The Final Cut cover art

  Studio Album · No. 10

The Final Cut Songwriting Credits by Pink Floyd

1983 Harvest 12 tracks 43 min

Produced by Roger Waters, James Guthrie, Michael Kamen  ·  Engineered by James Guthrie, Andy Jackson

Harvest Art RockProgressive Rock
100%
Authorship
Complete Artist

Holds writing credit on 12 of 12 tracks

Authorship Breakdown 12 / 12 documented

Who wrote the songs?

Scored across the 12 tracks with documented writers, by whether Pink Floyd carries a lyricist or composer credit.

100%
12 trackswritten by Pink Floyd 0 tracksoutside writers
Pink Floyd's roles on this album

Share of the 12 tracks where a band member is credited, by role.

Lyricist100%
Composer100%
Producer100%
Performer100%

By the Numbers

12
Tracks
1
Lyricists
3
Producers
3 million
Worldwide Copies Sold
1983
Released
Data Insight

The Final Cut is credited entirely to Roger Waters, who wrote every track and dominated the production, making it effectively a Waters solo work performed with the band. Richard Wright had already departed under pressure from Waters after The Wall sessions, so the album was made without a keyboardist as a band member, with Michael Kamen handling orchestration and piano. Subtitled a requiem for Waters's father, who died in the Second World War, it is his most personal and openly political statement, attacking the Falklands War and Margaret Thatcher. David Gilmour, given no writing credits and at odds with Waters over the material, would leave the partnership soon after, ending this phase of the band.

"The Final Cut" is the 1983 album by Pink Floyd, an art rock concept record that Roger Waters built as an anti-war statement responding to the Falklands War and reflecting on his father's death in the Second World War. Waters sang lead on nearly every track and played bass, acoustic guitar, and synthesizers, David Gilmour played lead and rhythm guitar, and Nick Mason contributed drums and sound effects, while founding keyboardist Richard Wright was absent entirely. Key tracks include "The Gunner's Dream," "Not Now John," "The Fletcher Memorial Home," and "Two Suns in the Sunset." The album reached number 1 on the UK Albums Chart and number 6 on the US Billboard 200, where it was certified double platinum. It was the last Pink Floyd album to feature Waters before his 1985 departure and remained the band's lowest-selling studio album since 1971's Meddle, leading some to view it as a de facto Waters solo record.

Track Listing & Credits 12 tracks

Written by the artist Written by outside writers
#TitleLyricist(s)Composer(s)Producer(s)Performers
1
The Post War Dream
Roger Waters Roger Waters Roger WatersJames GuthrieMichael Kamen Roger Waters (Lead Vocals)
2
Your Possible Pasts
Roger Waters Roger Waters Roger WatersJames GuthrieMichael Kamen Roger Waters (Lead Vocals)
3
One of the Few
Roger Waters Roger Waters Roger WatersJames GuthrieMichael Kamen Roger Waters (Lead Vocals)
4
The Hero's Return
Roger Waters Roger Waters Roger WatersJames GuthrieMichael Kamen Roger Waters (Lead Vocals)
5
The Gunner's Dream
Roger Waters Roger Waters Roger WatersJames GuthrieMichael Kamen Roger Waters (Lead Vocals)
6
Paranoid Eyes
Roger Waters Roger Waters Roger WatersJames GuthrieMichael Kamen Roger Waters (Lead Vocals)
7
Get Your Filthy Hands Off My Desert
Roger Waters Roger Waters Roger WatersJames GuthrieMichael Kamen Roger Waters (Lead Vocals)
8
The Fletcher Memorial Home
Roger Waters Roger Waters Roger WatersJames GuthrieMichael Kamen Roger Waters (Lead Vocals)
9
Southampton Dock
Roger Waters Roger Waters Roger WatersJames GuthrieMichael Kamen Roger Waters (Lead Vocals)
10
The Final Cut
Roger Waters Roger Waters Roger WatersJames GuthrieMichael Kamen Roger Waters (Lead Vocals)
11
Not Now John #30
Roger Waters Roger Waters Roger WatersJames GuthrieMichael Kamen Roger Waters (Lead Vocals)
12
Two Suns in the Sunset
Roger Waters Roger Waters Roger WatersJames GuthrieMichael Kamen Roger Waters (Lead Vocals)

Songwriter & Credit Spotlight 3 contributors

More from Pink Floyd

Frequently Asked Questions The Final Cut

Did Roger Waters write The Final Cut?
Yes. Roger Waters wrote every track on The Final Cut by himself and received sole songwriting credit across the album. It is widely regarded as effectively a Roger Waters solo album performed by Pink Floyd, with David Gilmour and Nick Mason contributing as players but not writers.
What is The Final Cut by Pink Floyd about?
The Final Cut is a concept album subtitled 'A Requiem for the Post War Dream,' dedicated to Roger Waters's father Eric Fletcher Waters, who was killed in the Second World War. It expands into an angry attack on the Falklands War and on Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, making it Pink Floyd's most overtly political record.
Why is Richard Wright not on The Final Cut?
Keyboardist Richard Wright had left Pink Floyd under pressure from Roger Waters after the sessions for The Wall, so he does not appear on The Final Cut at all. Orchestration and keyboard duties were handled largely by composer Michael Kamen, who also co-produced the album.
What single was released from The Final Cut?
'Not Now John' was released as the single from The Final Cut in April 1983 and reached number 30 on the UK Singles Chart. It was the only track on the album to feature David Gilmour on lead vocals.
Who produced The Final Cut?
The Final Cut was produced by Roger Waters, James Guthrie, and Michael Kamen. The fractured relationship between Waters and David Gilmour during the sessions meant Gilmour was removed from the production credit, deepening the rift in the band.
Was The Final Cut a commercial success?
The Final Cut topped the UK Albums Chart and reached number 6 on the US Billboard 200, and it was certified 2x Platinum in the United States. However, it sold far less than its predecessors and is described as the band's lowest-selling studio album since Meddle in 1971.
Was The Final Cut the last Pink Floyd album with Roger Waters?
Yes. The Final Cut was the final Pink Floyd studio album to feature Roger Waters, who left the band in 1985. The subsequent albums A Momentary Lapse of Reason and The Division Bell were made by David Gilmour and the others without him.

Sources