The Thin Ice’s Alternate Ending: The Lost Segue That Almost Changed The Wall

The Wall’s opening suite is famously seamless—a single chord from “In the Flesh?” bleeds into “The Thin Ice,” which ends on a long, unresolved note that slides directly into the muffled heartbeat and classroom chatter of “Another Brick in the Wall, Part 1.” But in an alternate mix from the 1979 sessions, “The Thin Ice” just… stops. No segue. The final chord is different—a clear, distinct resolution—and then silence. It’s like the door slams shut instead of cracking open.

This version surfaced on the 2011 Wall immersion box sets, and its existence feels revealing. During the album’s frantic production, Roger Waters and producer Bob Ezrin often recorded multiple transitions to test pacing. The abrupt ending may have been a placeholder or a different dramatic intent—making the album’s opening a series of standalone vignettes rather than a single sweep. But the decision to link “The Thin Ice” directly into “Another Brick, Part 1” was ultimately the right call; that crossfade turns the two songs into one emotional breath, the mother’s overprotection and the child’s oppression hitting back-to-back. The alternate ending, interesting as a document, sounds almost too final. It lacks the gut‑punch of that seamless handoff.