One Slip

Lyrics:

A restless eye across a weary room
A glazed look and I was on the road to ruin
The music played and played as we whirled without end
No hint, no word her honour to defend

"I will, I will," she sighed to my request
And then she tossed her mane while my resolve
was put to the test

Then drowned in desire, our souls on fire
I lead the way to the funeral pyre
And without a thought of the consequence
I gave in to my decadence

One slip and down the hole we fall
It seems to take no time at all
A momentary lapse of reason
That binds a life for life
A small regret, you won't forget
There'll be no sleep in here tonight

Was it love, or was it the idea of being in love?
Or was it the hand of fate that seemed to fit just like a glove?
The moment slipped by and soon the seeds were sown
The year grew late and neither one wanted to remain alone

One slip and down the hole we fall
It seems to take no time at all
A momentary lapse of reason
That binds a life to a life
You won't regret, you will never forget
There'll be no sleep in here tonight

One slip ... one slip

 

"One Slip" is a song from Pink Floyd's thirteenth studio album A Momentary Lapse of Reason (1987).

Composition

The album gets its title from a line of this song's lyrics. The song was co-written by David Gilmour and Roxy Music guitarist Phil Manzanera, who later co-produced Gilmour's On an Island album and played rhythm guitar on the subsequent tour.

Release

It was first released as the B-side to "Learning to Fly". It was then re-released as the third single from the album in the UK where it was a minor hit and was the fourth single from the album in the US where it did well. Peaking at no. 5 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

"One Slip (2019 remix)" from the box set, The Later Years 1987–2019 was released as a single on 24 October 2019 on Spotify and 25 October 2019 on YouTube and iTunes. The song contains newly recorded drums by Nick Mason and organ parts by Richard Wright lifted from 1987-89 live performances, replacing the song's original drum and keyboard parts.

Live

The track was the final song from the album played live when it was the first encore on the Momentary Lapse of Reason tour from 1987–89. The band resurrected the track on one show on their 1994 The Division Bell tour when the band performed it in Oakland, California.

Video

The video for the track is footage of a vintage 1930s plane flying interspersed with concert clips filmed during the band's three night run at The Omni in Atlanta, Georgia. The live footage was shot in November 1987 and was directed by Lawrence Jordan (who has directed concert films for Rush, Mariah Carey and Billy Joel). Videos for "On the Turning Away" and "The Dogs of War" were also filmed from this concert.