What 'Us and Them' Really Means: War, Class, and That Saxophone Solo

Roger Waters wrote “Us and Them” back in 1969 for Zabriskie Point, but it didn’t fit. Three years later it became the core of The Dark Side of the Moon — a slow, chilling argument about how we draw lines between people. The lyrics take aim at the pointless “us and them” of war, social class, and even everyday politeness: the soldier who doesn’t get a grave, the “forward” who gets promoted, the “ordinary man” who just nods along.

Musically, the song mirrors that division. The verses sit in a serene D major, but the chorus introduces a D minor ambiguity that feels like a door closing. That drifting chord change — Dmaj7 to D7 to G — never quite resolves, keeping you unsettled. Then Dick Parry’s tenor sax solo enters, bending blues notes over the same harmonic tension. It doesn’t scream; it sighs. The sax becomes the voice of the “them” — mournful, human, and utterly alone.