tributehub

OK, lets have a thread where the discussion is around Pink Floyd lyrics and what we think of them and what certain lyrics mean to you, favorites etc.

But I have a question to you Floyd fans.

Are there any books written that try to dissect and give some meaning, or interpretation to Pink Floyd lyrics and if so, what are the book names and authors. There is loads on the net about this and giving me some links will be of help. But I really want book names and authors about this.

Bob

Hello Bob!

Nice thread! 

One book worth looking at is Which One's Pink? by Phil Rose.  It's an anaylsis of the concept of albums of Roger Waters and Pink Floyd.  I like to dip into it from time to time.  One of the most interesting bit of it is the anaylsis of the title Any Colour You Like.  Not only does this book interpret the lyrics but the music also.  It's one very interesting read.

Another good book is The "Dark Side of the Moon": The Making of the "Pink Floyd" Masterpiece by John Harris.  This book focuses on the writing and performing of DSOTM ... one for your Xmas stocking!

It has fab artwork on the cover designed by Storm of course.  Here is a link:

www.darksideofthemoonbook.com/index.html

Anyway, let's get on with looking at some lyrics  ;D

One of my favourite lines from a very favourite song ... Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun (and didn't Roger do it well  recently ;D)

Over the mountain watching the watcher

Who was watching the watcher and who is the watcher?  These lines have alway intrigued me. I often wonder whether Roger had been reading too much of Lord Of The Rings.  It reminds me of the Fellowship camped out on some lonely hill in the wilderness watchnig out for the orcs.

However, when you read on ...

Breaking the darkness waking the grapvine (some lyrics show grapewine instead of grapevine)
One inch of love is one inch of shadow
Love is the shadow that ripens the wine
Set the controls for the heart of the sun

I reckon Roger was having a romp with his lover whilst watching the sunrise ... I think the sun is the watcher ... any other thoughts?

Just reading all of it now ...

Little by little the night turns around
Counting the leaves which tremble at dawn
Lotus's lean on each other in union
Over the hills where a swallow is resting
Set the controls for the heart of the sun

Over the mountain watching the watcher
Breaking the darkness waking the grapewine
One inch of love is one inch of shadow
Love is the shadow that ripens the wine
Set the controls for the heart of the sun

The heart of the sun...

Witness the man who arrives at the wall
Making the shape of his question to heaven
Whether the sun will fall in the evening
Will he remember the lesson of giving?
Set the controls for the heart of the sun

The heart of the sun...

It's a great song!  Incidentally, it appears that he was thinking about the wall then although indirectly. It was the wall he had built.

Thank you Sue....very good infomation!

I was asked this the other day by a chap have coffee with every day. He knows I am a big Floyd fan and is very intrigued by the music and lyrics.

I myself am profoundly moved by many of the lyrics. As we have discussed in many a thread, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts when it come to pink Floyd. The lyrics, the composition of the music, the execution of the performance, the visuals the whole feel of the experience bombards the human experience for many of us. This is music that doesn't dumb itself down to the lowest common denominator to sell records to the pop culture. This is why it has lasted so long and why it has become a modern day classic and is still relevant today.

The lyrics have spoken to me at different times of my life and have effected me, and caused much introspection. Which particular ones are too numerous to mention.

DSoTM was profoundly effecting to me on many levels, and I never really thought about the lyrics when I first heard them, but later, as I grew up and matured they seemed to be more and more interesting and meaningfull, often at levels far beyond my understanding. On the surface they seem simple but there is really a lot going on in those lyrics.

Thanks again Sue

Bob, I could not agree with that one line more or could have said it any better! I listen to PF daily and I never get tired of it. Roger's lyrics, David's sound, Nick's tasty drumming and Rick's moods. The sum of those individuals are what makes Pink Floyd great. No, not great... sheer Genius.

I very much like the lyrics in the song "In the Flesh" Roger talks to the crowd in the song, to me thats a very clever thing to do.

So you thought you might like to,
Go to the show.
To feel the warm thrill of confusion,
That space cadet glow.
Tell me is something eluding you, sunshine?
Is this not what you expected to see?
If you wanna find out whats behind these cold eyes,
Youll just have to blow your way through this disguise

Wish You Were Here means a lot to me. One of my brothers and me used to play it on guitar together many years ago. I miss him.