Analysis

Jordan Rugg

Mr. Dilbeck

English 1100

10-27-13

Analysis of Pink Floyd’s Shine on You Crazy Diamond

            Shine on You Crazy Diamond is a song that was written and performed by the English rock group Pink Floyd. The thirteen minute track opens their ninth studio album: Wish You Were Here. This particular song, like many other Pink Floyd songs, features a rather lengthy instrumental introduction but eventually introduces vocals around the nine minute mark. While the listener is forced to wait a large amount of time for the vocals to begin, the story that is hidden under the perplexing metaphors proves to be well worth the wait. However, if the listener has no knowledge of the bands early history and knows nothing of the decline of the bands co-founder, Syd Barrett, these metaphors will never be uncovered. At its most basic level, the song Shine on You Crazy Diamond is Pink Floyd’s own narrative of former band member Syd Barrett and his mental deterioration. That being said, it is important to note that the metaphors are not in perfect chronological order. This is largely due to the chorus and reprises that make up the song.

            Syd Barrett found fame at a rather young age with a band that he helped create called Pink Floyd. Syd was the driving force behind many of the bands revolutionary ideas with music. Other members of the band have been quoted saying that Syd continuously had odd thoughts, but with people like Lady Gaga and Alice Cooper one can conclude that abnormality is often a personality trait of successful musicians. Yet, simple abnormality was not the cause of Syd Barretts strange thoughts and actions, they were actually early signs of his predisposition to schizophrenia. As Syd’s fame grew, he became progressively more involved with psychedelic drugs. This combination of mental illness and heavy drug abuse is alluded to multiple times in the song Sine on You Crazy Diamond. Phrases like “you were caught on the crossfire of childhood and stardom” and “you reached for the secret to soon” depict a person who could not handle his or her fame and ended up falling prey to the pressures it brought. Furthermore, the line about reaching for the secret directly relates to Syd’s bad trip on the drug LSD that resulted in his two year institutionalization. The idea that LSD was the key to enlightenment was very prevalent in the sixties and seventies and is the reasoning for the use of the word “secret.” Unfortunately, Syd was no longer in control of his drug habits and his actions were beginning to negatively affect his work.

            As Pink Floyd began work on their second album, A Saucerful of Secrets, tension within the band hit a high point. Syd was steadily declining mentally and this began to take its toll on the other members. Syd eventually reached an apparent state of lunacy in which he was no longer useful to the band. The lyrics: “now there’s a look in your eye, like black holes in the sky” paints a picture of a man that is so insane that his mental illness is visible in his eyes. As the band realized that Syd was no longer a reliable or even functional band member, the decision was made to replace him with a guitarist named David Gilmour. This lineup change is hinted at by singer/bassist Roger Waters when he sings “well you wore out your welcome with random precision.” This change proved to be extremely lucrative for the band as Pink Floyd sold over 250 million records with Gilmour in the lineup. After being kicked out, Syd tried to continue his carrier with music as well as painting, but he was never able to obtain success.

            After chasing his dreams for many years and watching his former band mates reach super stardom, Syd was forced to move in with his mother due to his worsening mental condition. He developed paranoia and was showing no signs of improvement. The lyrics “threatened by shadows at night, and exposed by the light” parallel the kind of symptoms Syd was experiencing. The living arrangement with his mother did not last long, as she was unable to give Syd the treatment he required. He was admitted into a mental hospital in Cambridge where he was treated for his illnesses. Syd was eventually released from the Fulbourne Psychiatric Hospital but was never what would be considered a normal person by today’s standards. He lived out the rest of his life in his house in Cambridge. His recluse lifestyle was funded by the royalties that Pink Floyd sent him for sales on songs he had written. He eventually died of diabetes related health complications on July 7^th, 2006.

            While Pink Floyd achieved the majority of their success and fame without Syd Barrett, he was still largely responsible for their formation and innovative sounds. Gilmour, Mason, Waters and Wright only saw Syd one time after they had obtained worldwide stardom. Ironically, Syd made a surprise visit to the band while they were at Abbey Road Studio working on Wish You Were Here. The band was in the final stages of mixing the track Shine on You Crazy Diamond when they were greeted by someone whom they deemed to be a stranger. After a formal introduction, Syd’s identity was realized and they allowed him to listen to the track they were working on. As the story goes, when asked what he thought of the song, Syd responded that he did not like it and he walked out of the studio. While the song Shine on You Crazy Diamond often speaks unfavorably of Syd Barrett with lines like “come on you raver, you seer of visions” or even just the title “crazy diamond” the song still was written to pay homage to Syd. While it may seem that none of the members of Pink Floyd cared about Syd, the fact that they made sure he collected all of his royalties says otherwise. As one of the last words of the song says best, Syd was a “prisoner” of his own mind and was no longer the person they once new.

Work Cited

Pink Floyd. “Shine On You Crazy Diamond.” Wish You Were Here. Columbia, 1975. MP3 file.