Childhood's End

Lyrics:

You shout in your sleep.
Perhaps the price is just too steep.
Is your conscience at rest
If once put to the test?
You awake with a start
To just the beating of your heart.
Just one man beneath the sky,
Just two ears, just two eyes.

You set sail across the sea
Of long past thoughts and memories.
Childhood's end, your fantasies
Merge with harsh realities.
And then as the sail is hoist,
You find your eyes are growing moist.
All the fears never voiced
Say you have to make your final choice.

Who are you and who am I
To say we know the reason why?
Some are born; some men die
Beneath one infinite sky.
There'll be war, there'll be peace.
But everything one day will cease.
All the iron turned to rust;
All the proud men turned to dust.
And so all things, time will mend.
So this song will end.

"Childhood's End" is a song from Pink Floyd's 1972 album Obscured by Clouds. It was the last Pink Floyd song to feature lyrics written by David Gilmour, until A Momentary Lapse of Reason in 1987. The song gets its title from the 1953 science-fiction novel of the same name by Arthur C. Clarke, though the theme of the song shares little with the story. The 2016 remixed version of "Childhood's End" which appears in The Early Years 1965–1972 box set was released as the second single to promote the box set in October 2016.

Lyrics and composition

"Childhood's End" is about the stress and pressure of becoming an adult and being faced with difficult decisions on one's own.

The song's intro lasts nearly one-and-a-half minutes, and features an ambient organ.

Live

"Childhood's End" was performed live during Pink Floyd's European tour in late 1972 and at a few shows in March 1973 on their next North American tour. The live versions usually featured a fairly long instrumental section not found in the studio version, with an exception being the last version played on 10 March 1973 at Kent State University, when they stuck to the studio arrangement. The live versions were also performed in F-sharp minor, a step higher than the studio version (E minor).[citation needed] Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets resurrected the song for their 2019 and 2022 tours. A recording is included on their 2020 live album Live at the Roundhouse.