The main character Sam is schizophrenic and is often plagued by voices in his head.  Music offers the one of the few distractions – it is a welcomed mask.

In Chapter 1,  Invisible,  Sam comments:

“It was good to hear music, any type of music, as it helped drown out the screaming voices in my head. I’d always loved music and often wondered where the human race would be without it. Unfortunately, it had been a long time since I could afford to pump a tune into my ears, and I desperately missed the calming escapism it brought”

Throughout the novel there are several references to lyrics and songs such as A Farewell to Kings, recorded by Canadian artists Rush in 1977.  This song is all about dealing with hypocrisy and finding your own way by looking within yourself. The lyrics to this particular song are incorporated into the novel prologue and excerpts are often quoted by Sam.

“A Farewell To Kings”

When they turn the pages of history
when these days have passed long ago…
Will they read of us with sadness
for the seeds that we let grow?

We turned our gaze
from the castles in the distance
Eyes cast down
on the path of least resistance

Cities full of hatred, fear and lies…
Withered hearts and cruel, tormented eyes…
Scheming demons dressed in kingly guise
Beating down the multitude and
scoffing at the wise

The hypocrites are slandering
the sacred Halls of Truth
Ancient nobles showering
their bitterness on youth

Can’t we find the minds that made us strong?
Can’t we learn to feel what’s right – and what’s wrong?

Can’t we raise our eyes and make a start?
Can’t we find the minds to lead us
Closer to the heart?

 

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpsyrfoX8zw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIXRIW4Rzn8

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Another song that features in Need, Greed & Ignorance is The Streets of London, a song written by Ralph McTell and first released as a single in the UK in 1974.  reaching number two in the UK singles chart, at one point selling 90,000 copies a day and winning him the 1974 Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically and a Silver disc for record sales.

Recorded by Roger Whittaker this song comes into Sam’s head as he makes the decision to leave London and head north to Scotland.

This song is about being homeless in London, and about how the world forgets about the people who are down and out.  it just shows how the human race will stereotype the likes of tramps, not wondering, wether or not they have lead fulfilled lives, when actually one of the men in the actual song, appears to have served his country.

Have you seen the old man in the closed down market

kicking up the papers with his worn out shoes?

In his eyes you see no pride and held loosely at his side ..

Yesterday’s paper telling yesterday’s news

So how can you tell me you’re lonely?

And say for you that the sun don’t shine?

Let me take you by the hand and lead you through the streets of London

I’ll show you something to make you change your mind

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7f1jkqOEk_I

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In Walt & Want, Chapter 18, Sam finds himself reluctantly travelling abroad to run an errand for three acquaintances he doesn’t really know at all – namely Tchai, Rai and Mai.  He is actually about to fly to Florida but hears Vienna by Ultravox playing in the airport.

He’s nervous – even more than usual – and it’s a very cold, late December’s day so the lyrics and the haunting violin solo are very apt.  Sam also likes the phrase “It means nothing to me….!” as by this Chapter, he couldn’t care less about much!.

Vienna is a song by the British band Ultravox. It was the third single and the title track from the band’s fourth album. The single was released on Chrysalis Records on 15 January 1981:

 We walked in the cold air
Freezing breath on a window pane
Lying and waiting
A man in the dark in a picture frame
So mystic and soulful
A voice reaching out in a piercing cry
It stays with you until

The feeling has gone only you and I
It means nothing to me
This means nothing to me
Oh, Vienna

 The music is weaving
Haunting notes, pizzicato strings
The rhythm is calling
Alone in the night as the daylight brings
A cool empty silence
The warmth of your hand and a cold gray sky
It fades to the distance

The image has gone only you and I
It means nothing to me
This means nothing to me
Oh, Vienna

 This means nothing to me
This means nothing to me
Oh, Vienna

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dH89u_6G83w

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Chapter 27 is entitled “Tell me sweet little lies”, so how fitting is it that this song should be playing on the radio when Sam goes in search of his “mother” in a residential/nursing home back in his hometown – looking for answers.

If I could turn the page
In time then I’d rearrange just a day or two
Close my, close my, close my eyes

But I couldn’t find a way
So I’ll settle for one day to believe in you
Tell me, tell me, tell me lies

Tell me lies, tell me sweet little lies
(Tell me lies, tell me, tell me lies)
Oh, no, no you can’t disguise
(You can’t disguise, no you can’t disguise)
Tell me lies, tell me sweet little lies

Although I’m not making plans
I hope that you understand there’s a reason why
Close your, close your, close your eyes

No more broken hearts
We’re better off apart let’s give it a try
Tell me, tell me, tell me lies

If I could turn the page
In time then I’d rearrange just a day or two
Close my, close my, close my eyes

But I couldn’t find a way
So I’ll settle for one day to believe in you
Tell me, tell me, tell me lies

Tell me lies, tell me sweet little lies
(Tell me lies, tell me, tell me lies)
Oh, no, no you can’t disguise
(You can’t disguise, no you can’t disguise)
Tell me lies, tell me sweet little lies

“Little Lies” is a song by the English/American rock band Fleetwood Mac. It was the third single to be taken from their 1987 album Tango in the Night.  It is essentially saying that the recipient would rather hear lies than the unwanted truth!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyE4CLM0QIA

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Bob Marleys “Every thing’s gonna to be alright” (three little birds) also gets a mention in the novel.  This is the song Sam wakes up to the morning after he becomes a father in Chapter 32, “Unconditional love” when he hopes this is the key to his future happiness; a family – and an invite into “social normality”.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmwue6Jq4KA

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Finally in Chapter 44,  Sam feels he has reached a  state of calm, a numbness brought on by either medication or the sanctuary which he now finds himself in – or both.

He finally feels safe- he has become “comfortably numb” and recalls a song by Pink Floyd that he used to play over and over again in his younger years, the final verse of which is given below:

There is no pain you are receding
A distant ship… smoke on the horizon.
You are only coming through in waves…
Your lips move but I can’t hear what you’re saying.
When I was a child
I caught a fleeting glimpse
Out of the corner of my eye.
I turned to look but it was gone
I cannot put my finger on it now
The child is grown,
The dream is gone.
I have become comfortably numb.

Comfortably Numb” is a song by the English rock band Pink Floyd, which first appears on the 1979 double album, The Wall. This song is about one man’s battle to handle the world.  There are also lyrics taken from In The Flesh and One Of My Turns, both songs also quoted from the Wall album.

Pink Floyd’s The Wall is one of the most intriguing and imaginative albums in the history of rock music.  For further details see website below:

http://www.thewallanalysis.com/