"San Tropez" is the fourth track from the album Meddle by the band Pink Floyd.[2][3] This song was one of several to be considered for the band's "best of" album, Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd.[4]
| "San Tropez" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Pink Floyd | |
| from the album Meddle | |
| Released | 5 November 1971 (UK) |
| Recorded | 19–22 July 1971[1] 23–27 August 1971[1] |
| Studio | |
| Genre | Jazz rock |
| Length | 3:44 |
| Label | Harvest |
| Songwriter(s) | Roger Waters |
| Producer(s) | Pink Floyd |
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.[5]
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.[citation needed] Pavone herself has stated several times, in TV interviews and elsewhere, that she actually believes the line to be about her.[6]
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."[7] Classic Rock Review described "San Tropez" as "a jazz-inflected pop song with a shuffle tempo."[8] They went on further saying "[San Tropez] adds another diverse dimension to the album with its easy-going crooner-like melody and atmosphere."[8]
Personnel
- Roger Waters – vocals, acoustic guitar, bass guitar
- David Gilmour – slide guitar
- Richard Wright – piano
- Nick Mason – drums and percussion