Syd: last, but not least…

In our last post we didn’t mention what happened with Pink Floyd after Syd Barrett. Of course, you know they made a lot of records and gained massive aclaim with such gems as The Dark Side Of The Moon (1973) and The Wall (1979). Little by little, they developed a new sound, far away from The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn (1967), Floyd’s only LP with Barrett as the band leader. However, his influence was still important, at least in a subtle way. Many lyrics from different Floyd albums seem to link with Syd and his absence. The most famous is Wish You Were Here (1975). An unrecongnizable Barrett visited the band while they were recording it; that was the last time they saw him. From all the lyrics that seem to refer to Barrett, I chose the last part of “Shine On You Crazy Diamond”, a very nice tribute that Roger Waters dedicated to his friend, probably trying to find an answer to the reasons of his emotional and mental collapse:

 

You reached for the secret too soon, 

You cried for the moon. 

Shine on you crazy diamond. 

Threatened by shadows at night, 

And exposed in the light. 

Shine on you crazy diamond. 

Well you wore out your welcome 

With random precision, 

Rode on the steel breeze. 

Come on you raver, you seer of visions, 

Come on you painter, you piper, you prisoner, and shine!