How Roger Waters Locked Down the Lyrics on 'The Final Cut' — and the One Exception for David Gilmour

By 1982, Roger Waters had fully taken over Pink Floyd’s lyrical steering wheel. The Final Cut began as a soundtrack for The Wall film, then ballooned into a full album — but David Gilmour and Nick Mason barely had a say in the words. Waters wrote every single lyric, and famously refused to share songwriting credits with Gilmour, even though Gilmour contributed music and production. The result? An album that feels less like a Pink Floyd record and more like a Waters solo project wearing the band’s name.

The one exception where Gilmour’s voice appears is “Not Now John” — the only track with Gilmour on lead vocals. But even here, the lyrics were pure Waters. Gilmour sings the explosive chorus (“Fuck all that, we’ve got to get on with these…”) while Waters handles the verses. Gilmour didn’t write a word; he just performed the part Waters handed him. Later, Gilmour admitted he felt “artistically frustrated” and pushed back against Waters’ total control. That tension would break the band apart — but on The Final Cut, Waters made sure every syllable on paper was his, no exceptions except the angry, shouted lines Gilmour was told to sing.