The Wall

The Wall is a rock opera presented as a double album by the English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released in late 1979.Following in the footsteps of their previous albums, The Wall is a concept album - specifically, it deals largely with the theme of isolation from one's peers.
The Wall is a rock opera that centers on the character "Pink". Largely based on Waters' personal life, Pink struggles in life from an early age, having lost his father in war ("Another Brick in the Wall (Part 1)"), abused by teachers ("The Happiest Days of Our Lives"), nurtured by an overprotective mother ("Mother"), and deserted by his wife later on ("Don't Leave Me Now") - all of which factored into Pink's mental isolation from society, figuratively referred to as "The Wall".
The album's overriding themes are the causes and implications of self-imposed isolation, symbolized by the metaphorical wall of the title. The album's songs create a very loose storyline sketching events in the life of the protagonist, Pink. Pink loses his father as a child (Waters's own father was killed in Anzio during World War II), is smothered by his overprotective mother, and is oppressed at school by tyrannical, abusive teachers, each of these traumas becoming "another brick in the wall". As an adult Pink becomes a rock star, but his relationships are marred by infidelity and outbursts of violence. As his marriage crumbles, Pink finishes building the wall and completes his isolation from human contact.

Pink's mindset deteriorates behind his freshly completed wall, with his personal crisis culminating during an onstage performance. Hallucinating, Pink believes that he is a fascist dictator, and his concerts are like Neo-Nazi rallies where he sets his men on fans he considers unworthy, only to have his conscience rebel at this and put himself on trial, his inner judge ordering him to "tear down the wall" in order to open himself to the outside world. At this point the album's end runs into its beginning with the closing words "Isn't this where..."; the first song on the album, "In the Flesh?", begins with the words "...we came in?" – with a continuation of the melody of the last song, "Outside the Wall" – hinting at the cyclical nature of Waters's theme.

Side 1

1. "In the Flesh?" – 3:19
2. "The Thin Ice" – 2:27
3. "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 1)" – 3:21
4. "The Happiest Days of Our Lives" – 1:46
5. "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)" – 4:00
6. "Mother" – 5:36
Side 2

1. "Goodbye Blue Sky" – 2:45
2. "Empty Spaces" – 2:10
3. "Young Lust" (Waters/David Gilmour) – 3:25
4. "One of My Turns" – 3:35
5. "Don't Leave Me Now" – 4:16
6. "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 3)" – 1:14
7. "Goodbye Cruel World" – 1:13

Side 3

1. "Hey You" – 4:40
2. "Is There Anybody Out There?" – 2:44
3. "Nobody Home" – 3:26
4. "Vera" – 1:35
5. "Bring the Boys Back Home" – 1:21
6. "Comfortably Numb" (Gilmour/Waters) – 6:24
Side 4

1. "The Show Must Go On" – 1:36
2. "In the Flesh" – 4:13
3. "Run Like Hell" (Gilmour/Waters) – 4:19
4. "Waiting for the Worms" – 4:04
5. "Stop" – 0:30
6. "The Trial" (Waters/Bob Ezrin) – 5:13
7. "Outside the Wall" – 1:41