Pink Floyd didn't really do "radio hits" in 1971. They did atmospheres. They did sonic experiments that felt like they were trying to peel the paint off the walls of the recording studio. When you drop the needle on "One of These Days," the opening track of the Meddle album, you aren't just listening to a song. You’re being hunted.
It starts with the wind. A cold, howling draft that feels like it’s blowing straight out of a dark alleyway in London. Then comes that bass line. Actually, it’s two bass lines, played by Roger Waters and David Gilmour, fed through a Binson Echorec delay unit. It’s relentless. It’s a thumping, distorted gallop that sounds like a mechanical heart attack. If you’ve ever wondered why this specific one of these days song has survived decades of shifting musical trends, it’s because it taps into a very primal, very human sense of dread.
Honestly, the track is mostly instrumental, which makes that one line of "lyrics" even more terrifying. When Nick Mason’s voice finally cuts through the chaos—distorted, slowed down, and sounding like a demon gargling gravel—it’s a genuine jump-scare moment.
The Binson Echorec and the Birth of the "Meddle" Sound
You can't talk about "One of These Days" without talking about the gear. In the early 70s, Pink Floyd was basically a group of mad scientists with guitars.
The secret sauce of this track is the Binson Echorec. Unlike modern digital pedals that give you a clean, perfect repeat, the Binson used a magnetic spinning drum. It was temperamental. It hissed. It had "character," which is just a nice way of saying it was unpredictable. Roger Waters played a riff, and the machine spat it back out in a rhythmic triplet pattern that created a wall of sound.
David Gilmour eventually stepped in because, as the story goes, Waters’ playing wasn't quite keeping the steady pocket needed for the delay to work perfectly. So, they panned one bass to the left and one to the right. One sounds a bit duller than the other—that’s the one with the old strings. It’s that slight imperfection that makes the groove feel so heavy. It isn’t quantized or "perfect" like modern electronic music. It breathes. It sweats.
That Voice from the Basement
"One of these days, I'm going to cut you into little pieces."
That’s it. That’s the whole lyrical content of the song. It’s a bit of a dark joke, really. The band was apparently annoyed with a local BBC Radio DJ named Sir Jimmy Young, who had a habit of rambling on. The line was meant as a jab at him, but when you hear it in the context of the music, it doesn't sound like a joke. It sounds like a threat.
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Nick Mason, the drummer, usually stayed away from the microphone. But for this, they needed something distinct. They recorded him shouting the line, then fed it through a ring modulator and slowed it down to half-speed. The result is one of the most iconic "vocal" moments in progressive rock history, despite not being "sung" in any traditional sense.
Why This Track Defined the Post-Barrett Era
By 1971, Pink Floyd was still trying to find its soul. Syd Barrett, the original visionary, was gone. The band had spent a few years drifting through soundtrack work and experimental half-steps like Ummagumma.
Meddle changed everything. It was the bridge. On one side, you had the psychedelic whimsy of their early days, and on the other, the massive, conceptual architecture of The Dark Side of the Moon. "One of These Days" proved they could be heavy without being a blues-rock band. They weren't Led Zeppelin, and they weren't Black Sabbath. They were something else entirely—architects of tension.
The song doesn't have a chorus. It doesn't have a hook you can hum in the shower. Instead, it relies on a slow-burn crescendo. The drums enter late. The slide guitar screams like a banshee. By the time the song hits its peak, the sheer volume of sound is overwhelming. It’s a masterclass in how to build energy without ever resolving it into a happy ending.
The Live Experience at Pompeii
If you want to understand the true power of this one of these days song, you have to watch the footage from Live at Pompeii.
Imagine four guys playing in an empty Roman amphitheater under the scorching sun. No audience. Just the wind and the dust. The cameras focus heavily on Nick Mason during this track. He’s losing his mind behind the kit. At one point, he loses a drumstick and just grabs another one without missing a beat. The intensity on his face tells you everything you need to know. This wasn't just another gig; it was an exorcism.
The Pompeii version is often considered superior to the studio recording because it’s rawer. You can hear the amplifiers straining. You can see the physical effort it takes to maintain that relentless tempo. It’s one of the few times Floyd looked like a "heavy" band in the traditional sense.
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Technical Nuances for the Gear Nerds
Most people hear the song and think "cool bass." But if you’re a musician, you know it’s a nightmare to replicate.
- The delay time has to be exactly in sync with the tempo, or the whole thing turns into a muddy mess.
- Gilmour used a steel slide on his guitar to get those soaring, screeching notes that sound more like a violin or a synth than a Fender Stratocaster.
- The Hammond organ (played by Rick Wright) provides a low-end swell that most people don't even notice until they listen with high-quality headphones. It’s the "glue" that keeps the track from sounding too thin.
The song is in the key of B minor, which is naturally moody. But they use a lot of chromatic movement—notes that shouldn't quite fit but do because of the distortion. It’s "ugly" music played beautifully.
Common Misconceptions and Trivia
People often get confused about which one of these days song they are looking for. There are dozens.
- Neil Young has a song called "One of These Days" from his Harvest Moon album. It couldn't be more different. It's a gentle, acoustic reflection on friendship and the passage of time.
- The Velvet Underground had "One of These Days" (often associated with the IV sessions or 1969: The Velvet Underground Live).
- Barry Manilow even has one.
But the Pink Floyd version is the one that occupies the cultural zeitgeist when people talk about "heavy" psych-rock. It’s the one that gets used in movies when a character is having a breakdown or being chased through a neon-lit city. It’s the one that feels like a physical object.
Interestingly, the song was a staple of their live shows for years, even into the 1980s and 90s during the post-Waters era. It was one of the few songs that everyone in the band seemed to genuinely enjoy playing, regardless of the internal drama happening at the time. It was a safe harbor of pure, unadulterated noise.
The Lasting Legacy of the Meddle Opener
Why does it still work? Why does a five-minute instrumental from over fifty years ago still get played on classic rock radio and featured in Spotify "Best of" playlists?
Because it’s timeless. It doesn't use the trendy synth sounds of the 80s or the over-compressed production of the 2000s. It sounds like it was recorded in a cave.
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When you listen to modern "post-rock" bands like Godspeed You! Black Emperor or Mogwai, you can hear the DNA of "One of These Days." That idea of starting with a single, simple motif and layering it until it becomes a tidal wave—that started here. Pink Floyd taught us that you don't need a traditional song structure to tell a story. You just need a vibe and a really good delay pedal.
How to Truly Appreciate the Song Today
If you really want to "get" this track, don't listen to it on your phone speakers.
- Find a vinyl copy of Meddle. The warmth of the analog medium suits the distorted bass perfectly.
- Listen in the dark. The song was designed to be immersive.
- Pay attention to the transition. One of the best parts of the song is actually the ending, where it fades out into the sound of the wind again, transitioning perfectly into the mellow "A Pillow of Winds." It’s a sonic whiplash that makes the second track feel even more peaceful.
Actionable Insights for the Modern Listener
If you're a fan of this era of music, or if you're just discovering Pink Floyd, don't stop at the hits. "One of These Days" is your gateway drug into the "Deep Floyd" catalog.
Explore the Echoes: After you've finished with this track, skip to the end of the album and listen to "Echoes." It’s 23 minutes long, but it carries the same DNA of experimentation and atmospheric dread.
Check out the Gear: If you're a guitarist, look up "Binson Echorec VST" or pedals like the Catalinbread Echorec. You can recreate these sounds at home without spending $5,000 on a vintage unit that will probably break in a week.
Watch the Documentary Footage: Seek out the "Classic Albums" episode on The Dark Side of the Moon. While it focuses on the later album, the band discusses the techniques they pioneered during the Meddle sessions.
The one of these days song by Pink Floyd isn't just a track on an album. It’s a landmark in audio engineering and a testament to what happens when a band stops trying to write pop songs and starts trying to capture a feeling. It’s loud, it’s threatening, and it’s absolutely essential.
Stop reading about it. Go put on some headphones, crank the volume to a slightly irresponsible level, and wait for the wind to start blowing. Just watch out for the little pieces.