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Roger Waters
73 quotes
“Asked what his artistic purpose was: "There is no purpose. We do whatever we do. You either blow your brains out or get on with something.”
Roger Waters (born 1943) first seen 1987 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: June 1987
“What it comes down to for me is: Will the technologies of communication and culture — and especially popular music, which is a vast and beloved enterprise — help us to understand one another better, or will they deceive us and keep us apart?”
Roger Waters (born 1943) first seen 1988 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Penthouse Magazine (September 1988).
“The very early days of Pink Floyd were magical. We played small auditoriums for entranced audiences, and there was a wonderful sense of communion. We got overpowered by the weight of success and numbers — not just the money but the size of the audience. I became very disenchanted. I had to make the choice of staying on the treadmill or making the braver decision to travel a more difficult path alone.”
Roger Waters (born 1943) first seen 1999 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: USA Today (1999)
“I think that happiness resides somewhere between the extremes of personal, religious, and political. I think happiness resides where we understand someone else's point of view and needs. Happiness resides where we are not lost in the solitary dream.”
Roger Waters (born 1943) first seen 2005 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: (November 2005)
“For us the most important thing is to be visual, and for the cats watching us to have fun. This is all we want. We get very upset if people get bored when we're only half way through smashing the second set. Then all of a sudden they hear Arnold Layne and they flip all over again.”
Roger Waters (born 1943) first seen 1967 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Rave UK Magazine (June 1967).
“We've got the recording side together and not the playing side.”
Roger Waters (born 1943) first seen 1967 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Melody Maker (August 1967).
“It's like saying 'Give a man a Les Paul guitar and he becomes Eric Clapton,' you know. It's not true. And give a man an amplifier and a synthesizer, and he doesn't become whoever, you know. He doesn't become us.”
Roger Waters (born 1943) first seen 1972 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii (1972).
“In the finished article, the only thing that is important is whether it moves you or not. There is nothing else that is important at all.”
Roger Waters (born 1943) first seen 1972 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii (1972).
“Oh, for fuck sake stop lighting off fireworks and shouting & screaming I'm trying to sing a song! I mean I don't care. If you don't want to hear it. You know fuck you. I'm sure there are a lot of people here who do want to hear it. So why don't you just be quiet. If you want to light your fireworks off go outside and light them off out there and if you want to shout and scream well then go and do it out there.... but. I am trying to sing a song that some people want to listen to. I want to listen to it.”
Roger Waters (born 1943) first seen 1977 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: During a concert for the "Animals" tour in Montreal, Quebec (1977) [can be heard on
“I have nothing against Dave Gilmour furthering his own goals. It's just the idea of Dave's solo career masquerading as Pink Floyd that offends me!”
Roger Waters (born 1943) first seen 1988 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Penthouse (September 1988).
“I had at one point this rather depressing image of some alien culture seeing the death of this planet - coming down in their spaceships and sniffing around; finding all our skeletons sitting around our TV sets and trying to work out why our end came before its time and they come to the conclusion that we amused ourselves to death.”
Roger Waters (born 1943) first seen 1992 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Amused to Death syndicate Radio Premiere (1992).
“Well, anyway, I am one of the best five writers to come out of English music since the War.”
Roger Waters (born 1943) first seen 1992 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Q (British magazine, November 1992).
“It was very, very hard work organizing that Wall concert but everyone was fabulous to work with - Bryan Adams, Van Morrison, Cyndi Lauper, bloody brilliant. All brilliant. Except for Sinead O'Connor... She doesn't understand anything. She's just a silly little girl. You can't just lie in the corner and shave your bloody head and stick it up your arse and occasionally pull it out to go (_"brogue"_) 'Oh, I tink this is wrong and dat is wrong' and burst into tears.”
Roger Waters (born 1943) first seen 1992 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Q magazine (November 1992).
“Radio One won't play my fucking single ("What God Wants") because they know it's no good. They know it's not as good as Erasure or Janet fucking Jackson. They know that the British public shouldn't be listening to it. It makes my blood boil! If you're not 17 with a baseball hat on back to front, they don't want to know.”
Roger Waters (born 1943) first seen 1992 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Q magazine (November 1992).
“I was quite happy standing there thundering about, playing whatever I could - that's "fun". And I see young bands occasionally now doing the same thing. I think it's called "thrash" now. It's the same thing: It's just kids who can't play, pissing about. It's terrific. That's all we were doing. I mean, Dave could play a little bit, but none of the rest of us could.”
Roger Waters (born 1943) first seen 1992 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Musician (December 1992).
“It's actually quite emotional, standing up here with these three guys after all these years, standing to be counted with the rest of you. Anyway, we're doing this for everyone who's not here, and particulary of course for Syd”
Roger Waters (born 1943) first seen 2005 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: LIVE 8, Hyde Park, London (July 2005).
“I wrote The Dark Side of the Moon. Let’s get rid of all this 'we' c--p! Of course we were a band, there were four of us, we all contributed – but it’s my project and I wrote it. So… blah!”
Roger Waters (born 1943) first seen 2023 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Roger Waters: 'I called Putin a gangster – that may have been unfair'" The Telegraph (8 February 2023)
“On the club scene we rate about two out of ten and 'Must try harder.' "We've had problems with our equipment and we can't get the P.A. to work because we play extremely loudly. It's a pity because Syd (singer Syd Barrett) writes great lyrics and nobody ever hears them.”
Roger Waters (born 1943) first seen 1967 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Melody Maker (August 1967).
“Well, he's schizophrenic. And has been since 1968.”
Roger Waters (born 1943) first seen 1988 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Australian Radio, 1988.
“Syd was a genius. But I wouldn't want to go back to playing Interstellar Overdrive for hours and hours.”
Roger Waters (born 1943) first seen 1992 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Q magazine (November 1992).
“Oh, they [the media] definitely don't want to know the real Barrett story... there are no facts involved in the Barrett story so they can make up any story they like, and they do. There's a vague basis in fact: Syd was in the band and he did write the material on the first album, 80% of it, but that's all. It is only that one album, and that's what people don't realise. That first album, and one track on the second. That's all; nothing else.”
Roger Waters (born 1943) first seen 1997 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: quoted by Julian Palacios Lost In The Woods (1997).
“Witness the man who raves at the wall Making the shape of his question to Heaven Whether the sun will fall in the evening Will he remember the lesson of giving Set the controls for the heart of the sun”
Roger Waters (born 1943) first seen 1968 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" on A Saucerful of Secrets (Pink Floyd, 1968)
“Music seems to help the pain, seems to motivate the brain”
Roger Waters (born 1943) first seen 1967 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Take up Thy Stethoscope and Walk" on The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (Pink Floyd, 1967)
“And through the window in the wall Comes streaming in on sunlight wings A million bright ambassadors of morning.”
Roger Waters (born 1943) first seen 1971 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Echoes" on Meddle (Pink Floyd, 1971)
“Strangers passing in the street By chance two separate glances meet And I am you and what I see is me.”
Roger Waters (born 1943) first seen 1971 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Echoes" on Meddle (Pink Floyd, 1971)
“The memories of a man in his old age Are the deeds of a man in his prime. You shuffle in gloom of the sickroom And talk to yourself as you die. Life is a short, warm moment And death is a long cold rest. You get your chance to try in the twinkling of an eye: Eighty years, with luck, or even less.”
Roger Waters (born 1943) first seen 1972 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Free Four" on Obscured by Clouds (Pink Floyd, 1972)
“All you touch and all you see is all your life will ever be.”
Roger Waters (born 1943) first seen 1973 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Breathe" on The Dark Side of the Moon (Pink Floyd, 1973)
“Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day, You fritter and waste the hours in an off hand way. Kicking around on a piece of ground in your hometown, Waiting for someone or something to show you the way. Tired of lying in the sunshine, Staying home to watch the rain, You are young and life is long, and there is time to kill today. And then one day you find, ten years have gone behind you No one told you when to run, You missed the starting gun.”
Roger Waters (born 1943) first seen 1973 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Time" on The Dark Side of the Moon (Pink Floyd, 1973)
“And you run and you run to catch up with the sun, but it's sinking And racing around to come up behind you again The sun is the same in a relative way, but you're older Shorter of breath and one day closer to death.”
Roger Waters (born 1943) first seen 1973 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Time" on The Dark Side of the Moon (Pink Floyd, 1973)
“Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way.”
Roger Waters (born 1943) first seen 1973 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Time" on The Dark Side of the Moon (Pink Floyd, 1973)
“All that is now All that is gone All that's to come and everything under the sun is in tune but the sun is eclipsed by the moon.”
Roger Waters (born 1943) first seen 1973 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Eclipse" on The Dark Side of the Moon (Pink Floyd, 1973)
“How I wish you were here, We're just two lost souls swimming in a fishbowl year after year. Running over the same old ground, What have we found? The same old fears, Wish you were here.”
Roger Waters (born 1943) first seen 1975 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Wish You Were Here" on Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd, 1975)
“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want He makes me down to lie Through pastures green He leadeth me the silent waters by. With bright knives He releaseth my soul. He maketh me to hang on hooks in high places. He converteth me to lamb cutlets, For lo, He hath great power, and great hunger. When cometh the day we lowly ones, Through quiet reflection, and great dedication Master the art of karate, Lo, we shall rise up, And then we'll make the bugger's eyes water.”
Roger Waters (born 1943) first seen 1977 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Sheep" (paraphrasing Psalm 23) on Animals (Pink Floyd, 1977)
“Wave upon wave of demented avengers march cheerfully out of obscurity into the dream”
Roger Waters (born 1943) first seen 1977 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Sheep" on Animals (Pink Floyd, 1977)
“When we grew up and went to school There were certain teachers who Would hurt the children in any way they could. By pouring their derision upon anything we did Exposing every weakness However carefully hidden by the kid. But in the town it was well known When they got home at night Their fat and psychopathic wives Would thrash them within inches of their lives!”
Roger Waters (born 1943) first seen 1979 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Happiest Days of Our Lives" on The Wall (Pink Floyd, 1979)
“We don't need no education We don't need no thought control No dark sarcasm in the classroom Teachers leave them kids alone Hey! Teacher! Leave them Kids alone!”
Roger Waters (born 1943) first seen 1979 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2" on The Wall (Pink Floyd, 1979)
“You are only coming through in waves, Your lips move but I can't hear what you're saying, When I was a child, I caught a fleeting glimpse, out of the corner of my eye, I turned to look but it was gone, I cannot put my finger on it now, The child is grown, The dream has gone, And I have become Comfortably Numb”
Roger Waters (born 1943) first seen 1979 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Comfortably Numb" on The Wall (Pink Floyd, 1979)
“Through the fish-eyed lens of tear-stained eyes I can barely define the shape of this moment in time and far from flying high in clear blue skies I'm spiralling down to the hole in the ground where I hide.”
Roger Waters (born 1943) first seen 1983 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Final Cut" on The Final Cut (Pink Floyd, 1983)
“And now from where I stand Upon this hill I plundered from the pool I look around, I search the skies I shade my eyes, so nearly blind And I see signs of half remembered days I hear bells that chime in strange familiar ways I recognise........ The hope you kindle in your eyes”
Roger Waters (born 1943) first seen 1985 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: 5.06 AM (Every Strangers Eyes)" on The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking (Roger Waters, 1985)
“They like a bomb-proof Cadillac Air-conditioned, gold taps Back-seat gun rack, Platinum hub caps They pick horses for courses They're the market forces They like order, make-up, limelight, power Game shows, rodeos, Star Wars, TV They're The Powers That Be If you see them come, you better run”
Roger Waters (born 1943) first seen 1987 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Powers That Be" on Radio KAOS (Roger Waters, 1987)
“You wake up in the morning Find some things for the pot Wonder why the sun makes the rocks feel hot Draw on the walls, eat, get laid Back in the good old days Then some damn fool invents the wheel Listen to the white-walls squeal You spend all day looking for a parking spot Nothing for the heart, nothing for the pot”
Roger Waters (born 1943) first seen 1987 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Me Or Him" on Radio KAOS (Roger Waters, 1987)
“I used to think the world was flat Rarely threw my hat into the crowd I felt I had used up my quota of yearning Used to look in on the children at night In the glow of their Donald Duck light And frighten myself with the thought of my little ones burning But ooh, the tide is turning The tide is turning.”
Roger Waters (born 1943) first seen 1987 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Tide Is Turning (After Live Aid)", on Radio K.A.O.S. (1987) - Full lyrics at LyricWiki · Tour performance · Video 2 Live in Berlin
“Who is the strongest, who is the best Who holds the aces, the East or the West This is the crap that our children are learningBut ooh, the tide is turning.”
Roger Waters (born 1943) first seen 1987 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Tide Is Turning (After Live Aid)", on Radio K.A.O.S. (1987)
“I'm not saying the battle is won But on Saturday night all those kids in the sun Wrested technology's sword from the hands of the warlords Ooh, the tide is turning Ooh, the tide is turning.”
Roger Waters (born 1943) first seen 1987 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Tide Is Turning (After Live Aid)", on Radio K.A.O.S. (1987)
“And when they found our shadows Grouped around the TV sets They ran down every lead They repeated every test They checked out all the data on their lists And then the alien anthropologists Admitted they were still perplexed But on eliminating every other reason For our sad demise They logged the only explanation left This species has amused itself to death.”
Roger Waters (born 1943) first seen 1992 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Amused to Death" on Amused to Death (Roger Waters, 1992)
“And the Germans killed the Jews And the Jews killed the Arabs And the Arabs killed the hostages And that is the news And is it any wonder That the monkey's confused He said Mama Mama The President's a fool Why do I have to keep reading These technical manuals?”
Roger Waters (born 1943) first seen 1992 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Perfect Sense (part I)" on Amused to Death (Roger Waters, 1992)
“Can't you see It all makes perfect sense Expressed in dollars and cents, Pounds, shillings and pence Can't you see It all makes perfect sense”
Roger Waters (born 1943) first seen 1992 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Perfect Sense" on Amused to Death (Roger Waters, 1992)
“The monkey sat on a pile of stone And he stared at the broken bone in his hand Strains of a Viennese quartet rang out across the land The monkey looked up at the stars And he thought to himself Memory is a stranger History is for fools And he cleaned his hands in a pool of holy writing Turned his back on the garden and set out for the nearest town”
Roger Waters (born 1943) first seen 1992 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Perfect Sense" on Amused to Death (Roger Waters, 1992)
“Oh George! Oh George! That Texas education must have fucked you up when you were very small”
Roger Waters (born 1943) first seen 2005 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Leaving Beirut" on To Kill the Child/ Leaving Beirut (Roger Waters, 2005), regarding the war in Iraq
“America, America, please hear us when we call You got hip-hop, be-bop, hustle and bustle You got Atticus Finch You got Jane Russell You got freedom of speech You got great beaches, wildernesses and malls Don't let the might, the Christian right, fuck it all up For you and the rest of the world”
Roger Waters (born 1943) first seen 2005 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Leaving Beirut" on To Kill the Child/ Leaving Beirut (Roger Waters, 2005), regarding the war in Iraq