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The Dogs of War (song)

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"The Dogs of War"
Promotional singlebyPink Floyd
from the albumA Momentary Lapse of Reason
B-side"On The Turning Away (Live)"
ReleasedSeptember 8, 1987(September 8, 1987)
RecordedNovember – December 1986
GenreProgressive rock
Length6:11
LabelCBS Records
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Pink Floydsingles chronology
"On the Turning Away"
(1987)
"The Dogs of War"
(1987)
"One Slip"
(1988)
Audio
"The Dogs Of War"onYouTube

"The Dogs of War"is a song byPink Floydfrom their1987album,A Momentary Lapse of Reason.[1][2]It was released as a promotional single from the album. Live versions have an extended intro, an extended middle solo for the saxophone, a guitar and sax duel and a longer outro as compared to the album version. The track was a minor rock radio hit in the US and reached #16 on MTV's Video Countdown in May 1988.

"The Dogs of War" describes politicians orchestrating wars, suggesting the major influence behind war is money.

Composition

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Musically, the song follows atwelve-barbluesstructure in C minor, only with significantly differentchord changes.A standard blues song in C minor would progress as C minor, F minor, C minor, G (major or minor), F minor, and back to C minor. "The Dogs of War", instead, progresses in this way: C minor, E♭ minor, C minor, A♭ seventh, F minor, and back to C minor. Allminor chordsinclude theseventh.

Singer David Gilmour often approaches the C minor chord by singing on thediminished fifth,G flat, before descending to thefourth,minor third,androot.This melody is also compatible with the next chord, E♭ minor, in which G flat is the minor third. It also appears in the A♭ seventh chord, as the dominant seventh.

The majority of the song is in a slow 12/8 time. After a bluesy guitar solo, the song switches to a fast 4/4 tempo for thesaxophonesolo. This is not unlike what happens in "Money",a minor-key blues-based song fromThe Dark Side of the Moon,in which a saxophone solos over the song's predominant 7/4 tempo before switching to a faster 4/4 tempo for the guitar solo. "The Dogs of War" also imitates "Money" in its ending sequence, with a"call and response"between Gilmour's voice and his guitar.[3][4]

Video

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The video for the track composed of the backdrop film directed byStorm Thorgersonwhich depictedGerman Shepherdswith yellow eyes running through a war zone plus a live recording and concert footage filmed during the band's three night run atThe OmniinAtlanta,Georgiain November 1987 directed by Lawrence Jordan (who has directed concert films forRush,Mariah CareyandBilly Joel). Videos for "On the Turning Away"and"One Slip"were also filmed at this concert.

Personnel on studio version

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Additional musicians:

Personnel on live versions

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with:

Cover version

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Slovenian industrial groupLaibachcovered the song on their album,NATO(1994).[5]

See also

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References

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  1. ^Strong, Martin C. (2004).The Great Rock Discography(7th ed.). Edinburgh:Canongate Books.p. 1177.ISBN1-84195-551-5.
  2. ^Mabbett, Andy (1995).The Complete Guide to the Music of Pink Floyd.London:Omnibus Press.ISBN0-7119-4301-X.
  3. ^Pink Floyd:A Momentary Lapse of Reason SongbookU.K.ISBN978-0-7119-1340-0
  4. ^Pink Floyd:The Dark Side of the Moon(1973 Pink Floyd Music Publishers Ltd., London, England,ISBN0-7119-1028-6[USAISBN0-8256-1078-8])
  5. ^"NATO".AllMusic.
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