[1][2] It describes the death of his father, Eric Fletcher Waters, on 18 February 1944, during the Battle of Anzio during the Italian Campaign of the Second World War.

[4] It was written at the same time as The Wall, hence its copyright date of 1979, and was originally intended to be part of that album, but was rejected by the other members of the band on the grounds that it was too personal.

[5] As Waters tells it, the forward commander had asked to withdraw his forces from a German Tiger I tank assault, but the generals refused, and "the generals gave thanks / As the other ranks / Held back the enemy tanks for a while" and "the Anzio bridgehead was held for the price / Of a few hundred ordinary lives" as the German assault inflicted heavy losses including Eric Waters.

The underlying theme of the song is one of the primary catalysts for the character Pink's descent into isolation throughout the story of The Wall, especially in the film version.

"[9] The song made its first CD appearance on a promotional disc in conjunction with Roger Waters' 1990 live performance of The Wall at Potsdamer Platz in Berlin.

The first verse is at the opening of the film, where Pink's father is cleaning and loading a revolver while smoking a cigarette and hearing bombs or bombers fly overhead.

The second verse (after "Another Brick in the Wall Part 1") shows Pink finding his father's uniform, the letter of condolence, straight razor, and bullets.

[11] Schabe also believed the track "draws a direct line between 'One of the Few''s exhortations to 'teach' and a moment captured in history – the story of Waters' father's death.