Pink Floyd's the Wall is one of the most intriguing and imaginative albums in the history of rock music. Since the studio album's release in 1979, the tour of 1980-81, and the subsequent movie of 1982, the Wall has become synonymous with, if not the very definition of, the term "concept album." Aurally explosive on record, astoundingly complex on stage, and visually explosive on the screen, the Wall traces the life of the fictional protagonist, Pink Floyd, from his boyhood days in post-World-War-II England to his self-imposed isolation as a world-renowned rock star, leading to a climax that is as cathartic as it is destructive.

From the outset, Pink's life revolves around an abyss of loss and isolation. Born during the final throes of a war that claimed the lives of nearly 300,000 British soldiers (Pink's father among them) to an overprotective mother who lavishes equal measures of love and phobia onto her son, Pink begins to build a mental wall between himself and the rest of the world so that he can live in a constant, alienated movie-collageequilibrium free from life's emotional troubles. Every incident that causes Pink pain is yet another brick in his ever-growing wall: a fatherless childhood, a domineering mother, an out-of-touch education system bent on producing compliant cogs in the societal wheel, a government that treats its citizens like chess pieces, the superficiality of stardom, an estranged marriage, even the very drugs he turns to in order to find release. As his wall nears completion - each brick further closing him off from the rest of the world - Pink spirals into a veritable Wonderland of insanity. Yet the minute it's complete, the gravity of his life's choices sets in. Now shackled to his bricks, Pink watches helplessly (or perhaps fantasizes) as his fragmented psyche coalesces into the very dictatorial persona that antagonized the world during World War II, scarred his nation, killed his father, and in essence defiled his own life from birth. As much as this story told mostly from Pink's point of view tips toward nihilistic victimhood, there also runs a strong existentialist countercurrent in which freedom cannot be separated from personal responsibility. Culminating in a mental trial as theatrically rich as the greatest stage shows, Pink's tale ends with a message that is as enigmatic and circular as the rest of his life. Whether it is ultimately viewed as a cynical story about the futility of life, or a hopeful journey of metaphorical death and rebirth, the Wall is certainly a musical milestone worthy of the title "art."

As with most art, Pink Floyd's concept album is a combination of imagination and the author's own life. The album germinated during the band's 1977 "Animals" tour when frontman Roger Waters, growing disillusioned with stardom and the godlike status that fans grant to rock stars like himself, spit in the face of an overzealous concert-goer. Horrified by his disenchantment, Waters began drawing on these feelings of adult alienation as well as those springing from the loss of his own father during World War II to flesh out the fictional character of Pink. The wild stories surrounding Pink Floyd's original frontman, Syd Barrett - including his drugged-out escapades and subsequent withdrawal from the world - provided Waters with further inspiration for the moody rock-star. The contributions of bandmates David Gilmour, Nick Mason, and Richard Wright provided the final brush strokes for a contemporary anti-hero - a modern, existential everyman struggling to find (or arguably lose) self and meaning in a century fragmented by war.

"When the Tigers Broke Free" 1 New song, edited into two sections strictly for the film, but would later be released as one continuous song.[26] The song was released as a single in 1982 and was later included on the 2001 compilation Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd and on the 2004 re-release of The Final Cut.
"In the Flesh?" Extended/re-mixed/lead vocal re-recorded by Geldof.[26]
"The Thin Ice" Extended/re-mixed[26] with additional piano overdub in second verse, baby sounds removed.
"Another Brick in the Wall, Part 1" Extra bass parts, which were muted on the album mix, can be heard.
"When the Tigers Broke Free" 2 New song.[26]
"Goodbye Blue Sky" Re-mixed.[26]
"The Happiest Days of Our Lives" Re-mixed. Helicopter sounds dropped, teacher's lines re-recorded by Alex McAvoy.[26]
"Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2" Re-mixed[26] with extra lead guitar, children's chorus part edited and shortened, teacher's lines re-recorded by McAvoy and interspersed within children's chorus portion.
"Mother" Re-recorded completely with exception of guitar solo and its backing track. The lyric "Is it just a waste of time?" is replaced with "Mother, am I really dying?", which is what appeared on the original LP lyric sheet.[26]
"What Shall We Do Now?" A full-length song which begins with the music of, and a similar lyric to "Empty Spaces". This was intended to be on the original album, and in fact appears on the original LP lyric sheet. At the last minute, it was dropped in favour of the shorter "Empty Spaces" (which was originally intended as a reprise of "What Shall We Do Now"). A live version is on the album Is There Anybody Out There? The Wall Live 1980–81.[26]
"Young Lust" Screams added and phone call part removed. The phone call part was moved to the beginning of What Shall We Do Now
"One of My Turns" Re-mixed.
"Don't Leave Me Now" Shortened and remixed.
"Another Brick in the Wall, Part 3" Re-recorded completely[26] with a slightly faster tempo.
"Goodbye Cruel World" Unchanged.
"Is There Anybody Out There?" Classical guitar re-recorded, this time played by David Gilmour with a leather pick, as opposed to the album version, which was played finger-style by an uncredited session guitarist.
"Nobody Home" Musically unchanged, but with different clips from the TV set.
"Vera" Unchanged.
"Bring the Boys Back Home" Re-recorded completely with brass band and Welsh male vocal choir extended and without Waters' lead vocals.[18]
"Comfortably Numb" Re-mixed with screams added. Bass line partially different from album.
"In the Flesh" Re-recorded completely with brass band and Geldof on lead vocals.[26]
"Run Like Hell" Re-mixed and shortened.
"Waiting for the Worms" Shortened but with extended coda.
"5:11 AM (The Moment of Clarity)" Geldof unaccompanied on lead vocals. The song is taken from The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking, a concept album Waters wrote simultaneously with The Wall, and later recorded solo. Geldof sings the lyrics to the melody of "Your Possible Pasts", a song intended for The Wall that later appeared on The Final Cut.
"Stop" Re-recorded completely[26] with Geldof unaccompanied on lead vocals. (The audio in the background of this scene is from Gary Yudman's introduction from The Wall Live at Earl's Court.)
"The Trial" Re-mixed.
"Outside the Wall" Re-recorded completely[26] with brass band and Welsh male voice choir. Extended with a musical passage similar to "Southampton Dock" from The Final Cut.[27][28]
The only songs from the album not used in the film are "Hey You" and "The Show Must Go On". "Hey You" was deleted as Waters and Parker felt the footage was too repetitive (eighty percent of the footage appears in montage sequences elsewhere)[24] but available to view as in worn black and white work print form as a bonus feature on the DVD release under the name "Reel 13".[29]

A soundtrack album from Columbia Records was listed in the film's end credits, but only a single containing "When the Tigers Broke Free" and the rerecorded "Bring the Boys Back Home" was released. "When the Tigers Broke Free" later became a bonus track on the band's 1983 album The Final Cut, an album Waters intended as an extension to The Wall. Guitarist David Gilmour, however, dismissed the album as a collection of songs that had been rejected for The Wall project, but were being recycled. The song, in the edit used for the single, also appears on the 2001 compilation album Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd.