One of These Days
Encyclopedia
"One of These Days" is the opening track from Pink Floyd
's 1971 album Meddle
. The song is instrumental
except for a distorted, low voice that says "One of these days I'm going to cut you into little pieces" and features double-tracked bass guitar
s played by David Gilmour
and Roger Waters
. Waters' bass is panned hard left with Gilmour's fading into the right channel. Gilmour's bass sound is quite muted and dull. According to Gilmour, this is because that particular instrument had old strings on it, and the roadie they had sent to get new strings for it wandered off to see his girlfriend instead.
drum
slowed down to half speed. The ending solo on the left speaker is David Gilmour playing a regular guitar solo duelling with himself, via multi-tracking, playing slide on right speaker.
The threat, a rare vocal contribution by Nick Mason
, was recorded through a ring modulator
and slowed down to create an eerie effect. It was aimed at Sir Jimmy Young
, the then BBC Radio 1
and Radio 2
DJ
whom the band supposedly disliked because of his tendency to babble. During early 1970s concerts, they sometimes played a sound collage of clips from Young's radio show that was edited to sound completely nonsensical, thus figuratively "cutting him into little pieces". The bootleg
compilation A Treeful of Secrets contains a demo version of "One of These Days" in which the Jimmy Young collage loops in the background during the song. However, the authenticity of this demo has not been confirmed.
According to John Peel
, Waters has described "One of These Days" as a "poignant appraisal of the contemporary social situation". Gilmour has stated that he considers the song the most collaborative piece ever produced by the group.
A film, 'French Windows', was made by Ian Emes
, set to the piece and featuring people and gibbons dancing against various backgrounds. It was back-projected by Pink Floyd during live performances and shown on television. It has since been released as an "extra" on the band's Pulse DVD.
The Japanese release of this song was titled , which loosely translates to "Blow, Wind! Call Forth, Storm!" This is the only song on the Japanese release of Meddle to receive an alternate titling.
version was retitled as "One of These Days I'm Going to Cut You into Little Pieces", the full spoken threat.
It was resurrected for the group's 1987/1988/1989 A Momentary Lapse of Reason
world tour and 1994 The Division Bell
tour, performed by David Gilmour
on lap steel guitar
, Tim Renwick
on rhythm guitar, Guy Pratt
on bass, Richard Wright
and Jon Carin
on keyboards, with Nick Mason
and Gary Wallis
on drums and percussion. It was included on the Delicate Sound of Thunder
and Pulse albums and videos released respectively in 1988 and 1995, but is absent from the Pulse CD and iTunes
editions.
Delicate Sound of Thunder/P•U•L•S•E tours
(in fact, there is a direct musical quote of the theme from Doctor Who at around 2:35 and another at 3:05 into the track) and a swirling vortex with boxes floating above it (which is where the eerie threat is spoken). It was included in Fantastic Animation Festival
under the title "French Windows".
Another promo video was used to promote Delicate Sound of Thunder
and got brief airing on MTV in 1989. It showed the band performing the track on stage at Nassau Coliseum
and shots of the inflatable pig that flew over the audience during the song in the show. The end of the clip blacks out instead of segue
ing into "Time
" like on the Delicate Sound of Thunder video.
of Abdullah the Butcher (Larry Shreve)
, a professional wrestler best known from WCW
in the early 1990s. Hungarian figure skater Krisztina Czakó
used "One of These Days" (along with "Shine On You Crazy Diamond
") as the music for her long program at the 1992 Winter Olympics
, one of the few times that a classic rock
song has ever been featured in an elite-level ice skating competition. Additionally, Frank Zane
used the song as his posing music at the 1983 Mr. Olympia
competition. For many years, the Italian sports show Dribbling also used the song as its opening theme.
The song can also be found in other media. In the webcomic Sluggy Freelance
story arc "Fire and Rain", the only arc to feature a "soundtrack" of sorts, Oasis makes a reference to the song, stating that she is "gonna cut [Zoe] into little pieces." Under the dialogue is a caption reading "'One of These Days' by Pink Floyd." The song is played during the ending credits of The Sopranos
episode "The Fleshy Part of the Thigh" and is used in the Cosmos: A Personal Voyage
episode "The Lives of Stars". A 1973 Bruce Lee
documentary
entitled The Man and the Legend used the song, as well as the BBC
drama Life on Mars
.
In another more unique instance, a 1991 computer virus called "Little Pieces" cleared the victim's screen and displayed the message "One of these days I'm going to cut you into little pieces," referring to the sole lyric of the song.
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
's 1971 album Meddle
Meddle
Meddle is the sixth studio album by English progressive rock group Pink Floyd. It was released in October 1971.The album was recorded at a series of locations around London, including Abbey Road Studios...
. The song is instrumental
Instrumental
An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....
except for a distorted, low voice that says "One of these days I'm going to cut you into little pieces" and features double-tracked bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
s played by David Gilmour
David Gilmour
David Jon Gilmour, CBE, D.M. is an English rock musician and multi-instrumentalist who is best known as the guitarist, one of the lead singers and main songwriters in the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. In addition to his work with Pink Floyd, Gilmour has worked as a producer for a variety of...
and Roger Waters
Roger Waters
George Roger Waters is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. He was a founding member of the progressive rock band Pink Floyd, serving as bassist and co-lead vocalist. Following the departure of bandmate Syd Barrett in 1968, Waters became the band's lyricist, principal songwriter...
. Waters' bass is panned hard left with Gilmour's fading into the right channel. Gilmour's bass sound is quite muted and dull. According to Gilmour, this is because that particular instrument had old strings on it, and the roadie they had sent to get new strings for it wandered off to see his girlfriend instead.
Overview
The track opens with a "wind sound" emulated by means of a delayed windWind
Wind is the flow of gases on a large scale. On Earth, wind consists of the bulk movement of air. In outer space, solar wind is the movement of gases or charged particles from the sun through space, while planetary wind is the outgassing of light chemical elements from a planet's atmosphere into space...
drum
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
slowed down to half speed. The ending solo on the left speaker is David Gilmour playing a regular guitar solo duelling with himself, via multi-tracking, playing slide on right speaker.
The threat, a rare vocal contribution by Nick Mason
Nick Mason
Nicholas Berkeley "Nick" Mason is an English drummer and songwriter, best known for his work with Pink Floyd. He was the only constant member of the band since its formation in 1965...
, was recorded through a ring modulator
Ring modulation
Ring modulation is a signal-processing effect in electronics, an implementation of amplitude modulation or frequency mixing, performed by multiplying two signals, where one is typically a sine-wave or another simple waveform. It is referred to as "ring" modulation because the analog circuit of...
and slowed down to create an eerie effect. It was aimed at Sir Jimmy Young
Jimmy Young (disc jockey)
Sir Jimmy Young CBE was a British singer, disc jockey and radio interviewer.-Early life:...
, the then BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
and Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
DJ
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
whom the band supposedly disliked because of his tendency to babble. During early 1970s concerts, they sometimes played a sound collage of clips from Young's radio show that was edited to sound completely nonsensical, thus figuratively "cutting him into little pieces". The bootleg
Bootleg recording
A bootleg recording is an audio or video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority. The process of making and distributing such recordings is known as bootlegging...
compilation A Treeful of Secrets contains a demo version of "One of These Days" in which the Jimmy Young collage loops in the background during the song. However, the authenticity of this demo has not been confirmed.
According to John Peel
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
, Waters has described "One of These Days" as a "poignant appraisal of the contemporary social situation". Gilmour has stated that he considers the song the most collaborative piece ever produced by the group.
A film, 'French Windows', was made by Ian Emes
Ian Emes
Ian Ronald Emes is a British animator and film director, from Handsworth, Birmingham, England, known for his work with Pink Floyd, who have used his animated films as back-projections in concert and released them as extras on their DVDs...
, set to the piece and featuring people and gibbons dancing against various backgrounds. It was back-projected by Pink Floyd during live performances and shown on television. It has since been released as an "extra" on the band's Pulse DVD.
The Japanese release of this song was titled , which loosely translates to "Blow, Wind! Call Forth, Storm!" This is the only song on the Japanese release of Meddle to receive an alternate titling.
Live performances
The song was a concert staple on the band's 1971–1973 and 1987–1994 tours. The Live at PompeiiPink Floyd: Live at Pompeii
Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii is a 1972 film featuring Pink Floyd performing six songs in the ancient Roman amphitheatre in Pompeii, Italy. It was directed by Adrian Maben and recorded in the month of October using studio-quality 24-track recorders without a live audience.The performances of...
version was retitled as "One of These Days I'm Going to Cut You into Little Pieces", the full spoken threat.
It was resurrected for the group's 1987/1988/1989 A Momentary Lapse of Reason
A Momentary Lapse of Reason
A Momentary Lapse of Reason is the thirteenth studio album by English progressive rock group Pink Floyd. It was released in the UK and US in September 1987. In 1985 guitarist David Gilmour began to assemble a group of musicians to work on his third solo album...
world tour and 1994 The Division Bell
The Division Bell
The Division Bell is the fourteenth and last studio album by English progressive rock group Pink Floyd. It was released in the United Kingdom by EMI Records on 28 March 1994, and in the United States by Columbia Records on 4 April....
tour, performed by David Gilmour
David Gilmour
David Jon Gilmour, CBE, D.M. is an English rock musician and multi-instrumentalist who is best known as the guitarist, one of the lead singers and main songwriters in the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. In addition to his work with Pink Floyd, Gilmour has worked as a producer for a variety of...
on lap steel guitar
Lap steel guitar
The lap steel guitar is a type of steel guitar, an instrument derived from and similar to the guitar. The player changes pitch by pressing a metal or glass bar against the strings instead of by pressing strings against the fingerboard....
, Tim Renwick
Tim Renwick
Timothy John Pearson 'Tim' Renwick is an English guitarist.-Career:Renwick started playing guitar in the 1960s. He performed with many bands, including Little Women, Wages of Sin, Junior's Eyes, The Hype, Quiver and Lazy Racer...
on rhythm guitar, Guy Pratt
Guy Pratt
Guy Pratt is a session bassist and also a songwriter, actor and comedian. He is the son of actor Mike Pratt. In Kensington and Chelsea, London, in 1996, Pratt married Gala Wright, the daughter of Pink Floyd keyboardist Richard Wright...
on bass, Richard Wright
Richard Wright (musician)
Richard William Wright was an English pianist, keyboardist and songwriter, best known for his career with Pink Floyd. Wright's richly textured keyboard layers were a vital ingredient and a distinctive characteristic of Pink Floyd's sound...
and Jon Carin
Jon Carin
Jon Carin is a producer, artist and musician best known for his association with Pink Floyd, and more specifically its guitarist David Gilmour and former member Roger Waters over the last twenty five years. In the early eighties, he gained fame as the front-man for the band Industry...
on keyboards, with Nick Mason
Nick Mason
Nicholas Berkeley "Nick" Mason is an English drummer and songwriter, best known for his work with Pink Floyd. He was the only constant member of the band since its formation in 1965...
and Gary Wallis
Gary Wallis
Gary Wallis is a drummer/percussionist trained at the London Symphony School of Music. He is known for having a massive percussion kit featuring many electronic drums and percussion. He is best known as the secondary percussionist for Pink Floyd in the post-Waters era for live performances...
on drums and percussion. It was included on the Delicate Sound of Thunder
Delicate Sound of Thunder
-LP / Cassette:Side 1# "Shine On You Crazy Diamond"# "Learning to Fly# "Yet Another Movie"# "Round and Around"Side 2# "Sorrow"# "The Dogs of War"# "On the Turning Away"Side 3# "One of These Days"# "Time"...
and Pulse albums and videos released respectively in 1988 and 1995, but is absent from the Pulse CD and iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
editions.
Personnel
- David GilmourDavid GilmourDavid Jon Gilmour, CBE, D.M. is an English rock musician and multi-instrumentalist who is best known as the guitarist, one of the lead singers and main songwriters in the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. In addition to his work with Pink Floyd, Gilmour has worked as a producer for a variety of...
– guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, slide guitarSlide guitarSlide guitar or bottleneck guitar is a particular method or technique for playing the guitar. The term slide refers to the motion of the slide against the strings, while bottleneck refers to the original material of choice for such slides: the necks of glass bottles...
, bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
(right channel) - Roger WatersRoger WatersGeorge Roger Waters is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. He was a founding member of the progressive rock band Pink Floyd, serving as bassist and co-lead vocalist. Following the departure of bandmate Syd Barrett in 1968, Waters became the band's lyricist, principal songwriter...
– bass guitar (left channel) - Nick MasonNick MasonNicholas Berkeley "Nick" Mason is an English drummer and songwriter, best known for his work with Pink Floyd. He was the only constant member of the band since its formation in 1965...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, backwardsReverse tape effectsReverse tape effects are special effects created by recording sound onto magnetic tape and then physically reversing the tape so that when the tape is played back, the sounds recorded on it are literally heard in reverse...
cymbalCymbalCymbals are a common percussion instrument. Cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys; see cymbal making for a discussion of their manufacture. The greater majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sound a...
, vocal phraseVoiceVoice may refer to:* Human voice* Voice control or voice activation* Writer's voice* Voice acting* Voice vote* Voice message-In film:* Voice , a 2005 South Korean film* The Voice , a 2010 Turkish horror film directed by Ümit Ünal... - Richard WrightRichard Wright (musician)Richard William Wright was an English pianist, keyboardist and songwriter, best known for his career with Pink Floyd. Wright's richly textured keyboard layers were a vital ingredient and a distinctive characteristic of Pink Floyd's sound...
– Hammond organHammond organThe Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...
, pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, sound effects
Delicate Sound of Thunder/P•U•L•S•E tours
- David Gilmour – lap steel guitarLap steel guitarThe lap steel guitar is a type of steel guitar, an instrument derived from and similar to the guitar. The player changes pitch by pressing a metal or glass bar against the strings instead of by pressing strings against the fingerboard....
- Guy PrattGuy PrattGuy Pratt is a session bassist and also a songwriter, actor and comedian. He is the son of actor Mike Pratt. In Kensington and Chelsea, London, in 1996, Pratt married Gala Wright, the daughter of Pink Floyd keyboardist Richard Wright...
– bass guitar - Nick Mason – drums, cymbalCymbalCymbals are a common percussion instrument. Cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys; see cymbal making for a discussion of their manufacture. The greater majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sound a...
flourishesRuffles and flourishesRuffles and flourishes are preceding fanfare for honors music .Ruffles are played on drums, and flourishes are played on bugles...
, vocal phrase (recording) - Richard Wright – synthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
- Gary WallisGary WallisGary Wallis is a drummer/percussionist trained at the London Symphony School of Music. He is known for having a massive percussion kit featuring many electronic drums and percussion. He is best known as the secondary percussionist for Pink Floyd in the post-Waters era for live performances...
– percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
, extra drums on P•U•L•S•E - Tim RenwickTim RenwickTimothy John Pearson 'Tim' Renwick is an English guitarist.-Career:Renwick started playing guitar in the 1960s. He performed with many bands, including Little Women, Wages of Sin, Junior's Eyes, The Hype, Quiver and Lazy Racer...
– guitar - Jon CarinJon CarinJon Carin is a producer, artist and musician best known for his association with Pink Floyd, and more specifically its guitarist David Gilmour and former member Roger Waters over the last twenty five years. In the early eighties, he gained fame as the front-man for the band Industry...
– synthesizer
Music video/concert visuals
The music video is extremely psychedelic and shows odd things, including: boys doing ballet, French curve-like shapes, cuboids, clocks, a spinning visual similar to that of the title sequence to Doctor WhoDoctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
(in fact, there is a direct musical quote of the theme from Doctor Who at around 2:35 and another at 3:05 into the track) and a swirling vortex with boxes floating above it (which is where the eerie threat is spoken). It was included in Fantastic Animation Festival
Fantastic Animation Festival
Fantastic Animation Festival is a package film of animation segments, mostly to music, released in 1977. It was one of the earliest of the sort of collections typified by Computer Animation Festival and Spike and Mike's Sick and Twisted Festival of Animation.Included in its 16 segments was the...
under the title "French Windows".
Another promo video was used to promote Delicate Sound of Thunder
Delicate Sound of Thunder
-LP / Cassette:Side 1# "Shine On You Crazy Diamond"# "Learning to Fly# "Yet Another Movie"# "Round and Around"Side 2# "Sorrow"# "The Dogs of War"# "On the Turning Away"Side 3# "One of These Days"# "Time"...
and got brief airing on MTV in 1989. It showed the band performing the track on stage at Nassau Coliseum
Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
The Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Uniondale, New York, United States. Home to the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League, the Coliseum is located approximately east of New York City on Long Island...
and shots of the inflatable pig that flew over the audience during the song in the show. The end of the clip blacks out instead of segue
Segue
A segue is a smooth transition from one topic or section to the next.-In music:In music, segue is a direction to the performer. It means continue without a pause. It comes from the Italian "it follows". The term attacca is also used in classical music.For written music it implies a transition...
ing into "Time
Time (Pink Floyd song)
"Time" is the fourth track from English progressive rock band Pink Floyd's 1973 album, The Dark Side of the Moon, and the only song on the album credited to all four members of the band...
" like on the Delicate Sound of Thunder video.
Cover versions
- Girls Under GlassGirls Under Glass- Biography :1986Girls Under Glass were founded by Thomas Lücke , Hauke Harms and Zaphor aka Volker Zacharias as an offshoot of the gothic rock formation Calling Dead Red Roses.1987...
released a version of this song on their 1995 album Crystals & Stones called "(Another) One of These Days" - The German progressive trance project Haldolium released a cover version of this song on a 12" picture disc in 2001 on Free Form Records. Their version, which was a success throughout the worldwide goaGoa tranceGoa trance is a form of electronic music that originated during the late 1980s in Goa, India.-History:The music has its roots in the popularity of Goa in the late 1960s and early 1970s as a hippie capital, and although musical developments were incorporating elements of industrial music and EBM...
and tranceTrance musicTrance is a genre of electronic dance music that developed in the 1990s.:251 It is generally characterized by a tempo of between 125 and 150 bpm,:252 repeating melodic synthesizer phrases, and a musical form that builds up and breaks down throughout a track...
scenes, was heavily inspired by the Girls Under Glass version. - The stoner rock band Men of Porn covered "One of These Days" on their 2001 release Experiments in Feedback.
- Blue Man GroupBlue Man GroupBlue Man Group is an organization founded by Chris Wink, Matt Goldman and Phil Stanton. The organization produces theatrical shows and concerts featuring popular music, comedy and multimedia; recorded music and scores for film and television; television appearances for shows such as The Tonight...
covers this song during their How to Be a Megastar 2.0 tour in 2006. They use their Tubulum instrument to simulate the double-bass guitar effect. - MetallicaMetallicaMetallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
covered "One of These Days" live in Seoul in 2006. - Psychedelic black metal band NachtmystiumNachtmystiumNachtmystium is an American psychedelic black metal band formed by Blake Judd, formerly known as Azentrius, and Pat McCormick. The band's name is derived from the German word Nacht meaning "night", and the made-up term mystium which resembles the Latin adjective mysticum...
included a musical homageHomageHomage is a show or demonstration of respect or dedication to someone or something, sometimes by simple declaration but often by some more oblique reference, artistic or poetic....
entitled "One of These Nights" as the opening track on their 2008 album Assassins: Black Meddle, Part 1Assassins: Black Meddle, Part 1Assassins: Black Meddle, Part 1 is the fourth full-length album by Chicago band Nachtmystium. It was released via Century Media Records in the United States on June 10, 2008, and by Candlelight Records in Europe on June 23, 2008. The record was recorded in December 2007 at Sanford Parker's Volume...
(the album title itself is a reference to Pink Floyd's 1971 album MeddleMeddleMeddle is the sixth studio album by English progressive rock group Pink Floyd. It was released in October 1971.The album was recorded at a series of locations around London, including Abbey Road Studios...
). The song features many of the same elements of the original, but reinterpreted within a black metal idiom. It opens with wind, much like like the original, but the bass is replaced with a chugging guitar ostinatoOstinatoIn music, an ostinato is a motif or phrase, which is persistently repeated in the same musical voice. An ostinato is always a succession of equal sounds, wherein each note always has the same weight or stress. The repeating idea may be a rhythmic pattern, part of a tune, or a complete melody in...
while the keyboard "stabs" feature darker harmonies. The sole lyric from the original is also changed to state: "One of these nights I'm going to fucking die." - Gov't MuleGov't MuleGov't Mule is a Southern rock jam band formed in 1994 as an Allman Brothers Band side project by Warren Haynes and Allen Woody.The band released their debut album Gov't Mule in 1995...
has covered "One of These Days" live three times. The first time on October 31, 2008 at the OrpheumOrpheum Theatre (Boston, Massachusetts)The Orpheum Theatre is a music venue located at 1 Hamilton Place in Boston, Massachusetts. One of the oldest theaters in the United States, it was built in 1852 and was originally known as the Boston Music Hall, the original home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The concert hall was converted for...
in BostonBostonBoston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, on February 8, 2009 at the House of BluesHouse of BluesHouse of Blues is a chain of 13 live music concert halls and restaurants in major markets throughout the United States. House of Blues first location was in Cambridge's Harvard Square. It was opened in 1992 by Isaac Tigrett, co-founder of Hard Rock Cafe, and Dan Aykroyd, star of The Blues Brothers...
in Dallas, and as the opening song at the Friday night Midnight set at Wanee FestivalWanee Festivalis an annual event hosted by the Allman Brothers Band, held since 2005 at the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park, in Live Oak, FL. The festival is held outdoors on two stages, with usually 15 or more bands playing over two days. The event is generally held in the spring...
2010. All three times, lead singer and guitarist Warren HaynesWarren HaynesWarren Haynes is an American rock and blues guitarist, vocalist and songwriter. Haynes is best known for his work as long time guitarist with The Allman Brothers Band and as founding member of the jam band Gov't Mule. Early in his career he was a guitarist for David Allan Coe and The Dickey...
deliberately omitted the spoken intro line. - German techno and trance producer Cosmic BabyCosmic BabyHarald Blüchel is a German electronic artist who is mostly known under his alias Cosmic Baby. Blüchel is also well known for his participation in dance acts such as Energy 52 with Paul Schmitz-Moormann and The Visions of Shiva with Paul van Dyk.- Biography and musical career :Harald Blüchel was...
, aka Harald Blüchel, produced an uncredited cover version of the song on his 1994 album Thinking About MyselfThinking About MyselfThinking About Myself is a music album by techno/trance artist Cosmic Baby which was released in 1994. It is Cosmic Baby's second studio album.- Track listing :# "Thinking About Myself" – 5:20# "Treptow" – 6:23# "Tao 2000" – 6:41...
, under the track title of "Au Dessous Des Nuages". - Dream TheaterDream TheaterDream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 under the name Majesty by John Petrucci, John Myung, and Mike Portnoy while they attended Berklee College of Music in Massachusetts. They subsequently dropped out of their studies to further concentrate on the band that would...
covered "One of These Days" during a show in Rotterdam in 2004.
"One of These Days" in popular culture
"One of These Days" has been used in various sporting contexts. It is the entrance musicMusic in professional wrestling
Music in professional wrestling serves a variety of purposes. The most common uses of music in professional wrestling is that of the entrance theme, a song or piece of instrumental music which plays as a performer approaches the ring...
of Abdullah the Butcher (Larry Shreve)
Abdullah the Butcher
Lawrence Robert "Larry" Shreve best known as Abdullah the Butcher, and also at times The Madman from the Sudan, is a semi-retired Canadian professional wrestler known as one of the most brutal or "hardcore" professional wrestlers of all-time...
, a professional wrestler best known from WCW
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...
in the early 1990s. Hungarian figure skater Krisztina Czakó
Krisztina Czakó
Krisztina Czakó is a former Hungarian figure skater, competing through most of the 1990s.-Career:...
used "One of These Days" (along with "Shine On You Crazy Diamond
Shine On You Crazy Diamond
"Shine On You Crazy Diamond" is a nine-part Pink Floyd composition written by Roger Waters, Richard Wright, and David Gilmour. The song is a tribute to former band member Syd Barrett, although it was not originally explicitly written with him in mind. It was first performed on their 1974 French...
") as the music for her long program at the 1992 Winter Olympics
1992 Winter Olympics
The 1992 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVI Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 8 to 23 February 1992 in Albertville, France. They were the last Winter Olympics to be held the same year as the Summer Olympics, and the first where the Winter Paralympics...
, one of the few times that a classic rock
Classic rock
Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the...
song has ever been featured in an elite-level ice skating competition. Additionally, Frank Zane
Frank Zane
Frank Zane is an American former professional bodybuilder and teacher.- Education :Zane received a B.Sc in Education from Wilkes University in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania in 1964. For 13 years, he taught mathematics and chemistry while living in Florida and California. Later he earned a B.A...
used the song as his posing music at the 1983 Mr. Olympia
Mr. Olympia
Mr. Olympia is the title awarded to the winner of the professional men's bodybuilding contest at Joe Weider's Olympia Weekend - an international bodybuilding competition that is held annually by the International Federation of BodyBuilding & Fitness . Joe Weider created the contest to enable the...
competition. For many years, the Italian sports show Dribbling also used the song as its opening theme.
The song can also be found in other media. In the webcomic Sluggy Freelance
Sluggy Freelance
Sluggy Freelance is a popular, long-running daily webcomic written and drawn by Pete Abrams. The comic has over 100,000 daily readers and premiered on August 25, 1997...
story arc "Fire and Rain", the only arc to feature a "soundtrack" of sorts, Oasis makes a reference to the song, stating that she is "gonna cut [Zoe] into little pieces." Under the dialogue is a caption reading "'One of These Days' by Pink Floyd." The song is played during the ending credits of The Sopranos
The Sopranos
The Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase that revolves around the New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads...
episode "The Fleshy Part of the Thigh" and is used in the Cosmos: A Personal Voyage
Cosmos: A Personal Voyage
Cosmos: A Personal Voyage is a thirteen-part television series written by Carl Sagan, Ann Druyan, and Steven Soter, with Sagan as presenter. It was executive-produced by Adrian Malone, produced by David Kennard, Geoffrey Haines-Stiles and Gregory Andorfer, and directed by the producers, David...
episode "The Lives of Stars". A 1973 Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee was a Chinese American, Hong Kong actor, martial arts instructor, philosopher, film director, film producer, screenwriter, and founder of the Jeet Kune Do martial arts movement...
documentary
Documentary
A documentary is a creative work of non-fiction, including:* Documentary film, including television* Radio documentary* Documentary photographyRelated terms include:...
entitled The Man and the Legend used the song, as well as the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
drama Life on Mars
Life on Mars (TV series)
Life on Mars is a British television series broadcast on BBC One between January 2006 and April 2007. The series combines elements of science fiction and police procedural....
.
In another more unique instance, a 1991 computer virus called "Little Pieces" cleared the victim's screen and displayed the message "One of these days I'm going to cut you into little pieces," referring to the sole lyric of the song.