"The Great Gig in the Sky" is the fifth track[nb 1] on The Dark Side of the Moon, the 1973 album by the English progressive rock band Pink Floyd. The song features music by Richard Wright and non-lexical vocals by Clare Torry.
The song began life as a Richard Wright chord progression, known variously as "The Mortality Sequence" or "The Religion Song". During 1972 it was performed live as a simple organ instrumental, accompanied by spoken-word samples from the Bible and snippets of speeches by Malcolm Muggeridge, a British writer known for his conservative religious views.
When the band came to record Dark Side in 1973, the lead instrument had been switched to a piano. Various sound effects were tried over the track, including recordings of NASA astronauts communicating on space missions, but none were satisfactory. Finally, a couple of weeks before the album was due to be finished, the band thought of having a female singer "wail" over the music.
Lyrics
And I am not frightened of dying
Any time will do, I don't mind
Why should I be frightened of dying?
There's no reason for it, you've gotta go sometime
If you can hear this whispering you are dying
Songwriters: Rick Wright