These songs were written by the original band leader Syd Barrett, who was a quirky, imaginative and unique voice. His childlike creativity drove the band up to that point. He left the band after the first couple of albums, following mental health issues. The band were left floundering, and then took a few years of experimentation to re-find their voice… with a few dead end tries, until their song Echoes on the album Meddle, which shone a massive light on their future direction.
'Arnold Layne' was inspired by a man in Cambridge where Syd,Roger and David grew up who stole women's underwear from washing lines. It was banned by the BBC in 1967! Syd is a great hero and was a well known in Cambridge where I live too. The Cambridge influence in Pink Floyd is enormous. His Englishness shines through even when he and Roger were interviewed by a snooty condescending classical musician. Syd was very softly spoken and shy like Jimi Hendrix but in 'Astonomy Domine' Syd is the psychedelic piper at the gates of dawn Arnold Layne on his bike seeing Emily play!
I may have my timelines mixed up, but I'm pretty sure the early Floyd singles and the Piper at the Gates of Dawn album were recorded at Abbey Road studios (EMI Studios) around or at the same time as Strawberry Fields/Penny Lane and Sgt. Pepper. Definitely some high-quality work being done in those halls. These early songs are very much part of the "psychedelic rock" sound of the time. Many of these songs were inspired by LSD trips, fantasy novels such as Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, science fiction, studio experimentation and just general weirdness. Due to these influences, lyrical exploration isn't always going to result in a "logical" picture. In the years after the initial boom of "psychedelic rock" (1966-1970), the sound and lyrical content alone would lead to expansions of the original concept (Progressive Rock - with Pink Floyd again at the forefront - being the most notable; some of the early British folk rock bands and records could also be cited) as well as artists that would carry the psychedelic torch (Soft Boys/Robyn Hitchcock, early Flaming Lips, the Dream Syndicate immediately come to mind) into the latter decades of the 20th century. Even now, bands such as Tame Impala, King Gizzard and Lizard Wizard, La Luz (a favorite of mine, though their sound combines a psychedelic flavor with a side of folk and 60s surf rock) Thee Oh Sees and many others keep "Psych" alive and well. I love both Arnold Layne and See Emily Play equally. Most people discover Pink Floyd through the post-Syd Barrett records so the early singles and Piper can take a while to fully appreciate, but these days I consider the early Floyd work with Barrett to be as impactful as works like Dark Side, Meddle, Animals and The Wall.
I’m selfish and wish we could’ve gotten a lot more out of Syd. He was quite different, even “special,” and he was very, very good, indeed. There are charismatic qualities in his work you really can’t find anywhere else. His voice (subject matter, word choice, note choice, idiosyncratic rhythms, etc) is more unique than most. We were lucky (or blessed, if you prefer) to have him. Shine on.
Nick Mason, the original Pink Floyd drummer, has a band called Nick Mason's Saucerful Of Secrets, which only plays pre Dark Side of The Moon Material. Fantastic!! I've seen them twice, the last time in the front row in Oakland, California. They are on RU-vid, of course, and tour periodically.
A very important song for you to hear is Syds final song with Pink Floyd called Jugband Blues off their second album A Saucerful of Secrets. Syd had already gone over the edge by this point and you can hear him just falling hard into madness. Alot of people blame LSD on Syds problems but i think there were other underlying mental issues that were the true problems. There are so many people who over indulged in LSD that never had the issues that befell poor Syd. In the last section of the song Shine On You Crazy Diamond, which was an ode to Syd, Rick Wright plays the notes of this song to end the song. Beautifully done. Great choice of tunes and great reaction my dear!!
Great to see young people from the US appreciating this. Many of us in the UK have our daughters named after this song- Arnold. No only joking; my daughter’s named Emily as well. Arnold Layne had little air play (banned by the BBC?), but SEP did well in the charts I think.
So, that was a great reaction video, especially with regards to See Emily Play. As to the meaning of the song it has to be put into context. The Pink Floyd were the house band at the UFO club in London from 1966 to 1967 and if I remember rightly there was a young girl who went to the club called Emily, so you could say she was a real girl. Maybe there was a Daily Mail article about the psychedelic schoolgirl called Emily who used to go there & I believe she is still alive. I've read a few books about the early Floyd (who Syd gave their name to). I've read also that when recording their debut album this song was kicking about and Norman Smith, the producer, held it back as a single, but Syd was reluctant to put it out as a single, possibly frightened from the fame it would bring? So, the song is loosely based upon a person, Emily the psychedelic school kid. There are some interpretations of the meaning to do with Syd being aware, possibly due to the pressures he was under, that he was losing his own inspiration at around this time and that he was saying farewell to his own muse as he struggled to cope with being a famous figure. I've heard this song loads of times, but when listening to it tonight I wondered if the line "Hardly a sound 'til tomorrow" could have the double meaning of Tomorrow, another psychedelic band, who often shared the same bill and had Steve Howe on guitar who later joined Yes and Asia. It's all conjecture. What isn't conjecture is that this is one of the great singles. It's immediate, poppy, but leaves you wanting more. That's what I've got to say about it right now, tho it might be just a load of waffle.
Piper at the gates of dawn is a wonderful album which displays the full extent of Barrett's creativity and the bands unique creativity. Though it doesn't have as much of a pop vibe as these 2 singles, it is (like later Floyd) an incredible showcase of the band's experimental approach - often sublime and, at times, wildly disorientating
Around this time, we used to loon around Regent´s Park ´London´ and there were plenty of Emily´s playing, and a few were looning with us, the truth is, we all misunderstood, but great fun.
"Candy & a Currant Bun" is the flip of "Arnold Layne" Sarah, it's well worth a listen - once again it's playful psychedelia with a cool progressive switch-up 😊
Arnold Layne is about a transvestite whose strange hobby is about stealing underwear from washing lines but according to Roger Waters Arnold Layne was also about a real person because he said that his mum and Sid Barretts mum had students as lodgers due to the girls college being just up the road from where there homes were and Roger said, "There were constantly great lines of bras and knickers on our washing lines," so Arnold or whoever Roger was talking about would steal bits off the washing lines.
These 2 singles actually predated the first album (PIPER AT THE GATES OF DAWN). Syd Barrett wrote 10 and co-wrote 2 of those first 13 songs. Unfortunately, due to his declining mental health, by the time the second album (A SAUCERFUL OF SECRETS) was recorded, he was only able to contribute 1 song (JUGBAND BLUES). Check out the entire first album. It doesn't sound like the Pink Floyd you're familiar with but it's worth a listen... it's still my favorite.
part of the lyrics includes "Games for May". Pink Floyd of the Syd Barret era (including before they were signed up to a record label) used to hold annual (LSD soaked) free open air festivals called "Games for May". If you like Syd's song and lyrics writing, you should check out PFloyd's first album: Piper at the Gates of Dawn. Lots of good stuff in there. After Pink Floyd lost Syd, the band became more serious and introspective (to the point of nightmares in Dark Side of the Moon). Syd was more fun. In honour of your Kat .. i suggest trying, at least, the track Lucifer Sam (dedicated to one of his Siam cats) Lucifer Sam, Siam cat Always sitting by your side Always by your side
Arnold Layne was a transvestite that stole women's clothes off the clothes line near a woman's boarding school. However I always wondered if syd who was going through a psychotic break either from the LSD he was using almost daily but most likely more his age and the onset of schizophrenia, was feeling like he understood Arnold Layne. The whole takes two to know part.
Syd is my MAN period.☮️ There's a humor here. What can I say. Syd( birth name Roger) solo work is also phantomistic. Fact; though Emily was a hit: Pink refused to play it live.🌞sanity's relative. No clue do I have about it really.
Syd Barrett songs, their original guitar player, songwriter and band leader, very playful and childlike, creative lyrics, LSD fueled and on the brink of serious mental illness.
Arnold Layne did have the sound of a Beatles song. The song is about a crossdresser. Pink Floyd better watch it, with that subject in some parts of the US they would be accused of being woke. See Emily Play Syd - Barrett wrote this. One of the band's original members, he was the group's leader until he lost his mind. He did a lot of acid and became very unpredictable, sometimes refusing to play at shows. His band mates kicked him out in 1968. Barrett claimed "Emily" was a girl he saw when he woke up one night after sleeping in the woods after a gig. It is unclear if she was a real person or a drug-induced hallucination. Both songs were not the typical sound of Pink Floyd that I'm familiar with.
Arnold Layne was written by Sid Barrett, of whom you may have heard. "The Wall" is about him. When he is speaking, you cannot take him literally. He was committed.