One of the Few

Song_infobox
Name = One of the Few


Artist = Pink Floyd
Album = The Final Cut
Released = March 21 1983 (UK)
April 2 1983 (US)
track_no = 3
Recorded = July-December 1982
Genre = Progressive rock
Length = ~1:12
Writer = Roger Waters
Label = Harvest Records (UK)
Capitol Records (US)
Producer = Roger Waters, James Guthrie and Michael Kamen
[ Chart position = ]
prev = Your Possible Pasts
prev_no = 2
next = When the Tigers Broke Free
next_no = 4

"One of the Few" is a song by British progressive rock band Pink Floyd. It was released as the third track on "The Final Cut" album in 1983.

Composition

The song is short at 1 minute and 12 seconds length. It features a ticking clock in the background and a steady drumbeat. It also features a lyrical pattern and a slow tempo.

The Wall

The song has relevancy to Pink Floyd's "The Wall". When in recording, the song was to be used on "The Wall" under the title "Teach". The song was later taken out of the album to be used on "The Final Cut". After the line "What would you do to make ends meet?" the word "teach" is faintly spoken and repeated.

Meaning

On "The Wall", the lyrical meaning consists of the demoralizing actions of the teachers to the students.

On "The Final Cut", it relates to the main character's mental state, though this is disputed.

All together, it is the cyclical effects of the teacher's frustrations over his memories of the war which leads him to take out his pain on the students. The idea of cycle-based themes is rampant in Waters' work. Similar lyrics ("Make em laugh, make em cry, etc.") are revisited in "Not Now John," showing how effects of such emotional manipulation are carried on and reintroduced into adult life by the children of the postwar era.

Covers

British doom death metal/atmospheric rock band Anathema has a cover of the song on their compilation "Resonance", which also includes a version of "Goodbye Cruel World".