How Roger Waters Took the Pen: Lyrical Dominance From Dark Side to Wish You Were Here

On The Dark Side of the Moon (1973), Roger Waters wrote all the lyrics, but the band’s collective identity still felt collaborative—David Gilmour co-wrote the music for “Time” and “Breathe,” Richard Wright wrote “The Great Gig in the Sky,” and every member contributed sounds and textures. By Wish You Were Here (1975), the shift was unmistakable: Waters had begun dictating the thematic direction, sidelining Wright’s contributions and forcing Gilmour and Nick Mason into more reactive roles.

The tension exploded over “Shine On You Crazy Diamond,” a nine-part suite Waters wanted to be a Syd Barrett elegy written almost entirely around his own lyrics. Gilmour and Wright wrote much of the music—Gilmour the iconic opening riff, Wright the synth and piano passages—but Waters insisted on editing their parts and rewrote vocal lines to fit his narrative. The album’s other two songs, “Welcome to the Machine” and “Have a Cigar,” were pure Waters satires, with Gilmour only getting a co-writer credit on the title track. Wright later said he felt “emasculated,” and the recording sessions were strained enough that Barrett’s ghostly visit to the studio—overweight and unrecognizable—became the only moment of unity. That brief, tearful reunion didn’t mask what was coming: Waters was now the band’s singular lyrical voice, and the democracy of Dark Side was already cracking.