Hidden message on Pink Floyd’s The Wall

I was cleaning up my hard drive and I came across this excerpt of a message on Pink Floyd’s The Wall.

Old Pink

“Congratulations. You have just discovered the secret message. Send your answer to Old Pink, care of The Funny Farm, Chalford, UK.” Roger Waters is interrupted by a man who says “Roger… Carolyn’s on the phone!”

Depending on where you look, the song is titled “Empty Spaces” (label on side 2 of record) or “What Shall We Do Now?” (liner notes). For whatever reasons, they don’t match.

When I was a kid, I had access to a reversible reel-to-reel tape recorder. I borrowed my friends copy of The Wall, recorded this song onto the tape, and played it a hundred times in reverse. I even ran the audio through a graphic equalizer trying to isolate the message.

“Old Pink” refers to Syd Barrett, who was allegedly committed to the “funny farm” for his mental issues.

4 thoughts on “Hidden message on Pink Floyd’s The Wall

  1. they edited the empty spaces down as it wouldn’t fit on the record, but the sleeves/lyric sheets were already printed. the full version is of course in the movie. did you see roger waters is doing the wall live? and playing denver?

    • No, I didn’t hear about Roger doing the Wall live in Denver. I have mixed feelings about that. It strikes me as the record company squeezing blood from a rock.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.