The Dark Side of the Rainbow

News and Adventure from Glacier National Park

On this date in 1973, Pink Floyd released The Dark Side of the Moon. Almost from the start, rumors began circulating that when you played the album while watching The Wizard of Oz, strange synchronicities would appear like magic. Is this real, a cosmic coincidence, an ingenious marketing ploy, or just another conspiracy theory?

What are the chances that one of the most beloved movies of all time is artistically linked to one of the greatest rock albums ever recorded? On the surface the question seems preposterous, maybe even laughable. The effort required to succeed in a task of this magnitude seems daunting, if not impossible. Perhaps more importantly, all four members of Pink Floyd have repeatedly claimed that it’s absolute rubbish that The Dark Side of the Moon was purposely synchronized to The Wizard of Oz.

No doubt, there are many who accept these denials as the final word on the topic. And let’s be honest, it’s pretty hard not to. The band, after all, should be the most authoritative source, right? However, while many scoff at the notion of any intentional connections, there are numerous others who find the synchronicities to be uncanny, if not utterly remarkable. They argue that it’s impossible to ignore or dismiss the dozens of striking coincidences one sees on the screen as the album is played. Lyrics, chords and musical moods seemingly play in conjunction with the movie in numerous instances. Despite the denials from the band, many people still insist they, or perhaps Roger Waters alone, secretly scored the movie. There are a couple of musicians who have even gone on the record to make this argument. In 1997, the phenomenon began to spread like wildfire after the theory was brought to light in several local and national media outlets. In June of that year, The Tulsa World quoted Richard Lebos, the lead guitarist for a funk-rock band known as the The Kind, who stated that he knew “how unlikely it would be for the songs to match the movie so well (through coincidence). At least eight out of 10 tracks from the CD fit the action in the movie perfectly. There’s no way it’s a fluke.” Alex Harm, a drummer from Lowell, Massachusetts, told Helen Kennedy of the New York Daily News that he knew how difficult it was “just to write music, let alone music choreographed to action. To make it match up so well, you’d have to plan it.”

Over the years several individuals have suggested that Roger Waters planned the entire score, but never let his fellow bandmates in on the secret. In 2000, Boston deejay George Taylor Morris told the Los Angeles Times that “Things happen musically and lyrically in sync to the film where you have to say that Roger Waters, Pink Floyd’s lead singer and lyricist, must have written it purposely for the movie.” When Q Magazine asked David Gilmour about the synchronicities in 1999, however, the lead guitarist sarcastically replied that if Roger had somehow orchestrated the mashup, he must have done it behind his back.

When looking at the mashup one must ask a few important questions: Is it a pure coincidence that the original movie switched from black-and-white to Technicolor at the exact moment the original vinyl record needed to be flipped over to play the second side? Is it just a fluke that as the album comes to an end with the sound of a fading heartbeat, Dorothy leans towards the Tin Man’s chest to see if she can hear a heartbeat? Is it only an accident that as “Brain Damage” begins to play, the Scarecrow is in the act of singing “If I Only Had a Brain?” Moreover, there are numerous examples where the music seemingly fits the mood and emotion of the film and its characters, such as the tornado scene while “The Great Gig in the Sky” is playing. These are just a few of the many truly amazing and bizarre synchronicities you’ll find when you listen to The Dark Side of the Moon while watching The Wizard of Oz. These connections are now a part of what is widely referred to as “The Dark Side of the Rainbow,” a theory that asserts that one can find dozens of synchronicities when the album begins playing at the exact moment the MGM lion roars for the third time at the beginning of the classic 1939 movie.

A book born out of curiosity

I distinctly recall hearing about the theory in my late teens back in the mid-1980’s, but had completely forgotten about it somewhere along the line. Somehow or another, the old urban legend popped into my consciousness a few years ago, and I finally took the time to watch the synced video on YouTube. I clicked on the link expecting to find only a few mild coincidences, but was astonished to see numerous compelling connections throughout the movie. Like countless others before me, the mashup blew my mind. Needless to say, I was thoroughly intrigued at that point, and wanted more information. Were these connections truly significant? Did Pink Floyd purposely do this? As I dug deeper, I discovered that the theory has been a widespread cultural phenomenon for several decades now. My curiosity about the theory eventually led to this book. The overarching purpose for this volume is to explore the convoluted history of “The Dark Side of the Rainbow” theory. I also wanted to provide you with a thorough background on the original Frank Baum book, the MGM movie and The Dark Side of the Moon, as well as a list of the most compelling connections so that you can fully appreciate the synced movie as you watch it. This book also delves into the controversial hidden meanings of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, which some say, including several scholars, was written as an allegory for the highly turbulent populist era of the late 1800s. Some of the symbolism from these allegorical interpretations is now a part of the Dark Side of the Rainbow theory.

Finally, I wanted to mention that during my research I stumbled upon a plausible explanation for the synchronicities that I don’t believe has ever been fully considered. I’ll explore this theory in more detail later in the book. To be clear, I didn’t write this to convince you that Pink Floyd purposely choreographed The Dark Side of the Moon to The Wizard of Oz, but rather to provide you with the ability to fully appreciate the synchronicities, and to present you with a possible explanation for their existence.

As you’ll see, the web of connections between the book, movie, band and album are quite extraordinary.

The Dark Side of the Rainbow is now available on Amazon in both paperback and eBook formats.