Dogs

You gotta be crazy, you gotta have a real need
You gotta sleep on your toes, and when you're on the street
You gotta be able to pick out the easy meat with your eyes closed
And then moving in silently, down wind and out of sight
You gotta strike when the moment is right without thinking.

And after a while, you can work on points for style
Like the club tie, and the firm handshake
A certain look in the eye, and an easy smile
You have to be trusted by the people that you lie to
So that when they turn their backs on you
You'll get the chance to put the knife in.

You gotta keep one eye looking over your shoulder
You know it's going to get harder, and harder, and harder as you get older
And in the end you'll pack up, fly down south
Hide your head in the sand
Just another sad old man
All alone and dying of cancer.

And when you lose control, you'll reap the harvest that you've sown
And as the fear grows, the bad blood slows and turns to stone
And it's too late to lose the weight you used to need to throw around
So have a good drown, as you go down all alone
Dragged down by the stone.

I gotta admit that I'm a little bit confused
Sometimes it seems to me as if I'm just being used
Gotta stay awake, gotta try and shake off this creeping malaise
If I don't stand my own ground, how can I find my way out of this maze?

Deaf, dumb, and blind, you just keep on pretending
That everyone's expendable and no one has a real friend
And it seems to you the thing to do would be to isolate the winner
Everything's done under the sun
And you believe at heart, everyone's a killer.

Who was born in a house full of pain
Who was trained not to spit in the fan
Who was told what to do by the man
Who was broken by trained personnel
Who was fitted with collar and chain
Who was given a pat on the back
Who was breaking away from the pack
Who was only a stranger at home
Who was ground down in the end
Who was found dead on the phone
Who was dragged down by the stone.





- Released January 23, 1977

- "Dogs"was originally composed as "You Gotta Be Crazy"

- Dogs are used to represent the megalomaniacal businessmen who destroy themselves and those around them by obsessing over their egos and their careers.

- During the part which includes Rick Wright's synthesizer solo, the sounds of dogs barking can be heard; this sound effect was created by processing the sound using a vocoder.

- The song is thought to be inspired by George Orwell's 1945 novella, Animal Farm.

- The first stanza represents the manic aggression and energy to get where you want to go in your budding career. The second stanza represents achieving success at your job and building a superior ego. The third stanza represents retirement and moving to the south as is typical with most retirees. And lastly, since work came first, the protagonist died heartless and alone.

- "Got to be able to pick out the easy meat with your eyes closed" the meat represents deals and opportunities for the businessmen.

- "Who was told what to do by the man" represents dog obedience at home as well as being under strict supervision at the workplace.

- "Who was trained not to spit in the fan" represents the aspects of business life and how it compares to dogs, for example taking chances and being trained.

- "Who was broken by trained personnel" represents the worker losing their individuality.

- "Who was fitted with collar and chain" represents obedience and following orders with one's superior.

- "Who was given a pat on the back" represents being rewarded, and in the case of dogs- 'given a treat.'

- "Who was breaking away from the pack" represents being better than everyone else and wanting to get away from order.

- "Who was only a stranger at home" represents getting to know everyone but spending less time with family.

- This song and the use of the word "Who" at the beginning of every line of the verse also illustrates the influence that Roy Harper had on the band. Roy Harper had used this technique on the song "The Lord's Prayer" from his 1973 Lifemask album, which included David Gilmour on guitar. Harper sang over 90 lines of a verse beginning with the words "whose" and "who".

- Roy Harper "The Lord's Prayer"