“Irritating”:Roger Waters Regrets the Song That Proved He Needed Gilmour

“Irritating”: Roger Waters Regrets the Song That Proved He Needed Gilmour
Even musical visionaries can have regrets—and for Roger Waters, one particular song stands out as a reminder that genius sometimes requires collaboration. In a candid reflection, Waters once admitted he found the Pink Floyd track **“Not Now John”** to be “irritating,” a song that unintentionally highlighted how essential **David Gilmour** was to the band’s dynamic.

“Not Now John,” from *The Final Cut* (1983), is one of the most aggressive and politically charged tracks in the Pink Floyd catalog. It’s also one of the rare songs on the album that features David Gilmour sharing lead vocals with Waters. The album was, in many ways, a Roger Waters solo project in disguise, with his creative control at an all-time high and tensions within the band at their peak.

Waters later expressed discomfort with the song’s tone and message, calling it “a bit irritating” in interviews. What made it particularly notable, however, was the unintended lesson it taught him: **without Gilmour’s melodic sensibility and vocal restraint, the song—and perhaps the album—risked descending into pure rant.**

Gilmour’s contributions, while limited on *The Final Cut*, provided a crucial counterbalance to Waters’ increasingly theatrical and politically driven approach. His guitar solos and emotive singing added depth and accessibility to music that could otherwise feel overbearing. In retrospect, “Not Now John” serves as a stark reminder that **Pink Floyd’s magic wasn’t just in Waters’ words or Gilmour’s guitar—it was in the friction and fusion of the two.**

The track also marked the end of an era. After The Final Cut, Gilmour and Waters went their separate ways, each pursuing solo careers that rarely matched the impact of their work together. Looking back, Waters’ frustration with “Not Now John” reveals a deeper truth: for all his ambition and lyrical brilliance, **he needed Gilmour’s artistry to truly connect with listeners.

In a band built on contrast—light and dark, structure and chaos—this one song encapsulates the very tension that made Pink Floyd timeless.