How to Format Lyrics:

  • Type out all lyrics, even repeating song parts like the chorus
  • Lyrics should be broken down into individual lines
  • Use section headers above different song parts like [Verse], [Chorus], etc.
  • Use italics (<i>lyric</i>) and bold (<b>lyric</b>) to distinguish between different vocalists in the same song part
  • If you don’t understand a lyric, use [?]

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About

Genius Annotation

In the context of the Dark Side of the Moon album, as a catalog of the pressures on life, this song is about the senselessness of war. It began as a piano piece Rick Wright came up with while working on the soundtrack to the 1970 movie Zabriskie Point. It didn’t make the soundtrack, but they worked with it at the Dark Side Of The Moon sessions and it eventually became this song.

The director of Zabriskie Point, Michelangelo Antonioni, rejected the song for being “beautiful, but too sad… it makes me think of church.”

This song is about binaries. Black and white.
Us and them. Cats and dogs. It criticizes the cut and dry narrative that is given in a time of war.
This song reveals that we’re all just ordinary people, and when one takes a deeper look, war is senseless death.

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

What did Pink Floyd say about "Us and Them"?
Genius Answer

Roger Waters, who plays the bass and wrote the lyrics to the song, stated that the combination of Gilmour’s and Wright’s voices in the chorus is a beautiful thing.

He also stated that, ever since this song was created, he has found himself, in the role of a producer, advising artists to leave homes in songs to let lyrics breathe, as happens in the verses, where Gilmour will sing on half a bar, then leave a bar and a half empty.

What have the artists said about the meaning of the song?
Genius Answer

In an interview with Louder Sound, Roger Waters explained:

The first verse is about going to war, how on the front line we don’t get much chance to communicate with one another, because someone else has decided that we shouldn’t. The second verse is about civil liberties, racism and colour prejudice. The last verse is about passing a tramp in the street and not helping.

Credits
Produced By
Mastering Engineer
Bass Guitar
Electric Guitar
Fuzz Bass
Hammond Organ
Harmony Vocals
Tenor Saxophone
Mix Supervisor
Lead Vocals
Recorded At
EMI Recording Studios, St. John's Wood, City of Westminster, Greater London, England
Release Date
March 1, 1973
Songs That Sample Us and Them
Songs That Interpolate Us and Them
View Us and Them samples
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