Coaxing David Gilmour into songwriting proves a challenge for Polly Samson; lengthy pauses in Pink Floyd's music-making, and the verses she declined to pen.
David Gilmour, the renowned guitarist of Pink Floyd, has always been more comfortable expressing himself through his music rather than words. This is evident in his collaborations with his wife, Polly Samson, who has written many of the lyrics for his solo work and Pink Floyd's later albums.
Their collaboration began with Pink Floyd's 1994 album, The Division Bell. Since then, Samson has treated Gilmour like a character in a book when writing lyrics for him, finding it challenging to extract them from him. This was particularly true for their work on the song "Louder Than Words," which was penned to encapsulate the awkward silences and eloquent communication of the band members on stage during their live performances.
In the case of "Louder Than Words," Samson found it hard to get Gilmour to write lyrics. However, she managed to do so for the song Rattle That Lock in 2015 and the final Pink Floyd album, The Endless River, a tribute to the band's late keyboardist, Rick Wright. Interestingly, Samson did not write the lyrics for "Louder Than Words" on the last Pink Floyd album; she felt it would be inappropriate to impose her words without Wright's involvement.
Gilmour, who primarily communicates through his guitar, finds writing lyrics a difficult task. This was especially true when it came to the song "The Girl In The Yellow Dress." Samson struggled to write about a beautiful, sexy woman without making it about herself or another woman. Phil Manzanera, a fellow band member, suggested a change in the theme of the song to make it more appealing to Gilmour.
Despite the challenges, Samson's personality rarely shines through in the lyrics she writes for Gilmour. This was Gilmour's intention when he wrote "Louder Than Words" as a full-stop to the Pink Floyd thing. He wanted the focus to be on the music, not the words. This approach is evident in the song, which speaks volumes without saying much at all.
In conclusion, the collaboration between David Gilmour and Polly Samson has produced some of Pink Floyd's most poignant and powerful lyrics. Despite the challenges, they have managed to create music that resonates with audiences worldwide, proving that even when words fail, music can still speak volumes.
