The song is about a shell-shocked soldier who lost his leg in World War II. He is described as having a medal of "orange, red and blue", which may be a reference to the Burma Star. It is the first mention of war in a Pink Floyd song, something that would become a common theme in Roger Waters' lyrics, Roger having lost his father thus in 1944. Waters told Mojo magazine that this song is autobiographical. He explained: "Corporal Clegg is about my father and his sacrifice in World War II. It's somewhat sarcastic—the idea of the wooden leg being something you won in the war, like a trophy." This can be seen as rather lighter in tone than Pink Floyd's later tackling of the subject, though, despite the irony and darkness behind the lyrics; indeed, among the cacophony of voices towards the end we hear an officer telling his one-legged man: "Clegg! Been meaning to speak to you. About that leg of yours! You're excused parade from now on!" and members of the band actually corpsing in the chorus. It is possible that the main character got his name after Thaddeus von Clegg, a German clockmaker, who invented the kazoo in the 1840s. The song also marks the first and only lead vocal by drummer Nick Mason on any Pink Floyd album except for his one line vocal in "One Of These Days."
Music videos
Although the song was never performed live, two videos of the song exist. The first one was shot on 19 or 20 February 1968 for Belgian RTB TV's Tienerklanken show, and features the band miming to a work-in-progress version of the song with a different ending. The second one was shot on 22 July 1969 for the West-German SDR TV and broadcast on 21 September that year. The video takes place in a room with a dining table covered with exquisite food, and all four band members, wearing helmets, officer's caps, and Roger Waters wearing a trench coat, are there enjoying the food. An accidental spillage of wine triggers a full scalefood fight, resulting in the room getting completely trashed and all four band members covered in food, whilst the Dove of Peace is caught in the "crossfire". Interspersed throughout the video is footage of war and the band performing the song.
Reception
In a negative review for A Saucerful of Secrets, Jim Miller of Rolling Stone described "Corporal Clegg" as having "the virtue of brevity, as well as not sounding like it was written in a drugged stupor." Continuing, Miller described the song's "unoriginal melody" as being "much too Beatley for these post-Sgt. Pepper days."
