View source for Welcome to the Machine

{{short description|Song by Pink Floyd}}
{{More citations needed|date=May 2012}}
{{Infobox song
| name          = Welcome to the Machine
| cover         = Welcome_to_the_Machine_Pink_Floyd.jpg
| alt           = 
| type          = 
| artist        = [[Pink Floyd]]
| album         = [[Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd album)|Wish You Were Here]]
| EP            = 
| written       = 
| published     = Pink Floyd Music Publishers Ltd
| released      = {{Start date|1975|09|13}}
| recorded      = 25 February – 28 July 1975<ref>{{cite book |last=Guesdon |first=Jean-MIchel |title=Pink Floyd All The Songs |publisher=Running Press |date=2017 |isbn=9780316439237 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rF0RDgAAQBAJ}}</ref>
| studio        = 
| venue         = 
| genre         = *[[Progressive rock]]<ref>{{cite web|last=Murphy|first=Sean|date=28 March 2017|title=The 100 Best Classic Progressive Rock Songs: Part 3, 60–41|url=https://www.popmatters.com/the-100-best-classic-progressive-rock-songs-part-3-60-41-2495397028.html|access-date=17 January 2021|website=[[PopMatters]]}}</ref>
*[[electronic rock]]
*[[psychedelic rock]]
| length        = 7:25
| label         = {{Plainlist|
* [[Harvest Records|Harvest]] (UK)
*[[Columbia Records|Columbia/CBS]] (US)
}}
| writer        = [[Roger Waters]]
| composer      = 
| lyricist      = 
| producer      = Pink Floyd
| prev_title    = 
| prev_year     = 
| title         = 
| next_title    = 
| next_year     = 
}}

"'''Welcome to the Machine'''" is the second song on [[Pink Floyd]]'s 1975 album ''[[Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd album)|Wish You Were Here]]''.<ref>{{Cite book
| last = Strong
| first = Martin C.
| title = The Great Rock Discography
| publisher = [[Canongate Books]]
| location = Edinburgh
| isbn = 1-84195-551-5
| page = 1177
| year = 2004
| edition = 7th
}}</ref><ref name="mabbett">{{Cite book
| last = Mabbett
| first = Andy
| title = The Complete Guide to the Music of Pink Floyd
| publisher = [[Omnibus Press]]
| location = London
| isbn = 0-7119-4301-X
| year = 1995
}}</ref> It features heavily processed vocals, layers of synthesizers, acoustic [[guitar]]s as well as a wide range of tape effects. The song was written by bassist [[Roger Waters]].

==Recording==
The track was built upon a basic throbbing sound made by an [[EMS VCS 3]] followed by a one-repeat echo which Waters would have played originally on bass guitar. On the original [[Gramophone record|LP]], the song segued from the first 5 parts of the suite "[[Shine On You Crazy Diamond]]" and closed the first side. On the [[Compact Disc|CD]] pressings, especially the 1997 and 2000 remastered issues, it segues (although very faintly) to "[[Have a Cigar]]". This segueing is a few seconds longer on the US version than the UK version. [[David Gilmour]] admitted that he had trouble singing one line of the song, saying, "It was a line I just couldn't reach so we dropped the tape down half a [[semitone]]."<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.pink-floyd.org/artint/99.htm|title=Wish You Were Here songbook|last=Cooper|first=Gary|website=www.pink-floyd.org|access-date=22 July 2017}}</ref> He sang the part at a slightly lower pitch then the tape speed was raised back to normal.

==Time signatures==
Like many Pink Floyd songs, "Welcome to the Machine" features some variations in its [[metre (music)|metre]] and [[time signature]]s. Each bass "throb" of the VCS synthesizer is notated as a [[quarter note]] in the sheet music, and each note switches from one side of the stereo spread to the next. Although the introduction of the song (when the acoustic guitar enters) does not actually change time signatures, it does sustain each chord for three measures, rather than two or four, resulting in a nine-bar intro where an even number of bars might be expected.

The verses and choruses are largely in {{music|time|4|4}}, or "common time". However, on the line ''"It's all right, we know where you've been"'', a measure of {{music|time|7|4}} is inserted, shortening the sequence, and causing the left-right [[panning (audio)|stereo panning]] to be reversed for quite some time. An instrumental section begins, with the acoustic guitar adding variations in its strum pattern, until it switches to {{music|time|3|4}} for a length of time, when a 12-string acoustic riff is introduced, ascending up the [[E minor]] scale until the chord changes to [[major seventh chord|C major seventh]]. Finally, the instrumental section ends, and the second verse begins. With the lyric, ''"It's all right, we told you what to dream"'', once again a measure of {{music|time|7|4}} is inserted, and the stereo panning is finally returned to normal. Incidentally, these two phrases beginning with "It's all right ..." are the only parts to feature any chord other than some form of E minor or C major—these phrases go to an A [[major chord]], with its C{{music|sharp}} in contradiction of the frequent C chords. The song remains in {{music|time|4|4}} from this point forward.<ref>''Pink Floyd: Wish You Were Here'' (1975 Pink Floyd Music Publishers Ltd., London, England, {{ISBN|0-7119-1029-4}} [USA {{ISBN|0-8256-1079-6}}])</ref>

==Music video==
The [[music video]] was animated by [[Gerald Scarfe]] which was initially a backdrop film for when the band played the track on their 1977 [[In the Flesh (1977 Pink Floyd 'Animals' tour)|In the Flesh]] tour. The fanciful video begins with what appears to be a giant mechanical [[Horned Toad]] crawling across a rocky terrain. The scene segues into a desolate industrial cityscape consisting of towering gleaming steel structures. A [[cylinder]] disturbingly cracks and oozes blood while a [[cuboid]] unfolds itself and the scene goes into [[girder]]s laden with decayed corpses and [[rat]]s (with one of them looking [[emaciated]]). A view of a barren landscape with a tower that extends from the horizon that morphs into a screaming unnatural form, which then stops to pant for a few seconds before viciously decapitating an unsuspecting man in the foreground. The head then very slowly decomposes to a skull as the sun sets. Finally, three buildings stand tall until an ocean of blood washes away this scene. The waves turn into thousands of hands waving in rhythm to the music (much like people at a rock concert). All of the surrounding structures are swept away except for one. Despite being pulled at by the bloody masses, the [[Monolithic column|monolith]] survives and synchronizing with the synthesized sound at the end of the track, it flies upwards high above the clouds into space where it fits securely into a hole in a massive floating [[Oval|ovoid]] object.<ref>{{YouTube|id=fn1R-5p_j5c|title=Pink Floyd - Welcome to the Machine (Official Music Video)}}</ref>

==Personnel==
Music and lyrics by [[Roger Waters]].

*[[David Gilmour]] – six and 12-string [[Steel-string acoustic guitar|acoustic guitar]]s, lead vocals
*[[Nick Mason]] – [[timpani]], [[cymbal]]s
*[[Roger Waters]] – bass guitar, [[EMS VCS 3]], backing vocals
*[[Richard Wright (musician)|Richard Wright]] – [[EMS VCS 3]], [[Hammond organ]], [[ARP String Ensemble]], [[Minimoog]]

==Live performances==
The song was performed for the first time on Pink Floyd's 1977 [[In the Flesh (Pink Floyd tour)|In the Flesh tour]]. Gilmour and Waters shared lead vocals, although in initial performances, Gilmour sang on his own with some backing vocals by Waters. Also for the 1977 live performances, David Gilmour played his acoustic guitar parts on his [[The Black Strat|Black Strat]], Waters played an Ovation acoustic guitar, [[Snowy White]] played bass guitar, [[Nick Mason]] played his timpani parts on his drum kit with mallets, and [[Richard Wright (musician)|Rick Wright]] handled the Mini-Moog synths and VCS3 while [[Dick Parry]] played the string synths off-stage. The live renditions of the song were complex because music had to be synchronised with the backdrop film and its sound effects. As a result, the band had to wear headphones and listen to a [[click-track]] which, in turn, meant that there was very little room left for improvisation.

Pink Floyd would play the song again on their [[A Momentary Lapse of Reason Tour]] (1987–89) where [[Tim Renwick]] played lead guitar, while Gilmour played a 12-string acoustic guitar. These renditions were not synchronised to the film.

The song was performed by Roger Waters during his 1984-85 [[The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking (tour)|Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking Tour]], on the 1987 [[Radio K.A.O.S. (tour)|Radio K.A.O.S.]] Tour, with [[Mel Collins]] as saxophone soloist. All of these performances were perfectly synchronised to the film. These live versions deviated significantly from the album version. It was also played on the 1999–2002 [[In the Flesh (Roger Waters tour)|In the Flesh]] tour (only stills from the animation were used) and appears on the ''In the Flesh'' concert DVD and CD. Waters also performed the song on his [[Us + Them Tour]] (2017–18),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/roger-waters/2017/meadowlands-arena-east-rutherford-nj-43e7d3db.html|title=Roger Waters Setlist at Meadowlands Arena, East Rutherford|website=setlist.fm|access-date=22 July 2017}}</ref> in a version which resembles the album version, in which the music is yet again synchronised perfectly with the screen video.

==Studio notes==
[[David Gilmour]]'s quotes on the recording process, taken from the ''Wish You Were Here'' songbook.<ref name=":0" />

{{quote|The only time we've ever used tape speed to help us with vocals was on one line of the Machine song. It was a line I just couldn't reach so we dropped the tape down half a semitone and then dropped the line in on the track.|author=David Gilmour, 1975|source=WYWH Songbook}}

{{quote|It's very much a made-up-in-the-studio thing which was all built up from a basic throbbing made on a VCS 3, with a one repeat echo used so that each 'boom' is followed by an echo repeat to give the throb. With a number like that, you don't start off with a regular concept of group structure or anything, and there's no backing track either. Really it is just a studio proposition where we're using tape for its own ends -- a form of collage using sound.|author=David Gilmour, 1975|source=WYWH Songbook}}

{{quote|It's very hard to get a full synthesiser tone down on tape. If you listen to them before and after they've been recorded, you'll notice that you've lost a lot. And although I like the sound of a synthesiser through an amp, you still lose something that way as well. Eventually what we decided to do was to use [[DI unit|D.I.]] on synthesiser because that way you don't increase your losses and the final result sounds very much like a synthesiser through a stage amp.|author=David Gilmour, 1975|source=WYWH Songbook}}

==Cover versions==

[[Shadows Fall]] recorded a cover of the song on their 2002 album, ''[[The Art of Balance]]''.

[[Queensrÿche]] recorded a cover of the song on their 2007 covers album, ''[[Take Cover (album)|Take Cover]]''.

[[Finger Eleven]] recorded a cover of the song on their 2023 Greatest Hits album.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote|Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd album)}}

{{Wish You Were Here}}
{{Pink Floyd}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Welcome To The Machine}}
[[Category:1975 songs]]
[[Category:1970s ballads]]
[[Category:Animated music videos]]
[[Category:CBS Records singles]]
[[Category:Columbia Records singles]]
[[Category:Finger Eleven songs]]
[[Category:Harvest Records singles]]
[[Category:Pink Floyd songs]]
[[Category:Queensrÿche songs]]
[[Category:2007 singles]]
[[Category:Rock ballads]]
[[Category:Shadows Fall songs]]
[[Category:Songs about music]]
[[Category:Protest songs]]
[[Category:Songs written by Roger Waters]]
[[Category:Song recordings produced by David Gilmour]]
[[Category:Song recordings produced by Roger Waters]]
[[Category:Song recordings produced by Richard Wright (musician)]]
[[Category:Song recordings produced by Nick Mason]]