Pigs on the Wing

Pigs on the Wing is a composition by Pink Floyd.

History

It was written by Roger Waters as a declaration of love to his wife, and released in 1977 the concept album Animals.

Meaning

The song is divided in two parts, which are the first and last tracks of the album. Both are in stark contrast to the misanthropic album's middle three songs, and suggest that companionship can help us overcome our flaws. While the casual listener may ignore them for the most part they are keys to the album, summing up the it's entirety in their short 1:25 second spans. Waters also refers to himself as a dog in Part 2. For the 8-track cartridge release, which looped, Parts 1 and 2 were linked by a guitar bridge performed by Snowy White.

Animal's middle song is called Pigs (Three Different Ones). On all of the songs, pigs represent those who seek power for one's own profit, such as corrupt politicians and moralists, as in George Orwell's Animal Farm.