“On the Turning Away” by Pink Floyd

"On the Turning Away" is the conscience of A Momentary Lapse of Reason, Pink Floyd's 1987 album, and one of the more political songs the band made once Roger Waters was gone. The idea came from Anthony Moore, with David Gilmour reworking the final verse, and it plays out as a protest song dressed as a power ballad: Gilmour on acoustic and electric guitars and lead vocal, Richard Wright on Hammond and backing vocals, Nick Mason on percussion, with Jim Keltner, Tony Levin and Jon Carin filling out the room. Bob Ezrin produced it with Gilmour.

Bassist Guy Pratt once noted it has only five chords, just not where you expect them. It became a fixture of the 1987–89 world tours, returned in 1994 for The Division Bell shows, and lives on in concert form on Delicate Sound of Thunder and Live in Gdańsk.

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