How Pink Floyd’s ‘Money’ Uses 7/4 Time and Cash Register Clanks to Slap Materialism

Most people don’t realize that “Money” is built almost entirely in 7/4 time — an odd, lurching meter that makes the song feel unsettled and greedy, like a cash register drawer that won’t quite close. The famous loop of clinking coins, tearing paper, and a ringing till was assembled by engineer Alan Parsons from actual cash register sounds he recorded in a bank. It’s the only track on The Dark Side of the Moon that uses a standard 12-bar blues structure, but the twisted rhythm turns that comfortable format into something ugly and anxious.

Roger Waters wrote the lyrics as a direct attack on the music industry’s obsession with money, but he also admitted his own hypocrisy — “I’m in the high-fidelity first-class traveling set” is sung with a smirk. The 7/4 time signature forces the listener to feel off-balance, mirroring the way wealth warps perception. Midway through, the song shifts to a more conventional 4/4 for a saxophone and guitar solo section, almost as if the song “buys” a moment of smooth compliance before the greed returns. The cash register sounds aren’t just decoration; they’re the musical equivalent of a receipt spitting out every time the chorus hits.