In my later years as a Floyd fan, this song is the song that remind people about the band. People may not know what band it is, but I reckon that most people have heard this song. And everytime I talk about the band, and people say: "What? is that a band?", I say yes, and they made the song "Another brick in the wall", and than they go "aaaah.. didn't know that"..
From the movie
When I started to understand the lyrics (that means when I learn to speak some english), I still couldn't understand what the band wanted to tell the world.. We do need education! Even if it's just primary school and high school, or so on, we need education. So I couldn't put the bricks together. The song didn't make sense to me.
But then, when I grew a bit more, I finally understood what their message was. People need education, but we also need teachers who can do their work, and not drag down people who maybe wants to be a writer, or do somthing 'outside the box', seen from a teachers view. People can't be laughed at, just becase they want to do something 'different'. It's hard to explain, but I hope you all see my point!
The animation of the teacher
I probably toldy you all about my Pink Floyd books before, and in my 'latest' book, (The making of the wall by Gerald Scarfe), I red something about this particular song.
GS:What Roger means about “We don’t need no education” is that we don’t need no education of that particular type: teacher ill-treating the children.
Both Nick and Roger had teachers whom hurt the children with hitting or word abuse. Example: Nick had a master who threw a blackboard eraser with a heavy wooden back which hit him in the head. This happened on Nick’s birthday, and the master said that that was his birthday present.
This is both examples that some in the band wasn't treated good by their teacher.
We can also see in the movie "The Wall", that teh teacher is making fun of a student who writes poems. The teacher is mocking him by taking up the book he has written the poem in, and he says in front of the whole class:
What have we here, laddie? Mysterious scribblings? A secret code? No! Poems, no less! Poems, everybody!
The laddie reckons himself a poet!
"Money get back / I'm all right, Jack / Keep your hands off my stack / New car / Caviar / Four star daydream / Think I'll buy me a football team." Absolute rubbish, laddie
Get on with your work.
This I see as a good example of what they really means with this song! The teacher is punishing the student, even though the student didn't do anything wrong. (the teacher is also hitting the student on the arms to punish him)
The music video
You do I assume realize that we don't need no education is a double negative? So in fact it confirmed that we need education. Of course that then begs the question does Rodger mean it when he says we need mind control? Ill educated people in England often use double negatives without realizing it Roger knew what he was saying so its a paradox. Clever fellow that Rodger Waters.
SvarSlettYes, of course. What he ment about 'we don't need no education' is that we don't need teachers who abuse their own control of the kids, and see themselves as powerful people, which teachers are, but not if they use the power in the wrong way.Roger is really cleaver and always gets his point out in a good way.
SvarSlettThanks for commenting!!