A bridge crosses the river Thames. It’s Vauxhall bridge. A dazzling sun, the river liquid silver, the sky a shimmer of gold. From the bridge I look to the west. I see the four great chimneys of the old power station. The chimneys reach up and up, higher and higher, until, like Titans, they touch the Gods of the golden sky.
After a while I continue across the bridge. Just then I hear the sound of a guitar – an acoustic folk guitar. And someone is singing. I listen. The song seems familiar – but what is it? I listen – and then I think: ‘Of course!’ The young man with the acoustic guitar is singing a famous song:
‘If you didn’t care
What happened to me
And I didn’t care
For you
We would zig-zag our way
Through the boredom and pain
Occasionally, glancing up through the rain
Wondering which of the buggers to blame
And watching for pigs on the wing.’
And as he sings the last line I look towards the power station and imagine a gilded melody of big fat round pink pigs on the wing.
Footnote: The song is on Pink Floyd’s LP ‘Animals‘.
Go Ask Alice 