The song's music and lyrics were written by
Roger Waters in critique of hypocrisy and greed within the
music business. Waters has frequently implied it to be a follow-up to "
Money" with the lyrics representing the demands of a record executive after the runaway success of
The Dark Side of the Moon. The song is more straightforwardly
rock-oriented than the rest of the album, and is the only one on the album that starts abruptly (the other four either fade in or segue from the previous song). It begins with a churning
riff played on
electric guitar and
bass and is filled out with additional guitar,
electric piano and
synthesizer parts to create a
rock texture. "Have a Cigar" concludes with a
guitar solo, which is abruptly interrupted by a synthesizer filter-sweep
sound effect as the music reduces in volume to tinny,
AM radio-like levels. Finally, the song ends with the sound of a radio being dialled off-station; this effect is used as a transition to the title track, "
Wish You Were Here". Harper's involvement with the recording arose from the dissatisfaction that Waters and
David Gilmour felt with their own attempts to sing the lead vocal line. After trying it both separately and as a duet, with Harper still technically on the track singing vocals on the bridge (available on the 2011
Experience and
Immersion editions of
Wish You Were Here), they turned to Harper to sing lead, who was recording his album
HQ at
Abbey Road at the same time as Pink Floyd. Harper agreed to sing the part as a way of repaying a favour to Gilmour, who had earlier provided him with some guitar licks ("...for a price"). In his book
Pigs Might Fly: The Inside Story of Pink Floyd, author Mark Blake recounts that Gilmour had been unwilling to sing the lead vocal as he did not share Waters' opinions, as expressed in the lyrics, on the nature of the music industry. Waters has since said he dislikes Harper's version, saying he would have liked it to emerge "more vulnerable and less cynical", adding that Harper's version was too parodic. On the other hand, Gilmour loved Harper's vocal delivery and called it the "perfect version". ==Reception==