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Pink Floyd — High Hopes
Album: The Division Bell
Avg rating:
8.2

Your rating:
Total ratings: 2562









Released: 1994
Length: 7:37
Plays (last 30 days): 0
Beyond the horizon of the place we lived when we were young
In a world of magnets and miracles
Our thoughts strayed constantly and without boundary
The ringing of the division bell had begun

Along the long road and on down the causeway
Do they still meet there by the Cut

There was a ragged band that followed in our footsteps
Running before time took our dreams away
Leaving the myriad small creatures trying to tie us to the ground
To a life consumed by slow decay

The grass was greener
The light was brighter
With friends surrounded
The nights of wonder

Looking beyond the embers of bridges glowing behind us
To a glimpse of how green it was on the other side
Steps taken forwards but sleepwalking back again
Dragged by the force of some inner tide

At a higher altitude with flag unfurled
We reached the dizzy heights of that dreamed of world

Encumbered forever by desire and ambition
There's a hunger still unsatisfied
Our weary eyes still stray to the horizon
Though down this road we've been so many times

The grass was greener
The light was brighter
The taste was sweeter
The nights of wonder
With friends surrounded
The dawn mist glowing
The water flowing
The endless river

Forever and ever

''(Spoken)
"Hello?"
"Yes?"
"Is that Charlie?"
"Yes"
"Hello Charlie"
"Great"''[[#Notes|1]]
Comments (156)add comment
 GlobalPilgrim wrote:
Without Roger, it’s not Pink Floyd; not even close. 
 
Roger who ?
 thewiseking wrote:

how utterly irrelevant this was in 94.................and still



Some have irrelevance thrust (wrongly) upon them, whilst others 
are utterly irrelevant but just don't know it 
I loved this when it came out.
Now I understand it.
Love bells. Hate PF. What do I do now?  (Finger hovers shakily over PSD...)
 MrStatenIsle wrote:

Another epic masterpiece, from a band with so many, capped off with Gilmour's soaring outro solo. Just brilliant.


Haha, thanks for typing in all those words so I don't have to.   
Epic, indeed.
Without Roger, it’s not Pink Floyd; not even close. 
MAKE IT STOPPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!
 alexandersmcmillan wrote:

I wonder if Roger Waters even listened to this album. His songwriting is missed, that's for sure. 



His song writing after was Pros and Cons (okay stuff) and not much more than him whining and whinging. 
Bill, you should play the Nightwish cover of High Hopes. It's outstanding.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXTmh8fC_RQ
 waleed wrote:

I’m a pretty huge Floyd fan but don’t like their post Waters music.




Really? How much do you weigh?
I’m a pretty huge Floyd fan but don’t like their post Waters music. For me, they became too earnest and relied on tested rhythms and hooks. At the same time I like some of Water’s solo work but much more when he was part of the band. Just my personal take.
 thewiseking wrote:
how utterly irrelevant this was in 94.................and still
 
well said
I wonder if Roger Waters even listened to this album. His songwriting is missed, that's for sure. 
Timeless music, a masterpiece. I can't really describe how good this song is. My daughter at 10 yrs old used this song to choreograph her own ballet routine and then performed it solo in front of our entire "church". One of the bravest things I've witnessed.
 debbiel wrote:
Love this  whole album. Saw them live in Edmonton  with the Division Bell tour - magical and surreal. 
How lucky am I ? oh ya  

I was also among the lucky ones to experience their division bell tour live in Austria, was a new chapter in my live, just started at university... The concert was mind blowing, both music and staging🤩
It's a "nice" enough song/album. But not too compelling.
And the lyrics...nostalgia...MPFGA? 
how utterly irrelevant this was in 94.................and still
Always slightly surprised by how regularly I hear tracks from this album, yet nothing from The Final Cut, which I prefer. 
Excellent one! Too bad the rest of the album is not as good as this song, IMHO.
Can't be bettered! Belting this one at at my desk! 
A moving paeon to their university days, when all was possible and the future held high hopes, sung with real feeling. This always puts a lump in my throat. 

The references to the river and the causeway make me think that this is Cambridge university, which I visited many times for work.
 jpfueler wrote:

once given the Gilmore nod of approval:
Nightwish cover/tribute to High Hopes

They even had the halo above like PF for that tour.



Looks more like a "Spinal Tap" clip. So enjoy like that.
An outstanding track by Gilmour✌️
Methinks Mr. Gilmour does not get enough credit for his vocals.
Classic
once given the Gilmore nod of approval:
Nightwish cover/tribute to High Hopes

They even had the halo above like PF for that tour.
As a kid I had no clue what PF were but this song was something that sticked with me and formed my taste even without being aware of this.in my early twenties I heard Time by accident  and PF Universe opened for me in all its glory.Die hard fan.
Another epic masterpiece, from a band with so many, capped off with Gilmour's soaring outro solo. Just brilliant.


The grass was greener
The light was brighter
The taste was sweeter
The nights of wonder
With friends surrounded
The dawn mist glowing
The water flowing
The endless river

The guitar after The Endless River lyric... makes my hair stand on end each time I hear this beautiful slice of heaven
Ah - Ely Cathedral - my home city. Drove past this field just the other day.
Great song and album! And great memories for me: I had purchased a ticket for their concert in Mexico City (in the nineties); the day of the concert I went to the ticket stand they told me to go, but they didn't have my ticket (only my friends' tickets). They were embarrased , as I proved my purchase; so they gave me a ticket somewhere else in the stadium. I was angry that I was not going to be with my friends. But, as I went looking for the seat I was getting closer and closer to the stage; we initially had bought tickets in a not so great section. Turns out they gave me a front row ticket with VIP access; I had a great time, met Gilmour and even saw a UFO during the concert! (thats what everybody said after).
debbiel wrote:
Love this  whole album. Saw them live in Edmonton  with the Division Bell tour - magical and surreal. 
How lucky am I ? oh ya  
 
Super lucky, I'd say!
I NEVER tire of hearing this song or any of the songs from this album.  I could be working and getting ready to log off, but if this song comes on, I'll find some other work to get done before logging off.
Gilmour is god.  Solid album all the way through. 
 sebastian.rinn wrote:
Throwback to the funeral of our beloved Friend who died much too young in 2019. All friends played that song together. This song is as beautiful as she was. Thanks RP.
 
A truly heartwarming tribute to your friend. Isn't the greatest gift we have in music is its power to bridge gulfs, heal souls and lift our spirits? RP is my church where I can take refuge, stay centered and be grateful for the many gifts of the artists we are all privileged to hear everyday. When its my time, I want RP playing at the service.
 Chongo59 wrote:
Never bought anything of PF after Animals, have everything else, and about 200 bootlegs as well!
 

Not even The Wall?  I call BS
I love this version from Marko et al
RP needs more from Tuomas. Some from Scrooge McDuck and the second CD off the latest would fit right in here.
Auri stuff too.
Floor's latest solo stuff too.
Guess I need to get around to submitting it
 mrtuba9 wrote:


Listening from Normal, Illinois USA! 
 

Listening from Canada
Love this  whole album. Saw them live in Edmonton  with the Division Bell tour - magical and surreal. 
How lucky am I ? oh ya  
Great song by a fantastic band.
listening from Ely in the UK, which is where the picture on the Album was taken.
Throwback to the funeral of our beloved Friend who died much too young in 2019. All friends played that song together. This song is as beautiful as she was. Thanks RP.
 Michael_in_Paradise wrote:


Thank for this !
Listening you from Germany

 

Listening from Normal, Illinois USA! 
 cyboulette wrote:
Thank for this ! Listening you from France
 

Thank for this !
Listening you from Germany

 Dazzerb wrote:
I really try to like  Pike Floyd but cannot get into them and  this track I find particularly irritating and really boring.

PSD
 
Well, that's pretty amazing that in the 8 months that's passed since you posted this, you have not incurred the ire of the multitude at the Pink Floyd chapel.  Maybe because it's post Roger Waters, i dunno.  Cool - you are entitled to your opinion, I just thought it was pretty darn funny!
 obankenobi wrote:
...and I was just chastizing my son-in-law that this is "Pink Floyd" and not Pink Floyd
 
Oh, so you're that one guy who gets to decide whether a band is who they say they are?
 Chongo59 wrote:
Never bought anything of PF after Animals, have everything else, and about 200 bootlegs as well!
 
Yay for you?
Thought it was Spinal Tap.
Never bought anything of PF after Animals, have everything else, and about 200 bootlegs as well!
...and I was just chastizing my son-in-law that this is "Pink Floyd" and not Pink Floyd
from the days when people still made music that took time, and songs that 'developed ',
grew and metamorphosed...
Great song, great album.
Thank for this ! Listening you from France
I really try to like  Pike Floyd but cannot get into them and  this track I find particularly irritating and really boring.

PSD
Great song!  One of their best, and less well known ones.
Soooo great !!!!!

  
One of the more underrated Floyd songs
Goose bumps from the beginning then air guitar the solo {#Bananajam} 
Always get a knot in my throat and watery eyes while listening to this gem. Guitar work is beyond amazing. Despairing sound full of love, caress and nostalgia.
Oh yeah! Right in the heart of music!  {#Music}
Just curious, what's No. 1?

VH1 wrote:

Nothing compares to this!{#Notworthy} 

No. 2 in my Top Ten Best Songs EVER!



 


This song would deserve a 11... or even 12! {#Biggrin}
Publius Enigma!
 BritGirl333 wrote:
A favourite!  Watching PF play this live at Wembley was a musical memory highlight.  So good!

 
Saw them do this show at the Horseshoe @OSU in Columbus, Ohio.  A truly wonderful experience.  The sound was perfect that night.
schlock rock
That slide guitar solo. 

Eye-wateringly beautiful.  
 VH1 wrote:

It is ever so embarrassing to pretend to be a big know all and then get it dreadfully wrong....

 
Bravo
The only PF album that I try like. High hopes is an amazing song.
 thewiseking wrote:
it's important to hear the Floyd stuff that didn't sell. it gives insight into just how artless and pretentious they were.

 
It is ever so embarrassing to pretend to be a big know all and then get it dreadfully wrong....
 thewiseking wrote:
it's important to hear the Floyd stuff that didn't sell. it gives insight into just how artless and pretentious they were.

 
In 1999 it was certified triple platinum.  Didn't sell?
A favourite!  Watching PF play this live at Wembley was a musical memory highlight.  So good!
swei mal 10 , ich liebe dich claudia
My thoughts haven't changed about Pink Floyd even after seeing them after Roger Waters left. They are a band that influenced me at an early age (teens) and they still do today even after the changes. Gilmour was spot on at the show I saw as well as the rest of the band.
 jagdriver wrote:
6 > 2

Very plodding and dreary, like all of Animals and much of The Wall. This from someone who's been a fan since first acquiring Saucerful of Secrets in '68.

(I'm also a big Gilmour fan, pretty much detesting Waters—especially his misguided politics.) 

 
You must be crazy or something. Waters was the real soul of Pink Floyd. When he lives the band all goes down. 

Or maybe you are more fan of Donald Trump than David Gilmour. American people used to misunderstanding the art with the political topics (that's exactly the opposite of art) 

Nothing compares to this!{#Notworthy} 

No. 2 in my Top Ten Best Songs EVER!


Aaaahhhh, this guitar at the end, marvelous! I wish it would go on like this forever ...
I thought it was cool how they pulled up and used subtle bits and flashes of so many earlier works at the beginning of this...BRILLIANT!
Loved The Division Bell. It was proof to me that Gilmour could carry Pink FLoyd's excellent music writing abilities on his own, and beyond Waters's legal tantrums.
 thewiseking wrote:
it's important to hear the Floyd stuff that didn't sell. it gives insight into just how artless and pretentious they were.

 
2.2% give a 1; 29% give 10.  Sorry your opinion is like an ****.  Everyone has one, but keep it to yourself.
 pinem wrote:
 More than any defunct band of the past, I believe they leave the largest hole to fill. 

 
here's a suggestion on how to fill that hole: place a pay toilet above it.
it's important to hear the Floyd stuff that didn't sell. it gives insight into just how artless and pretentious they were.
 WonderLizard wrote:
Written by Jimmy van Heusen and Sammy Cahn and recorded by Frank Sinatra in 1959.

High Hopes

Just what makes that little old ant
Think he'll move that rubber tree plant
Anyone knows an ant, can't
Move a rubber tree plant...

I'd rather hear that tune than this one - but I guess that's just me.
Written by Jimmy van Heusen and Sammy Cahn and recorded by Frank Sinatra in 1959.

High Hopes

Just what makes that little old ant
Think he'll move that rubber tree plant
Anyone knows an ant, can't
Move a rubber tree plant

But he's got high hopes, he's got high hopes
He's got high apple pie, in the sky hopes

So any time your gettin' low
'Stead of lettin' go
Just remember that ant
Oops there goes another rubber tree plant

When troubles call, and your back's to the wall
There a lot to be learned, that wall could fall

Once there was a silly old ram
Thought he'd punch a hole in a dam
No one could make that ram, scram
He kept buttin' that dam

'Cause he had high hopes, he had high hopes
He had high apple pie, in the sky hopes

So any time your feelin' bad
'stead of feelin' sad
Just remember that ram
Oops there goes a billion kilowatt dam

All problems just a toy balloon
They'll be bursted soon
They're just bound to go pop
Oops there goes another problem kerplop
 Relayer wrote:

This is more Pink Floyd than The Final Cut.

But, of any PF album, Final Cut is the one that most closely brings me to tears due to the sad subject matter and how well it is conveyed by Waters. But The Final Cut is musically FAR from a PF album. 
 
Interesting... I actually love The Final Cut. I think that, lyrically, The Final Cut is amazing. The music/instrumentation seems very Pink-Floyd-y to me, but maybe that's cause I've been listening to it for 30 years.
To me, one thing that sets Pink Floyd's great albums apart is that i cannot just put on one track, in the middle of the album. I have to start at the beginning and listen through to the end... it's the story, the musical arc, that makes it a PF album. Sgt. Pepper is the same way.. hard to just jump into the middle...
 Professor_Taco wrote:
I wish they would have changed the name of the band.  This is... something, but it's certainly not Pink Floyd.

 
This is more Pink Floyd than The Final Cut.

But, of any PF album, Final Cut is the one that most closely brings me to tears due to the sad subject matter and how well it is conveyed by Waters. But The Final Cut is musically FAR from a PF album. 
6 > 2

Very plodding and dreary, like all of Animals and much of The Wall. This from someone who's been a fan since first acquiring Saucerful of Secrets in '68.

(I'm also a big Gilmour fan, pretty much detesting Waters—especially his misguided politics.) 
I just received the BluRay in 5.1 and it's spectacular! The song..from RW (Richard Wright) is amazing and the 5.1 mix is truly one of the best I have heard.
yeah, I can totally see a Pink Floyd fan saying that, because they don't do a thing for me but I like this! Is this Dave Gilmour on the lead vocals? 




scrubbrush wrote:
I'm a huge Waters-era PF fan.

I didn't even recognize this as PF (i had to check the RP playlist to see if this was 'new' Gilmoure material)... just doesn't have that certain something that set PF apart in their heyday.

 


I have High Hopes for their next album
I'm a huge Waters-era PF fan.

I didn't even recognize this as PF (i had to check the RP playlist to see if this was 'new' Gilmoure material)... just doesn't have that certain something that set PF apart in their heyday.
 btt wrote:

They`ll be releasing a new album this October .

 
Ooooh!  Great news!!
 pinem wrote:
 More than any defunct band of the past, I believe they leave the largest hole to fill. 

 
They`ll be releasing a new album this October .
10+ or more
This is not helping me wake up this morning.
There's a very moving and poignant video to this song, which is about the youthful dreams and ideals of the PF members at university, which are of course dashed by the brutal mundanity of life. The second comment on its Songmeanings.com page is spot on, IMO. The video definitely adds to the Nottingham jury's appreciation of this song.
I wish they would have changed the name of the band.  This is... something, but it's certainly not Pink Floyd.
Brilliant album, lovely song.
If anything, Division Bell showed Gilmour and Mason could carry on with the band's creative work, and did not miss Waters' possible contribution. I saw Waters live doing PF songs, and thought it was a waste of time.
On a personal note. This reminds me very bittersweetly of one of my best friends. Iggy and I were buddies since we were kids in NJ in 1968,  He died age 56, Sunday April 6. Which was also my birthday. He was a huge Pink Floyd and Gilmour fan. He played this entire CD when we were in his car shortly after it was released. I'm searching all Floyd songs for appropriate lyrics to read at his memorial service on 4/14.  They shouldn't be forlorn, sad or somber. Time  ?  Wish You Were Here. ?  No. I'd never get through them without losing my composure. 

RIP, Iggy, you are very much missed. There is a void I don't know how to fill.  
None of the post-Waters Floyd has appealed to me very much, although it has deepened my appreciation of Gilmour's contribution to the band's earlier work.

In some of the comments there is a knock on "The Final Cut" as an indication of how bad it was getting with Waters in the band. It took the better part of 20 years for it to grow on me, but "Cut" has become one of my favorite Floyd albums for the beautiful arrangements in several of the songs (perhaps Gilmour's influence).
It took me a while to like Floyds work after the split with Waters, lyrically it took a dive, but this is a beautiful song.
 David Gilmour and Wife Polly Samson (67)
David Gilmour and wife Polly Samson



David Gilmour - High Hopes, Live-acoustic
David Gilmour in Concert. "High Hopes" from the album "The Division Bell" written in 1994 by David Gilmour and Polly Samson.
 

 More than any defunct band of the past, I believe they leave the largest hole to fill. 
Magnets? How do they work?
 ch83575 wrote:
I tried to give it the benefit of the doubt, then and now, but it just hasn't worked.  This isn't good and that is it.  I just cant enjoy any floyd after Final Cut, and even that is pushing it.
 
Yes, let us all not forget the final Floyd album with Waters. I would say that that is by far my least-played album. It has rather terrible music, insanely terrible lyrics, and messed up vocals. Granted, the two albums with Gilmour were less good than, say, Animals (my favorite), but if The Final Cut is an indication of where the band would have gone if Waters had stayed, I think we can thank him for expressing his creativity in a solo career.
 Relayer wrote:
Waters, blah blah blah.  This is a seriously good song.  Gilmour is the man.  He may not have the angst of Waters, but this was a good album.  There will never be another DSotM, every good band moves on and evolves. 
 
Very good comment!
Gilmours' live version from 2008, even better!
Touches the soul. The memories of our life.
What a spendid transition (from Radiohead - Separator)
One of my favourites from Pink Floyd....{#Clap}{#Clap}{#Clap}{#Clap}{#Clap}{#Clap}{#Clap}{#Clap}{#Clap}{#Clap}{#Clap}{#Clap}
Honestly thought it was Spinal Tap. 
Epic then. Epic now.
 
A sad shell of Waters-era Pink Floyd.
{#Fight}

{#Arrowu}    Hey, just realized RP has an icon for this album cover. 
Post Syd Floyd is best , this line up is second, with Syd I thought they were poor mainly noise. Fortunately that was only 1 1/2 albums.

So I am still happy to play this album.

IMO of course. 
The Hollow Bell
Normally I don't like the new songs so much like teh old ones, but this is absolutely great, amazing an epic song!
THank you Mr.Gilmore!
Waters, blah blah blah.  This is a seriously good song.  Gilmour is the man.  He may not have the angst of Waters, but this was a good album.  There will never be another DSotM, every good band moves on and evolves. 
I can't get enough of PF!