Pigs, Philosophy and People.

If you didn't care
What happened to me
And I didn't care
For you
We would zig-zag our way through the boredom and pain
Occasionally glancing up through the rain
Wondering which of the buggers to blame
And watching for pigs on the wing

Pigs on the Wing (part 1). Some say that this is a love song Roger Waters wrote for his wife. Somebody else at forum I was reading claims that zig-zag our way through the boredom and pain is alluding to marijuana and the apathetic lifestyle. It could also be a sentiment against powerful political figures - pigs. A revolution song of sorts. Could the entire album be loosely based on Goerge Orwell's Animal Farm?Some say that the pig on the wing is a reference to enemy fighter pilots, with zig-zagging being a reference to dogfighting. Interestingly, this can also be related to the acronym POW. Does it fit for Pigs On the Wing?

Another theory is that Roger Waters was referencing the philosopher Schopenhauer with the line zig-zag our way through the boredom and pain. Schopenhauer looked at what makes man less than reasonable, and believed that the human condition is like a pendulum in which there is this constant swinging between pain and boredom. This comes from his concept of The Will - the forces driving man, to remain alive and to reproduce, a drive intertwined with desire - being the inner content and driving force of the world. He believed that desire was prior to thought, and that existence was ultimately futile since it can be fundamentally characterized by a want of satisfaction that can never be attained. This want is otherwise known as happiness. Waters may have thought that there was an answer to the pendulum of boredom and pain. The answer he gave, if indeed this theory is true? People; as referenced in the lyrics "If you didn't care what happened to me,
and I didn't care for you." It is essential to care for one another, otherwise we would be ruthless or indifferent Animals, which happens to be the title of the album this particular lyric is from.

What I find fascinating in any written material – in fact any artistic material at all - is the myriad of ways it can be interpreted and argued. I simultaneously loved and hated high school English classes for this reason. It’s engrossing to find so many meanings behind a piece but sometimes I feel it is utterly pointless. I don’t really care what Roger Waters felt in writing these lyrics. Don’t get me wrong – the interpretations have opened up a whole new world of thought for me – but what I really care about is how I relate to the words. How I attach my own meaning to them, bringing them to life for my own reasons.

So in one way I relate these lyrics to my experience in Blogville. This world where I started out zig-zagging my way through my own boredom, and my pain. Living alone and sick of hearing my own post break-up thoughts. I came into Blogville to kill time and shout at the world. I had my rain, my insecurities, my blame. And I had my depression-induced fears, my pigs on the wing. But instead of shouting into the dark nothingness of bits and bytes, of zeros and ones and billions of pieces of meaningless information, I found people. Real people. People like Nina, Sinclair and The Captain who I’ve bonded with primarily through explorations of my sexuality, a bond which has led the way for these friendships to form on other levels as well. People like Terroni, amazingly positive and caring, not to mention witty and hilarious when the opportunity arises. Dive, the man responsible for my mantra –
”You are Vic.
You are the Groover”
as well being my partner in crime in such projects as this one – Pink Floyd week – and the Monday Melee lyrics editions. Blogville crosses from virtuality into the physical reality with Kate, who through the convenience of being not only on the same continent, but in the same state, I have had the privilege of meeting, and she has consequently become a major part of my life.

I have found a wealth of knowledge, hearts, emotions. Real people. Words that I will hold onto forever. And people who care what happens to each other. And I care for them too. I no longer zig-zag my way through the boredom and pain.

You know that I care
what happens to you
And I know that you care
For me too
So I don’t feel alone, or the weight of the stone
Now that I’ve found somewhere safe to bury my bone
And any fool knows a dog needs a home
A shelter from pigs on the wing