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"San Tropez" is the fourth track from the album Meddle by the band Pink Floyd. It was written by Roger Waters.

Writing

Unlike the other tracks on Meddle, "San Tropez" was not written collaboratively; instead, Roger Waters wrote the piece himself and brought it into the studio already finished. It is the only track on Meddle not co-written by David Gilmour. This song is about a place called Saint-Tropez, a commune of the Var département in southern France located on the French Riviera. The song reflects an idealised vision of what a day in Saint-Tropez might be like.

Misunderstood lyric

Throughout the 1970s and beyond, the second-to-last line of lyrics to the song, "Making a date for later by phone", has been persistently misunderstood in Italy, mainly because of Waters' slurred pronunciation ("...fer-lita-pah-fon"), as being "Making a date for Rita Pavone", with a reference to the well-known 1960s Italian pop singer. Pavone herself has stated several times, in TV interviews and elsewhere, that she actually believes the line to be about her.

Recording

While Roger Waters plays the acoustic guitar as well as his usual bass, "San Tropez" does include a short slide guitar solo from guitarist David Gilmour and an extended piano solo by keyboardist Richard Wright at the end.

Reception

In a review for the Meddle album, Jean-Charles Costa of Rolling Stone described "San Tropez", along with "A Pillow of Winds", as an "ozone ballad". He further described the two as "pleasant little acoustic numbers hovering over a bizarre back-drop of weird sounds." Classic Rock Review described "San Tropez" as "a jazz-inflected pop song with a shuffle tempo." They went on further saying " adds another diverse dimension to the album with its easy-going crooner-like melody and atmosphere." This song was one of several to be considered for the band's "best of" album, Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd, but it was ultimately not included.

Personnel

• Roger Waters – vocals, acoustic guitar, bass guitar
• David Gilmour – slide guitar
• Richard Wright – piano
• Nick Mason – drums and percussion

References

1. ^ Povey, Glenn (2007). Echoes. Mind Head Pub. ISBN 9780955462405.
2. Strong, Martin C. (2004). The Great Rock Discography (7th ed.). Edinburgh: Canongate Books. p. 1177. ISBN 1-84195-551-5.
3. Mabbett, Andy (1995). The Complete Guide to the Music of Pink Floyd. London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-4301-X.
4. "Meddle — Trivia and Quotes". Pink Floyd & Co. Archived from the original on 2006-03-17.
5. "Dal flop al Piper alla «dedica» a Rita Pavone: Ecco perché i Pink Floyd sono la più «italiana» tra le band inglesi" [From the flop to the Piper to the "dedication" to Rita Pavone: This is why Pink Floyd is the most "Italian" among the English bands] (in Italian).
6. Costa, Jean-Charles (6 January 1972). "Meddle". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
7. ^ "Meddle by Pink Floyd | Classic Rock Review". 27 January 2011. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
8. Guthrie, James. "James Guthrie: Audio: Building A Compilation Album". Pink Floyd. Archived from the original on 2 June 2010. Retrieved 17 June 2013.

• Pink Floyd songs
• 1971 songs
• Songs written by Roger Waters
• Song recordings produced by David Gilmour
• Song recordings produced by Roger Waters
• Song recordings produced by Richard Wright (musician)
• Song recordings produced by Nick Mason
• Songs about Saint-Tropez