I believe included in “Empty Spaces” on _The Wall: Live in Berlin_ album. The lyrics to “Empty Spaces” are, in their entirety (from the lyrics sheet): > [@](#): > > What shall we use to fill the empty > Spaces where we used to talk > How shall I fill the final places > How shall I complete the wall ---
**Author:** ![Demo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demo/32/8472_2.png) [@Demo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Demo)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2000, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-he-saying-in-pink-floyds-song-empty-spaces-when-hes-talking-backwards/39142/12 "2000-11-01T01:50:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Zoggie \* > \*\* > Wow…I have listened to that song a LOT of times and I didn’t know any of those lyrics. That’s either really pathetic or just amazing. Hehe… \*\* It’s pathetic. Really. A friend and I used to watch The Wall over and over. Back in my old pot smoking days (not to be confused with the _current_ pot smoking days) we actually used to make trivia questions for each other and quiz one another on obscure facts from the movie. One question that stands out in my mind was “What was the brand of matches that Pink’s father lights his cigarette with in the opening scenes?” ---
**Author:** ![waterj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2000, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-he-saying-in-pink-floyds-song-empty-spaces-when-hes-talking-backwards/39142/13 "2000-11-01T02:19:19Z")
Ah, that would explain how you know those lyrics. Those of us who are more familiar with the album than the movie would remember it differently. Oh, and I just checked, and the movie lyrics are the ones used in the “Live in Berlin” album. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Zamboni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@The\_Great\_Zamboni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Zamboni)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2000, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-he-saying-in-pink-floyds-song-empty-spaces-when-hes-talking-backwards/39142/14 "2000-11-01T19:08:57Z")
I got my answer. I have read the same thing from their '92 box set “Shine On”. I was hoping for something different. I might be able to listen to it from my dad’s old album. As for the song itself, there are two versions, the original studio and the two live versions. I didn’t even know live from Berlin existed. I have (here is the full name) Is There Anybody Out There? Pink Floyd: The Wall Live, 1980-81. I love that song. It’s my favorite PF song. ---
**Author:** ![cygnus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e0b2c6/32.png) [@cygnus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cygnus)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2000, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-he-saying-in-pink-floyds-song-empty-spaces-when-hes-talking-backwards/39142/15 "2000-11-02T13:57:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by waterj2 \* > \*\*Those lyrics were from “What shall we do now?”, not “Empty Spaces”. “What shall we do now?” wasn’t even on the album (it was dropped and the song order rearranged after the sleeves were printed), but was in the movie, and I believe included in “Empty Spaces” on _The Wall: Live in Berlin_ album. The lyrics to “Empty Spaces” are, in their entirety (from the lyrics sheet): > > > [@](#): > > > > What shall we use to fill the empty > > Spaces where we used to talk > > How shall I fill the final places > > How shall I complete the wall > > \*\* Just to clarify, for those less Floydian, waterj2 implies, but does not state specifically, that the lyrics to “What shall we do now?” were included among the lyrics printed on the album sleeves. I for one was a bit puzzled at first when I bought the album, wondering where that song was on the vinyl. I thought the lyrics were great and was always disappointed not to have had the chance to hear the song. In fact, I inadvertently memorized the lyrics to it during my repeated sessions with the album and its lyric sheets, and would periodically scrawl them reflectively in my high school notebooks. Several years later when the movie came out, I had huge chills when “What shall we do now” appeared in it. And BTW, did anyone else think that the screaming face emerging from the wall (twice) during this song was the most wicked bit of animation in the whole movie? “What shall we do” and “Empty Spaces” are definitely among my favorite Floyd ever. Also “Goodbye Blue Sky”. A lot of gems on that album. There were several segments of printed lyrics (though only the one complete song) on this ablum that didn’t appear on the vinyl. Remember in the movie, after Pink breaks down, when he’s in the bathroom on the floor reading from what appears to be lyrics, just before the security guard swings the door open, right before “The Trial”? The lyrics he’s reciting are to “Stop”, but the lyrics from the album are preceded by another few lines, including - “I put out my hand just to touch your soft hair To make sure in the darkness that you were still there And I have to admit, I was just a little afraid…” I will swear that I read these lines somewhere else at another time - could they have been, like “The Wall”, printed on another album but not actually recorded? Anyone else recognize them from somewhere? ---
**Author:** ![waterj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2000, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-he-saying-in-pink-floyds-song-empty-spaces-when-hes-talking-backwards/39142/16 "2000-11-02T14:12:35Z")
Waters reused those lyrics in his solo album _The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking_ in the last song “5.11 AM (The Moment of Clarity”. The “Live in Berlin” album I was referring to was a Roger Waters album, from the massive outdoor concert he put on in 1990 in Berlin after the Wall came down. Pink Floyd had no part in it, but it included Bryan Adams, the Scorpions, Cyndi Lauper, the Band, Van Morrison, Joni Mitchell, and Sinead O’Connor. ---
**Author:** ![cygnus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e0b2c6/32.png) [@cygnus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cygnus)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2000, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-he-saying-in-pink-floyds-song-empty-spaces-when-hes-talking-backwards/39142/17 "2000-11-02T14:38:28Z")
Wow, that was impressive. I have TPACOH but never listen to it, as I just plain don’t like it (sorry Roger, no offense). Thanks for putting another long-term puzzle to rest. [with a tip of the Floyd hat to for waterj2 for impressive knowledge of the details] I bought the videotape of “The Wall Live in Berlin” because it was historic, in its small way, and was an excellent show as well. Haven’t watched it in years, but perhaps I should get it out and dust it off for another view. ---
**Author:** ![waterj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2000, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-he-saying-in-pink-floyds-song-empty-spaces-when-hes-talking-backwards/39142/18 "2000-11-02T16:52:57Z")
Yeah, I haven’t listened to that album for years, but remembered that it ended with the guy waking up in bed and finding his wife lying beside him, so they would have fit. _Amused to Death_, on the other hand, is one of my favorite albums of all time, and oddly, what got me interested in Pink Floyd first. I’ve always thought that _The Final Cut_ and _Hitch Hiking_ weren’t terribly original, reusing the same riffs and melodies (some even from The Wall) repeatedly. With _Amused to Death_ Waters finally came into his own as a songwriter, rather than just a lyricist. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Zamboni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@The\_Great\_Zamboni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Zamboni)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2000, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-he-saying-in-pink-floyds-song-empty-spaces-when-hes-talking-backwards/39142/19 "2000-11-03T02:19:10Z")
The Wall is my favorite album. It’s amazing Roger waters had so much pent up inside him. He wrote exactly how he felt, probably with a little help from ‘ahem’ chemicals. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Zamboni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@The\_Great\_Zamboni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Zamboni)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2000, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-he-saying-in-pink-floyds-song-empty-spaces-when-hes-talking-backwards/39142/20 "2000-11-03T16:50:58Z")
Here are the lyrics from the two different versions of Empty Spaces: From The Wall studio version What shall we use to fill the empty Spaces where we used to talk How should I fill the final places How should I complete the wall. From The Wall live (either of them) What shall we use to fill the empty Spaces where waves of hunger roar Shall we set out across the sea of faces In search of more and more applause? Just testing my memory.