"Signs of Life" is the opening track on A Momentary Lapse of Reason,[1][2] the first Pink Floyd album headed by David Gilmour, in the absence of ex-member Roger Waters.
It is an instrumental piece, the only words being the electronically processed voice of drummer Nick Mason, who can briefly be heard reciting two verses of an unknown poem.
To open the track, producer Bob Ezrin recorded the sound of David Gilmour's boatman, Langley Iddins, rowing across the Thames.
[3] The screen film used to accompany the piece during concert performances featured Iddins rowing through Grantchester Meadows.
The track is Pink Floyd's first instrumental piece (excluding the live-only "The Last Few Bricks") since 1973's "Any Colour You Like", from The Dark Side of the Moon.