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Pink Floyd — Sheep
Album: Animals
Avg rating:
8.3

Your rating:
Total ratings: 4591









Released: 1977
Length: 10:04
Plays (last 30 days): 0
Harmlessly passing your time in the grassland away;
Only dimly aware of a certain unease in the air.
You better watch out,
There may be dogs about
I've looked over Jordan, and I have seen,
Things are not what they seem.

What do you get for pretending the dangers are not real.
Meek and obedient you follow the leader
Down well trodden corridors, into the valley of steel.
What a surprise!
A look of terminal shock in your eyes.
Now things are really what they seem,
No, this is no bad dream.

''The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me down to lie.
Through pastures green He leadeth me the silent waters by.
With bright knives He releaseth my soul.
He maketh me to hang on hooks in high places.
He converteth me to lamb cutlets,
For lo, He hath great power, and great hunger.
When cometh the day we lowly ones,
Through quiet reflection, and great dedication,
Master the art of karate.
Lo, we shall rise up,
And then we'll make the buggers eyes water.''

Bleating and babbling we fell on his neck with a scream.
Wave upon wave of demented avengers
March cheerfully out of obscurity into the dream.

Have you heard the news?
The dogs are dead!
You better stay home
And do as you're told,
Get out of the road if you want to grow old.
Comments (620)add comment
One of my Fav's
 jbuhl wrote:

hah, not many radio stations play a 10 + minute song

One of the reasons Radio Paradise is here music matters. 

 jbuhl wrote:

hah, not many radio stations play a 10 + minute song



 Wisconsinrob wrote:

listened to this song alot for the awesome guitar and keyboard, never listened that close to the lyrics.  damn...


Back in those days, everything was simpler and more confused...

Floydian lyrics ruled back in the day! My friends and I would pull out the record sleeves and study them like holy scriptures... For this album, I recall, the words were in handwritten characters in white upon a black background, so when I went to make copies for my buddies on the copier in Dad's office, it was hell to try to make it readable -- each page would take forever, and it would use up all the black toner pretty quickly -- so I ended up doing it on the high school school library machine instead! We would distribute them, discuss them, tack them up on our bedroom walls...and quote random blurbs to freak out our parents and teachers...
"With bright knives He releaseth my soul...He converteth me to lamb cutlets..." had me mesmerized as a wild teenager... Next thing I know, I'm working on a frickin' PhD in Pink Floyd... I bought a guitar to punish my ma -- well, sort of -- Dad too, really...  "You'd better watch out -- there may be dogs about... I've looked over Jordan, I've seen...things are not what they seem..." feels all too real, and scarily prophetic, especially these days, doesn't it?!
 there's just nothing quite like Floyd - a complete musical journey
The lyrics tho😳
Deep dude.
An easy 10 for my part.
I always thought it was cool the way the last word in those lines is stretched out and sort of melds into the synth (or whatever that is).
 Michaeljcovel wrote:

My favorite Pink Floyd song Freaked me out as a kid, as a church kid who read the lyrics and thought (?!@#?) Still gives me chills



lyrics freak me out too, make me sad, but damn i love this music.
 blotto wrote:

Animals + LSD = Fantastic.



I've never needed anything ....  just Floyd
Dès que j'entends les 1ère note de Sheep tous mes sens sont en éveils. J'ADORE !
 grhorn wrote:

finest song about mutton, ever




And, goats go to hell!   
Bill, don't forget there is a new remixed version of Animals that has been released.
 Wisconsinrob wrote: 
The new 2018 mix is so well done you can actually hear and make out the words in this part.

And to the others about the fadeout ... yes one of the best ever.  Saw Waters live a number of years ago.  Snowy White was doing the guitar and he did a whole entire repeat of the outro after the first time through.  Pure joy !
Let me guess... they are ACTUALLY not talking about sheep here. 
Had never studied the lyrics before - even more appropriate than they were in 1977. - and the guitar doesn't get any worse either  (godlike!)
So there I was - turning on my PC - getting ready for the day and then THIS!!  Sorry folks near by - enjoy one of the best Floyd tracks from one of the most underrated Floyd albums - THANKS BILL and REBECCA
Oh, YEAH!!!!!
I Love it
 drwhy wrote:
Dang, that guitar riff at the end is my fav!  


Yah that guitarist might make something of himself one day.... 
Memories of taking the southwest trains to Waterloo a few years ago and always spotting Battersea Powerstation on the left. One of the chimneys was removed, though.
Amazing album, the instrumental part towards the end makes the album for me!
finest song about mutton, ever
 Caqueron wrote:

Pour moi, cet album fait parti des meilleurs de Pink Floyd.



Pour moi c'est le no.1 de toute ma vie.
 eileenomurphy wrote:

Much better album than "The Wall"!



My top 1 album ever
All behind the dark side is only boring
Excellent!! Sounds better NOW in FLAC w/ K701 studio phones, great amp & DAC!
I had forgotten how much I liked this album.
 prs wrote:

What a great band/track/album - to think this still works and it's 24 years old!  Not many tracks make me stop and listen again and again!




44YRS OLD!!!
EXCELLENT!
Much better album than "The Wall"!
 prs wrote:

What a great band/track/album - to think this still works and it's 24 years old!  Not many tracks make me stop and listen again and again!




Maybe my math is off?
theme music for INCELS
Thanks for playing Pink Floyd! Best Greets from Austria. I am a big Fan from Radio Paradise :-)
If this one isn't shaking your room, your volume control is not set correctly...
What a great band/track/album - to think this still works and it's 24 years old!  Not many tracks make me stop and listen again and again!
All productivity stopped for 10 minutes.  Gives me the chills every time. What a song!
"Wave upon wave of demented avengers marching cheerfully..."  Our political masters should watch out.
The greatest....


 mjbaumann wrote:


Which one's Pink?




 blotto wrote:
Animals + LSD = Fantastic.
 

Which one's Pink?
 scottflory wrote:
This goes down as the one album I would have on a deserted island.  Every track is awesome.
 
I could not agree more!!!!!
The guitar work in this song just give me chills!
This goes down as the one album I would have on a deserted island.  Every track is awesome.
Dang, that guitar riff at the end is my fav!  
 rpdevotee wrote:
One of the best Pink Floyd songs and arguably one of the best rock songs of all time. 10+
 
No argument from me...

 westslope wrote:
Which begs the Question.....

Who is the better bass player?   David Gilmour or Roger Waters?


Curious minds want to know.  
 

Everybody say Roger W. is not very skilled in playing. Maybe.
Maybe Gilmour he's even better at playing Bass. Maybe.
I personally love Gilmour. but take Gilmour without the Genius of Water....
without him he's just a fantastic guitar player. The last reunion is an example. not perfect under the technic point of view ( waters ) but man.. what an emotion!!!
The guitar work on the back half of this song deserves a 9 by itself alone.
 Tim_Coletti wrote:
Great Trivia...  Never knew that Gilmore played bass on this track :)
 
Never knew there was a "Gilmore" in the band. 
Come on people. It's GILMOUR.
Animals is now tied with WYWH as my 2nd fav PF album, and I especially enjoy the YouTube reaction videos for this, and Dogs, blows people's minds!!
LLRP!!
Perhaps my favorite Floyd song and I'm listening to Echoes on vinyl this very minute. 

Can't win em all, but for a draw, this ain't bad :)
 surfool wrote:
Why does Bill keep calling David Gilmore on of his favorite bass players?!?!
 
Because he played the bass guitar on this particular song.  The "favorite" part is likely tongue-in-cheek.

Gilmore also played the bass on Pigs (three different ones) from this album, Fat Old Sun (Atom Heart Mother), Hey You (The Wall), The Narrow Way (Ummaguma), and shared the duties with Roger Waters on One Of These Days and Echos (Meddle).
 surfool wrote:
Why does Bill keep calling David Gilmore on of his favorite bass players?!?!
 

IIRC, David Gilmore plays bass on Animals.

Nobody has ever claimed that Roger Waters is a 'great bass player'.  But his artistic vision and directing abilities are beyond dispute.
Für meinen Geschmack ist "Animals" eins der besten Alben von Pink Floyd !  {#Bananajam}
I could go the rest of my life without any more Floyd. I could hear Fearless every couple of years. But that's it.
Why does Bill keep calling David Gilmore on of his favorite bass players?!?!
Pour moi, cet album fait parti des meilleurs de Pink Floyd.
Thank you RP. It's nice to sit in a (virtual) room with other people that appreciate Pink Floyd beyond Dark Side and The Wall.
One of the best Pink Floyd songs and arguably one of the best rock songs of all time. 10+
 Rockit9 wrote:
Do you think there were any drugs influencing this?
 
Nope.  0   nada, the empty set.  
Which begs the Question.....

Who is the better bass player?   David Gilmour or Roger Waters?


Curious minds want to know.  
Do you think there were any drugs influencing this?
Exquisite guitar work, intricate and driving bass, atmospheric keys, observant and biting lyrics... why is this at only an 8.3 average? Curious as to what the various haters would rate as a 10. And will their 10s still sound this good decades after release?
 Tim_Coletti wrote:
Great Trivia...  Never knew that Gilmore played bass on this track :)
 
Gilmore was quoted in '98 stating that Waters wanted to play the rhythm guitar part instead for the album track. Gilmore also complained privately that Waters couldn't pull his weight as the band's bassist, and that he (Gilmore) would often need to cover for Waters. Waters denies this. Maybe Bill was taking a swipe at Waters? Or maybe just making the statement that Gilmore is a bassist in his own right.
Great Trivia...  Never knew that Gilmore played bass on this track :)
My favorite Pink Floyd song Freaked me out as a kid, as a church kid who read the lyrics and thought (?!@#?) Still gives me chills
 black321 wrote:
Great song, but the Lord's Prayer part always struck me as sophomoric. 
 

And soporific!
hah, not many radio stations play a 10 + minute song
 GeorgeMWoods wrote:
I feel like I’m being punished.  
 
You are. Now, go to your room. And no more Pink Floyd for you, until you readjust that attitude young man!.
 stangalbraith wrote:
Bravo for the variety of PF. I had to stop listening to the local classic rock station as they thought PF had only done five songs in their entire career. The variety of music is what keeps me coming back. Of course, there are some iconic PF songs that deserve a listen on occasion. There are also a long list of other songs they have done in their storied career that brighten my day when I hear them. This is one of those songs. How about something off their really early albums such as Meddle?
 
Yes, something from Meddle. Look here in the RP library: https://www.radioparadise.com/?song_id=30757 AFAIK it still hasn't been played. Come on Bill, we KNOW you WANT TO!!
  epic guitar slashing by Gilmour.. {#Music}
The Sheep were The FanBoys. The closed minded dopey stoners who worshipped these frauds.
 Mack wrote:
751 ratings + average 8.3 = play more Floyd. I was trying to decide whether the album pic was in the morning or the evening. I used to get the train up past Battersea every day to/from work and seeing it with the sun on it was a rare, but awesome sight. I think it's first thing in the morning.
 
Very cool that as of today (12-03-18) about 7 years after your post, with 2492 ratings, it is still at 8.3
PERFECT
 jbuhl wrote:

Wow.  I just read this.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/sep/28/apple-moves-british-hq-into-battersea-power-station-boiler-room

 

 
My father was a brick layer and worked on Battersea Power Station. He was on of those poor buggers laying a thousand bricks a day for a couple of years. It was work that was commonly called "slashing" because you got paid by the yard.
Bravo for the variety of PF. I had to stop listening to the local classic rock station as they thought PF had only done five songs in their entire career. The variety of music is what keeps me coming back. Of course, there are some iconic PF songs that deserve a listen on occasion. There are also a long list of other songs they have done in their storied career that brighten my day when I hear them. This is one of those songs. How about something off their really early albums such as Meddle?
What's with the Pink Floyd obsession this past 6 months? Enough. Feel like I'm listening to the classic rock stations I despise.
 GeorgeMWoods wrote:
I feel like I’m being punished.  

 
Thank you, sir.  May I have another ?
I feel like I’m being punished.  
Sofa king good.
this is so groovy.
around 80 an older guy said he went to the Animals concert, thought the music was boring but the staging fantastic.  Then the police pig blew up one inflatable and the whole crowd gasped.  He got tickets to The Wall which was my first and only show
Pretty close to a perfect song... actually the whole of ANIMALS is pure perfection.  Thanks RP for playing this particular track.
 fredriley wrote:
Me, I've a lot of time for sheep, having seen gadzillions on my hillwalkies. Living a simple outdoor free range life, not bothering anyone, and free of existential dilemmas. ... If they're roused they can give dogs grief - I've seen sheepdogs getting a bit of their own back now and again when their 'prey' combine. I've not yet seen "wave upon wave of demented avengers", mind ;-)
 
Sensible policy—if you want a simple outdoor free range lifestyle with no one bothering you and no existential dilemmas—is to leave no witnesses to your excesses.
{#Hearteyes}

{#Good-vibes}
5th December 1976 - it's the 40th anniversary of the photo-shoot for the Animals album cover. That was a rather hectic 3 days for Hipgnosis!
 
 jbuhl wrote:
The old Battersea power station.  Still standing barely.

 
Wow.  I just read this.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/sep/28/apple-moves-british-hq-into-battersea-power-station-boiler-room

 
The old Battersea power station.  Still standing barely.
Great song, but the Lord's Prayer part always struck me as sophomoric. 
 ...at my house it'll be right at the 1st drum roll .. I've got a nice stereo system in my garage .. pretty good acoustics in my man cave .. turn it up !     Grammarcop wrote:
Just cranked it up. How long will be before the wife asks me to turn it down? The countdown is now on.

 

Just cranked it up. How long will be before the wife asks me to turn it down? The countdown is now on.
Always loved the lyrics to this song! {#Clap}
 dkwalika wrote:
Fraternity days, Northern Michigan University, Sunday nights . . .

 
"...Tonight, on Headphones Only..."
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE PINK FLOYD!!!!
Such a great tune.
 MassivRuss wrote:

I have to admit to heresy: I find The Wall over-played, over-rated and over-conceived.

1. Dark Side of The Moon. (ya goes without saying)
2. Wish You Were Here. A great, but "conventional rock" album - a collection of great songs.
3. Animals. Great as a concept album, without putting the concept ahead of the music.
4. The Wall. Great music taking a backseat to the Concept.

IMO. YMMV.

Slainte.

 
Yep, I'd concur with that, though I'd add Meddle as a classic before Dark Side - the early psychedelic soft Floyd is severely underrated IMO. The Wall was quite literally self-indulgent, for all that its songs were well crafted. Animals was a cracker on its release and brutally polemical, and for all that some of its targets (such as Mary Whitehouse) are no more, it stands up well to age, I think.

Me, I've a lot of time for sheep, having seen gadzillions on my hillwalkies. Living a simple outdoor free range life, not bothering anyone, and free of existential dilemmas. Ok, so they mostly snuff it under the knife at the end, but as they don't have feelings of mortality it's but a sharp coda to their otherwise sedate lives. If they're roused they can give dogs grief - I've seen sheepdogs getting a bit of their own back now and again when their 'prey' combine. I've not yet seen "wave upon wave of demented avengers", mind ;-)
Post Syd Barret;

Surely, the best Pink Floyd album, at least, in the classic formation: creative, unpredictable. Like animals.
Speaking about getting off the road...  glad I was hit by a car and thrown almost 4 metres through the air when I was 16.

Taught me a lot of respect for fast moving heavy machinery.  :-) 
 Nurs wrote:
Surely, the worst Pink Floyd's album, at least, in the classic formation: boring, predictable. Bad soup.{#Zip-lip}

 
It is OK Nurs.  Lie back and tell us about your problems.  
 Nurs wrote:
Sure, the worst Pink Floyd's album, at least, in the classic formation: boring, predictable. Bad soup.{#Zip-lip}

 

You have not Fucking idea
Surely, the worst Pink Floyd's album, at least, in the classic formation: boring, predictable. Bad soup.{#Zip-lip}
https://i.imgur.com/P0qDg.gif
Flawless. 10
Pink Floyd and The Beatles are my two very favourite rock bands.
I remember the feeling I had upon hearing the first sounds from "Animals" (on vinyl I'd purchased at a used record store), especially "Pigs (Three Different Ones)", and thinking "This is gonna be good".

Animals, TDSOTM, and WYWH (and for that matter Meddle, esp. Echoes) — equally wonderful PF albums ... aw heck, so is "The Wall"
But IMHO, PF w/o Waters just isn't very good.
Rogers is the lyrics man specifically, and Gilmour makes the music better.
They need each other ... like Lennon/McCartney, to make the great music.
By themselves, it's only "okay" ... and PF minus RW is campy lyrics and way too many drawn-out guitar solos.

I find both "A Momentary Lapse of Reason" as well as "The Division Bell" barely tolerable, and have no interest in the "new" PF album.
You can listen to the whole new PF album on Spotify to see if you're interested in purchasing it (yes, I still buy CDs).

Oddly enough, Dave Gilmour's first solo album is probably the best of the individual bandmember's efforts, but it still doesn't rank into any of my "fave album" lists. Hmm ... then again, I do like Syd's "The Madcap Laughs" and "Barrett".
It's a mixed bag. 
 xtalman wrote:

Still have the original vinyl somewhere.  You appreciate the covers more.

 
Yes. Those were the days. Yes was notorious for this. It make listening to the albums much more enjoyable before big money took over.
God, I just love the end where Gilmour rips it up.  

What is great is that the lyrics *almost* end on a positive note as the sheep rise up and kill the dogs, then Gilmour's amazing guitar starting at that point sounds so celebratory.  Like a victory in the music.  Only Gilmour could do that.
Timeless
 westslope wrote:
The best CD PF ever put out.

So what is this about a new PF CD?   

 
Still have the original vinyl somewhere.  You appreciate the covers more.
Fraternity days, Northern Michigan University, Sunday nights . . .
 westslope wrote:
The best CD PF ever put out.

So what is this about a new PF CD?   

 
Just released new disc....updated outtakes from their last PF album (made into proper songs) is my understanding,  Not heard any reviews about it...
The best CD PF ever put out.

So what is this about a new PF CD?   
Too bad: just tune in too late to hear this great song...!
Simply love this song that reminds me teen times
Their best album listened to it many times comfortably numb
In my car, on repeat play, is a bootleg of the Oakland 1977 show with Animals as the centerpiece. I saw the show that year somewhere else. 

What great music, and memories. (Yes, I wasn't too stoned to remember it. That would be a waste...) 


Baaaaa-utiful
 MassivRuss wrote:

I have to admit to heresy: I find The Wall over-played, over-rated and over-conceived.

1. Dark Side of The Moon. (ya goes without saying)
2. Wish You Were Here. A great, but "conventional rock" album - a collection of great songs.
3. Animals. Great as a concept album, without putting the concept ahead of the music.
4. The Wall. Great music taking a backseat to the Concept.

IMO. YMMV.

Slainte.

 

5. The Final Cut - great Epilogue to The Wall. I'd rank it my second favorite album (right after the 4 listed above, which all tie for #1)
My favorite Floyd album.