The Happiest Days of Our Lives (1:39)
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Listening now: danq2
The Happiest Days of Our Lives is a song by the British progressive rock band Pink Floyd. It was released on The Wall album in 1979.
The song is approximately 1 minute, 52 seconds in length, beginning with 24 seconds of a helicopter approaching followed by shouting from the schoolmaster. When Kate Bush tried to add a similar helicopter to the fadeout of her single “Experiment IV”, her recording engineers were unable to duplicate the overwhelming sound, so she asked Roger Waters for the original tape, and he obliged as long as it was mentioned in the credits. After that the sound effects abruptly cut out for the lyrical portion. Throughout the most of the song, the lead instrument is the bass guitar with an added delay effect and during the bridge to “Another Brick in the Wall, Part II”, there are intense drums and backing vocals. Due to the smooth transition from this song to Another Brick In The Wall Pt. II, many people think this song is part of Another Brick.
On the album, “The Happiest Days of Our Lives” segues into “Another Brick in the Wall, Part II” with a loud, high-pitched scream by Roger Waters (this sound is later reprised on Run Like Hell). Because of this segue, many radio stations play one right after the other.
In the film based on the album, the sound at the beginning of the song is depicted as coming from a train entering a large tunnel, rather than a helicopter heard on the album. According to Gerald Scarfe, there was supposed to be a puppet of the teacher at the end of the tunnel in the film. Alan Parker made shots of it, but it didn’t work out, so they used Alex McAvoy, who played the teacher, to do the scene instead.
The song is approximately 1 minute, 52 seconds in length, beginning with 24 seconds of a helicopter approaching followed by shouting from the schoolmaster. When Kate Bush tried to add a similar helicopter to the fadeout of her single “Experiment IV”, her recording engineers were unable to duplicate the overwhelming sound, so she asked Roger Waters for the original tape, and he obliged as long as it was mentioned in the credits. After that the sound effects abruptly cut out for the lyrical portion. Throughout the most of the song, the lead instrument is the bass guitar with an added delay effect and during the bridge to “Another Brick in the Wall, Part II”, there are intense drums and backing vocals. Due to the smooth transition from this song to Another Brick In The Wall Pt. II, many people think this song is part of Another Brick.
On the album, “The Happiest Days of Our Lives” segues into “Another Brick in the Wall, Part II” with a loud, high-pitched scream by Roger Waters (this sound is later reprised on Run Like Hell). Because of this segue, many radio stations play one right after the other.
In the film based on the album, the sound at the beginning of the song is depicted as coming from a train entering a large tunnel, rather than a helicopter heard on the album. According to Gerald Scarfe, there was supposed to be a puppet of the teacher at the end of the tunnel in the film. Alan Parker made shots of it, but it didn’t work out, so they used Alex McAvoy, who played the teacher, to do the scene instead.
Video
Added by jafosmite
the.COMPANY performs Pink Floyd's THE WALL at The Baby Grand Theater in Wilmington, Delaware on December 10, 2004.
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Albums featuring this track
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Echoes
Pink FloydBuy- Download Album
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The Wall (disc 1)
Pink FloydBuy- Download Album
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Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd (disc 1)
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Shouts
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kaktusas86 wrote:
I don't understand how people can listen to another brick in the wall part II without this song. [22]
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rbx wrote:
I don't understand how people can listen to another brick in the wall part II without this song. [21]
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Goemans wrote:
They're british, so why does it say 'lives' and not 'lifes'?
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CypheroN wrote:
I don't understand how people can listen to another brick in the wall part II without this song. [20]
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ImbecilinPlus wrote:
I don't understand how people can listen to another brick in the wall part II without this song. [19]
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licoricepizza wrote:
that faint "oof" (like a gut reaction to punch), about midway through, is a nice touch. :D
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mariana_ wrote:
I don't understand how people can listen to another brick in the wall part II without this song. [18]
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iPaet wrote:
I don't understand how people can listen to another brick in the wall part II without this song. [17]
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Joao_Sfoggia wrote:
I don't understand how people can listen to another brick in the wall part II without this song. [16]
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boozec wrote:
My nizzle song.
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Darkerius88 wrote:
I don't understand how people can listen to another brick in the wall part II without this song. [15]
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I2Fat2FlyI wrote:
I don't understand how people can listen to another brick in the wall part II without this song. [14]
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CroMkd wrote:
i wish this song would be longer, it's so good.
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Felixtehbeaver wrote:
I don't understand how people can listen to another brick in the wall part II without this song. [13] This is the song that turned me into the music im listening to today, when I heard it from my parents LP when I was like 10.
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NickBalboa wrote:
I don't understand how people can listen to another brick in the wall part II without this song. [13]
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heman159 wrote:
super!
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Nikouh wrote:
"But in the town it was well known, when they got home at night, their fat, psychopathic wives would thrash them within inches of their lives" love that bit.
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ducardosotm wrote:
I don't understand how people can listen to another brick in the wall part II without this song. [12]
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guitarman_666 wrote:
psychopathic wives
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KevinMcCool wrote:
I do.
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Recent Activity
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johnmatwalsh27 added The Happiest Days of Our Lives to johnmatwalsh27’s library. 6 hours ago
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TheSuiciderr, franzscharlau, Black-Day and 1 other person loved Pink Floyd – The Happiest Days of Our Lives. 18 hours ago
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Scarlett1991, nomoremrcoffee, Futzi99 and 6 other people loved Pink Floyd – The Happiest Days of Our Lives. yesterday afternoon
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Wulfsjunge and kaktusas86 loved Pink Floyd – The Happiest Days of Our Lives. Monday evening
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Bitlomane added The Happiest Days of Our Lives to her Loved Tracks. Sunday evening
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elVondo added The Happiest Days of Our Lives to the playlist September 2009. Sunday afternoon
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