"Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk" is a song by English psychedelic rock band Pink Floyd from their debut album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967).
Background "Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk" was originally titled "Doctor, Doctor". The song's title is a variation of John 5:8, a verse of the Bible detailing the healing of the paralytic at Bethesda in which Jesus instructs the paralytic to "take up thy bed and walk". It was the first song written by Roger Waters to be recorded by Pink Floyd. The phrase "doctor, doctor" would be re-used in Waters's 1992 solo album Amused to Death.
Reception When Andy Greene of Rolling Stone Australia ranked fifty terrible songs on great albums, he placed "Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk" at number twenty-eight, calling it a "grating tune" and "Judging by this song alone, nobody would have ever guessed that its author would take over the band in the seventies and turn them into one of the biggest acts in rock history. They were more likely to assume he was on the verge of a complete nervous breakdown." Waters later called it a "very bad song". When Nick Mason was interviewed about the Pink Floyd box set The Early Years 1965–1972, he thought it was "a really average song."
Personnel According to authors Jean-Michel Guesdon and Philippe Margotin:
Roger Waters – bass, lead vocals Syd Barrett – electric rhythm and lead guitars, backing vocals Richard Wright – organ, backing vocals Nick Mason – drums
Cover versions
At the Drive-In version
American post-hardcore band At the Drive-In covered the song during their BBC sessions but never went released until their 2005 compilation album This Station Is Non-Operational.
Other versions Ty Segall, alongside Mikal Cronin covered the song on his 2009 album The Traditional Fools/Reverse Shark Attack.
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