check out the laughing gnome by Bowie if you doubt it; Sad barrett was the founding father of Glam Rock as well as Space and Psychedelic Rock. His wearing of a feather boa and glamour directly influenced Mark Bolan, Bowie and Donovan in the London scene
That's a great way of putting it, Chris, and it's in fact that asymmetry that keeps it listenable and prevents it from getting stale. Also why it's my favorite Syd song.
I've always felt David Bowie perfectly summed up Syd when he said "There was something not quite with us about Syd that really appealed to me strongly. There was a Peter Pan quality about him" Beautiful human being. Shine on you crazy diamond 🎸💎
Even David Bowie looked up to Syd. He said there was a Peter Pan quality about him, David Gilmour said everyone in Cambridge thought Syd was a legend before he was famous, he definitely was a haunting, unique man. RIP SYD BARRETT 1946-2006
As someone said: Hes the Legend of legends,the ultimate rock cult figure and very definition of psychedelia,which is the coolest thing one could be,a true artist.
@@robertcooney1938 that was a terrible hint you little stinker. How is anyone supposed to use that to figure out what else the song is about? You're also wrong, it IS about a carnival ride. :P
@@deVon30241 And you see Markham on a Laugh-In show (or two) bridging skits with that. But here's a far older recording that just might fit: George M. Cohan and "Life's a Funny Proposition After All," I kid you not. Actually quite eerie.
@@Beatumpop You're only 16 and you are already listening to Floyd and Syd. I never started listening to them till i was 21. Remember A Day's a favourite. My first records were Saucerful, Piper and Relics. Heard this lp soon after. I thought he was off his head in some songs. : )
Trip to heave and ho Up down, to and fro' You have no word Trip, trip to a dream dragon Hide your wings in a ghost tower Sails cackling at every plate we break Cracked by scattered needles The little minute gong coughs and clears his throat Madam you see before you stand Hey ho, never be still The old original favorite grand Grasshoppers green Herbarian band And the tune they play is "In Us Confide" So trip to heave and ho Up down, to and fro' You have no word Please leave us here Close our eyes to the octopus ride! Isn't it good to be lost in the wood Isn't it bad so quiet there, in the wood Meant even less to me than I thought With a honey plough of yellow prickly seeds Clover honey pots and mystic shining feed Well, the mad cat laughed At the man on the border Hey ho, huff the Talbot "Cheat" he cried shouting kangaroo It's true in their tree they cried Please leave us here Close our eyes to the octopus ride! Please leave us here Close our eyes to the octopus ride! The mad cat laughed At the man on the border Hey ho, huff the Talbot The winds they blew and the leaves did wag They'll never put me in their bag The seas will reach and always seep So high you go, so low you creep The wind it blows in tropical heat The drones they throng on mossy seats The squeaking door will always squeak Two up, two down we'll never meet So merrily trip forgo my side Please leave us here Close our eyes to the octopus ride!
Excellent job, though I believe Huff, as in Huff the talbot needs to be capitalized. Huff is q talbot, a now extinct breed of dog. He appears in a nursery rhyme about a dog and cat who fought The War of The Roses. Syd would have been familiar with that one.
I always thought it was "the madcap laughed...", like album title, but listening closely it does sound like he's singing "mad cat"... You live and learn...
@@happyfreeliferc barrett (like Waters and Gilmour ad well) was a very strong beatle fan.. All the Pink Floyd were inspired by The Beatles, as so many time they declared officially
I agree despite all the weirdness that happened that stands on its own...no matter he had struggles not agreeable or popular in the long run. Glad Cambridge gave him recognition like they did.
his weirdness is what truly made him great. he created greatness, but had big issues that drug him down, he had severe highs and lows and no balance like the normal person, and he dwelled on the lows which took him to unreachable territories. his desires gripped a negative force and it took his mind. sad loss. at least we got a taste of his art.
simply great Mr Syd Barrett, now I am 56 years old and I listen to Pink Floyd since I was 11 years old, I love you Syd you are a Genius, Thank you for your love and Music,
It's a bit silly to say that someone doesn't sound mad after listening to them perform for four minutes or so...spending a month with him trying to make this album might be a glimpse into his mental state.
@@pasqualemuzzupappa8596 è la verità... syd barrett ha scritto una canzone dedicata a bob dylan. E ha preso moltissimo del suo stile. La stessa cosa ha fatto david bowie che ha scritto anche lui una canzone per bob dylan ed è stato influenzato da dylan stesso come da syd.
I always loved this song because [a] It's utterly wonderful, and [b] I always get the feeling that it will all fall to bits before it finishes - I don't know why, but I've always thought that. I love it even more because of that. I know of no other song like this. Nobody's song collection is complete without a bit of Syd. ;)
Not written by me the creditor was anonymous but this guy sums it up great. "Some of this stuff has more meaning than at first glance, just really listen and try to imagine what he's saying. I would agree, most of his imagery only a person so "on the border" betwen reality and madness would understand, but if you try you can get close. If you think about it, why would he put so much spirit and energy into performing the song if he just put words together in 10 minutes....He refers to himself alot in the song, the "madcap" is him completely insane laughing at the "man in the border" which is also him. He's trapped in the madcap's side and can't cross the border, therefor the madcap laughs at him for even trying. He refers to tripping and sides alot, almost as if he himself knows he's on a continuos trip (reference to insanity) that he can't or wants to get out from ("please leave us here")....Don't dismiss what he says as just rambling, just pay attention and you'll get the big picture..."
Every single word and line has a very specific meaning. This one has zilch to do with HIM being "on the border". He is describing a 60s British carnival from the perspective of the barker. What sounds like gibberish is period slang, quotes from English poetry and novels, etc. There are excellent scholarly analyses of this song available. One major example is the "man on the border" part- from a book of poetry by Edward Lear from 1888 (a book that Syd pulled much other material from, btw, so he def owned and read it - see poem below). Syd was whacky, but he was also a VERY serious poet who knew the English literary canon inside out and upside down. Of course Lear himself wrote much nonsense, but when quoting someone else's nonsense, Syd is making a literary reference, not indulging in psychedelia. Even the "madcap" was originally a reference to a poem about a carnival ride (obvious in an earlier draft of the lyrics, that one a quote from a book of poems edited by Kenneth Grahame, massive influence on Syd, as "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn" is a chapter name from Grahame's Wind in the Willows; Apples and Oranges on Barrett is also full of Grahame quotes, as is The Gnome) "There was an old man on the Border, Who lived in the utmost disorder He danced with the cat, and made tea in his hat Which vexed all the folks on the Border"
yes but as an artist syd would be using the words to express,in part, his condition and relationship to his old band and the record industry, (as in the octopus ride), jug band blues, dark globe, here i go etc. the man on the border is roger waters (the half mad) syd is the fully madcap!
I honestly cant believe this song doesn't have more plays. Just from artists alone. The songwriting is nothing less than perfect. God was this guy amazing. People like syd could've wrote songs without guitars or drums. Poets unite for one final night.
I remember one night eating to many mushrooms and this song kept playing on repeat, shattered my brain and i was cast into insanity in an extremely paranoid state. I was truly the madcap. Good times.
@@BernardoFernandinoDellaCosasti you should be ashamed of yourself for your attempt at shaming people, I can say whatever i want, the most they'll do is remove something if its deemed to "offensive" lol. Get outta here
@@camblas6380 You can't say whatever you want, it's the basic definition of living together. There are rules to respect, so get lost under your bridge, acid eater
Love this song, it has a fantastic rhythm with the lyrics where it sounds like he's going to fall over himself and it'll all fall apart and it never does
Gilmour is great, but the thing is that he plays a lot different from Syd. And his solos are great especially in ''Dogs'' and ''Pigs''. I'm not gonna suck Gilmour's ball's, but he's very good
David Gilmour played drums and bass on this track, but he far from did on the whole album, some of the tracks are backed up by Soft Machine, like Love You and No Good Trying.
Syd Barret gave his life for psychedelic rock. Literally... he lost his mind searching for sound on psychedelics and tbh this sound is beautiful. RIP you are a king in Rock in Roll Music.
That first Floyd album, his two solo records, plus that grinding garage rocker 'Lucy Leave', I think he did enough in that short time to allow him to walk away and be a home body for the rest of his days. You can stack it up against anything and it always shines a bit brighter.
Really strong Bowie vibe which really is the other way around...woulda been nice to see Syd work with Cale Bowie and Eno etc discreetly and spare in sound...just a dream
Syd Barret is similar to Van Gogh in the sense that the norm can't appreciate the complexity. The potency of his talent is awesome & sadly, escapes common understanding.
Oh please, syds music was great but alot of it truly is what you get at face value. Barring a few tracks, I really dont believe syd was a savant of deep complex music like you do. Some songs are just a throw together of random sound with hardly any rhythm, and with lyrics, syd mostly was more concerned about the sound of the words working with the music rather than the meaning of them.
To be fair, you have to have a very high IQ to understand Syd Barrett. The humor is extremely subtle, and without a solid grasp of 60s counterculture most of the lines will go over a typical listener's head. There's also Syd's optimistic outlook, which is deftly woven into his lyricism - his personal philosophy draws heavily from surrealist literature, for instance. The fans understand this stuff; they have the intellectual capacity to truly appreciate the depths of these songs, to realize that they're not just catchy- they say something deep about LIFE. As a consequence people who dislike Syd Barrett truly ARE idiots- of course they wouldn't appreciate, for instance, the humour in Syd's existential catchphrase "I've got a bike you can ride it if you like," which itself is a cryptic reference to Carroll's English epic Alice in Wonderland I'm smirking right now just imagining one of those addlepated simpletons scratching their heads in confusion as Syd Barrett's genius unfolds itself on their computer screens. What fools... how I pity them. 😂 And yes by the way, I DO have a Syd Barrett tattoo. And no, you cannot see it. It's for the ladies' eyes only- And even they have to demonstrate that they're within 5 IQ points of my own (preferably lower) beforehand.
@@tetsuoumezawa5833 if you’re so smart why is your bank account balance embarrassingly low and coupled with a glaring lack of any meaningful life accomplishments?
Octopus/Syd Barrett Trip to heave and ho Up down, to and fro' You have no word Trip, trip to a dream dragon Hide your wings in a ghost tower Sails cackling at every plate we break Was cracked by scattered needles The little minute gong Coughs and clears his throat Madam you see before you stand Hey ho, never be still The old original favorite grand Grasshoppers green Herbarian band And the tune they play is "In Us Confide" So trip to heave and ho Up down, to and fro' You have no word Please, leave us here Close our eyes to the octopus ride Isn't it good to be lost in the wood? Isn't it bad so quiet there, in the wood? Meant even less to me than I thought With a honey plough of yellow prickly seeds Clover honey pots and mystic shining feed The madcap laughed at the man on the border Hey ho, huff the Tolbert "Cheat" he cried shouting kangaroo It's true in their tree they cried please leave us here close our eyes to the octopus ride The winds they blew and the leaves did wag They'll never put me in their bag The raging seas will always seep So high you go, so low you creep The wind it blows in tropical heat The drones they throng on mossy seats The squeaking door will always squeak Two up, two down we'll never meet Please, leave us here Close our eyes to the octopus ride Please, leave us here Close our eyes to the octopus ride
@@atomeyes99 I'm pretty sure Gilmour chose not to play guitar for any of Syd's tracks, as he saw his role as helping his friend, not taking over the project. In any case Syd's guitar has so much character and suits his voice and vocal delivery so well that adding another guitarist would have detracted from the charm and flow of the music. Syd is anyway the only guitarist listed for this album and I think for all of his solo work. Syd's guitar always sounds good, he had an ear for how much was just enough for the song, he had a little trick bag of effects and simple, catchy licks he knew how to apply, and some bounce in his rhythm that went with the nursery rhymish lyrics.
@@NiskRanThawll Yes Dave played other instruments on the album, my comment was specifically about guitar. I don't have the source for the quote but I recall that DG purposely didn't play guitar on any of Syd's sessions because Syd was still capable of playing well and because Syd's playing was distinctive and gave a particular character to the songs. Which I think was a good decision from a personal and a musical point of view.
Listening to this song I can just hear how Blur got their sound. you know the multitracked vocals, the english accent the kind of rhythm. I'm just thinking of "Country House" in particular though
I got very sick on an Octopus Ride as a kid and had to close my eyes to stop myself puking. Southend Kersaal 1969 I think. Maybe Syd was there too? ;-)
I finally understand the song, its not worthless ramblings, its syd explaining what its like to be alone with himself and the madcat. Being lost in the wood, isnt it good to be lost in the wood? so much meaning, but you forget the painful truth is a price to pay and in return you gain a creative trait. Insanity
David Bowie cited Syd Barrett as his primary influence
He did a cover of See Emily Play on Pin Ups, too.
The guitar solo at 1:53 almost sounds like "Fame"...
check out the laughing gnome by Bowie if you doubt it; Sad barrett was the founding father of Glam Rock as well as Space and Psychedelic Rock. His wearing of a feather boa and glamour directly influenced Mark Bolan, Bowie and Donovan in the London scene
Holy shit. Im just noticing they have such a similar voice.
@@thenbdy_ Tis true.
musically and instrumentally, this is my favorite Syd song. He didn't give a shit about symmetry. and the gentle bassline is so perfect.
That's a great way of putting it, Chris, and it's in fact that asymmetry that keeps it listenable and prevents it from getting stale. Also why it's my favorite Syd song.
asymmetric as in the stereo isn’t perfectly in sync?
Not sure if he didn't care or rather, couldn't keep his work symmetrical but for me, adds to the magic of the song.
@@PeterGriffin-in5ut I think he means it’s all a little skewed and off kilter. Kind of wonky.
@@PeterGriffin-in5ut many things are off kilter, even from the beginning its a 5 chord progression before it loops.
I've always felt David Bowie perfectly summed up Syd when he said "There was something not quite with us about Syd that really appealed to me strongly. There was a Peter Pan quality about him" Beautiful human being. Shine on you crazy diamond 🎸💎
thats beautiful gave ma smile on adark day{jf
Bowie was obviously influenced off syd, this reminds me of an early Bowie song
poof
@@Godloveszaza I’ve been a Bowie fan since 1971 and if YOU actually listened you’d hear various influences in his music
I suppose Syd was a bit too original and didn't bother to riff on or draw "inspiration" from The Beatles by way of American Blues.
This song is driving me mad, I heard it first time last week and I can't sleep because it's stuck in my head.
Oh dear. That's how it starts...
Sorry friend, you are too far gone
I hear Gigolo Aunt in my head a lot too.
IT does get stuck in your head,especially when your out of head😊
Hi Skrie The songs of Barrett are extremely hypnotic.I think he may have influenced my songs in some sort of way that I can't quite understand...
paisley shirts, corduroy trousers, LSD, and the British countryside.... a fairy tale pantomime of ethereal and surreal mind bending proportions
Until someone has to wash the dishes and take the garbage out
Still good today.
nice prose
@67psych3 yea, once a month it may be an event
@67psych3 Ha! Good spirit
Even David Bowie looked up to Syd. He said there was a Peter Pan quality about him, David Gilmour said everyone in Cambridge thought Syd was a legend before he was famous, he definitely was a haunting, unique man. RIP SYD BARRETT 1946-2006
As someone said: Hes the Legend of legends,the ultimate rock cult figure and very definition of psychedelia,which is the coolest thing one could be,a true artist.
The dude went nuts... don't glorify it that much
Hardly "the coolest thing one could be" when you suffer from severe mental health problems.
@@socialdef3 how do you know he was crazy cause they said he was lol who are you his doctor
I agree
No he just moved on and wasn't unhappy.
Syd , centuries ahead of anyone at the time. All his songs are tiny journeys.
They are all crazy diamond gems.
Do you know what the song is about? Hint: not about a carnival ride.
Centuries ahead yet this sounds old and dated lol
@@ACDZ123 you may get there in time
@@robertcooney1938 that was a terrible hint you little stinker. How is anyone supposed to use that to figure out what else the song is about? You're also wrong, it IS about a carnival ride. :P
The fact syd got all of these lyrics from different books and put them all together shows how artistic he was I wish we could of heard more of syd 😕
Syd could spit better than most rappers today. Dude had flow.
DJ Derka he kinda invented that shit in a way xD
@@deVon30241 And you see Markham on a Laugh-In show (or two) bridging skits with that. But here's a far older recording that just might fit: George M. Cohan and "Life's a Funny Proposition After All," I kid you not. Actually quite eerie.
@@deVon30241 Ha wrong! Look up frank zappa trouble everyday
@@deVon30241 Bob Dylan released Subterranean Home Sick Blues in 1965, lol, so I think that counts as the first rap song.
youre all bigots, none of those guys ceated rap. bunch of clowns, they dont even rap.
Syd the original rock legend. Syd lives forever
Hi I Recommend checking out a song called 'Looking Into The Mirror' By Robert Nix
Oh man. Pink Floyd had a true gem with Syd. Shine on you crazy diamond
When I listen to Bowie's earlier material, I can definitely hear the Syd Barrett influence.
This was released 50 years ago today 👍🏻😀😀
God : D
50 years is a looong time holy crap
@@Beatumpop I'm 52 : )
@@Kelly14UK oops haha i'm turning 17 soon, it's kinda crazy to think i'll be that age someday
@@Beatumpop You're only 16 and you are already listening to Floyd and Syd. I never started listening to them till i was 21. Remember A Day's a favourite. My first records were Saucerful, Piper and Relics. Heard this lp soon after. I thought he was off his head in some songs.
: )
Trip to heave and ho
Up down, to and fro'
You have no word
Trip, trip to a dream dragon
Hide your wings in a ghost tower
Sails cackling at every plate we break
Cracked by scattered needles
The little minute gong coughs and clears his throat
Madam you see before you stand
Hey ho, never be still
The old original favorite grand
Grasshoppers green Herbarian band
And the tune they play is "In Us Confide"
So trip to heave and ho
Up down, to and fro'
You have no word
Please leave us here
Close our eyes to the octopus ride!
Isn't it good to be lost in the wood
Isn't it bad so quiet there, in the wood
Meant even less to me than I thought
With a honey plough of yellow prickly seeds
Clover honey pots and mystic shining feed
Well, the mad cat laughed
At the man on the border
Hey ho, huff the Talbot
"Cheat" he cried shouting kangaroo
It's true in their tree they cried
Please leave us here
Close our eyes to the octopus ride!
Please leave us here
Close our eyes to the octopus ride!
The mad cat laughed
At the man on the border
Hey ho, huff the Talbot
The winds they blew and the leaves did wag
They'll never put me in their bag
The seas will reach and always seep
So high you go, so low you creep
The wind it blows in tropical heat
The drones they throng on mossy seats
The squeaking door will always squeak
Two up, two down we'll never meet
So merrily trip forgo my side
Please leave us here
Close our eyes to the octopus ride!
I wish this was in the description
I've lived my whole life thinking it's octopus rise
Excellent job, though I believe Huff, as in Huff the talbot needs to be capitalized. Huff is q talbot, a now extinct breed of dog. He appears in a nursery rhyme about a dog and cat who fought The War of The Roses. Syd would have been familiar with that one.
Thank you!
I always thought it was "the madcap laughed...", like album title, but listening closely it does sound like he's singing "mad cat"... You live and learn...
Barrett was a bit different
Yeah , mad, but KNEW the notes
It was another époque, the influence of the Beatles was too strong
@ Honey Fool ...wtf are you talking about ?
@@happyfreeliferc barrett (like Waters and Gilmour ad well) was a very strong beatle fan..
All the Pink Floyd were inspired by The Beatles, as so many time they declared officially
Like me, I'm different too but I like it to be myself and don't change me for people. Syd is my Idol, wish he were here.
what a fuckin legend
Hes the Legend of legends,the ultimate rock cult figure and very definition of psychedelia,which is the coolest thing one could be,a true artist.
For real
I agree despite all the weirdness that happened that stands on its own...no matter he had struggles not agreeable or popular in the long run. Glad Cambridge gave him recognition like they did.
his weirdness is what truly made him great. he created greatness, but had big issues that drug him down, he had severe highs and lows and no balance like the normal person, and he dwelled on the lows which took him to unreachable territories. his desires gripped a negative force and it took his mind. sad loss. at least we got a taste of his art.
lol "drug him down"
simply great Mr Syd Barrett, now I am 56 years old and I listen to Pink Floyd since I was 11 years old, I love you Syd you are a Genius, Thank you for your love and Music,
Hi I recommend a song and video called 'Looking Into The Mirror' By Robert Nix
"Isn't it good to be lost in the wood?" Yes indeed.
Why I can’t stop listening to this 😀. It’s soo addicting
One of Syd's very best highlighting his creative and lyrical genius with a huge exclamation point.
He doesn’t sound mad to me at all; more like a musical and artistic genius.
i didn't know those were mutually exclusive
Musical genius maybe. But clearly miswired.
@@sebastianc.5825 well now you know 😉
It's a bit silly to say that someone doesn't sound mad after listening to them perform for four minutes or so...spending a month with him trying to make this album might be a glimpse into his mental state.
He was a genius, and was barely functioning when this album was recorded.
My idol for music!
Syd is one of the soul reasons why i wanted to play the guitar!
Wow, i'm 56 & been riding along with Syd for decades and only just clicked on the gravity of thos lyrics, oh well back to bed then got work tmw.
9⁹
I don't think Syd Barrett is trying to say anything in this song. He was just having fun.
Having fun with drugs
I think he was trying to make a good song, which he succeeded
at
@@ananasasjenkins881 Thank you!!!!
just like every greatest artists
No syd, no Floyd. No Barrett, no Bowie
No dylan, no barrett
No dylan, no bowie
Don’t ever type such horrible words together
@@andrealanzillotta4388 esagerato!!
@@pasqualemuzzupappa8596 è la verità... syd barrett ha scritto una canzone dedicata a bob dylan. E ha preso moltissimo del suo stile. La stessa cosa ha fatto david bowie che ha scritto anche lui una canzone per bob dylan ed è stato influenzato da dylan stesso come da syd.
@@andrealanzillotta4388 Ascolta The Piper at the Gates of Dawn e dimmi se Dylan è mai arrivato a concepire quello stile e quella creatività
I still know all the words, growing up to my older sisters great albums,, then I became a punk in 1979, RIP Syd & Sid & Punk 1974-1983 ☠️
I've always loved PF's Piper album but only discovered Syd Barrett's solo music a couple of years ago. So glad I found it. This song is brilliant!
One of a few legendary artists who did not die "young".
Steven Reents musically he died pretty early
I’m pretty sure him quitting is exactly the reason why he stayed alive.
And I still don't know how he last that long
A part of him died young
Him and Wilson had death of personality. The drugs and lifestyle brought out the illness and they reached the heights pre psychosis
Madcap Laughs is like a capsule of so many influences that went on to influence so many. This is in so much early Bowie and T. Rex, even Tubeway Army.
Genius lyrics, awesome song
yes yes
One of my favourite song ever! Great Syd, you're the best!
boy do i have some news for you
someone should make a movie about this guy
Johnny Depp wanted to do one but never happened
One Of My Favs!
They do exist.
Syd Barrett Aye Syd
Lovely and whimsical..wish you were here Syd 💓
syd's the most underrated artist of all time and is as important as elvis or the beatles.
This music is so fun and reflexive..Love this, thanks Syd!
I agree with the previous comments about this song getting stuck in your head. Brilliant song!
I always loved this song because [a] It's utterly wonderful, and [b] I always get the feeling that it will all fall to bits before it finishes - I don't know why, but I've always thought that. I love it even more because of that. I know of no other song like this. Nobody's song collection is complete without a bit of Syd. ;)
Syd in his infinite psychedelic, inventive weirdness.
Definitely proud my son is named after this musical genius.
Love post Floyd Barrett as much as anything Floyd did thereafter. That being said we all know which one's Pink.
Not written by me the creditor was anonymous but this guy sums it up great.
"Some of this stuff has more meaning than at first glance, just really listen and try to imagine what he's saying. I would agree, most of his imagery only a person so "on the border" betwen reality and madness would understand, but if you try you can get close. If you think about it, why would he put so much spirit and energy into performing the song if he just put words together in 10 minutes....He refers to himself alot in the song, the "madcap" is him completely insane laughing at the "man in the border" which is also him. He's trapped in the madcap's side and can't cross the border, therefor the madcap laughs at him for even trying. He refers to tripping and sides alot, almost as if he himself knows he's on a continuos trip (reference to insanity) that he can't or wants to get out from ("please leave us here")....Don't dismiss what he says as just rambling, just pay attention and you'll get the big picture..."
Every single word and line has a very specific meaning. This one has zilch to do with HIM being "on the border". He is describing a 60s British carnival from the perspective of the barker. What sounds like gibberish is period slang, quotes from English poetry and novels, etc. There are excellent scholarly analyses of this song available. One major example is the "man on the border" part- from a book of poetry by Edward Lear from 1888 (a book that Syd pulled much other material from, btw, so he def owned and read it - see poem below). Syd was whacky, but he was also a VERY serious poet who knew the English literary canon inside out and upside down. Of course Lear himself wrote much nonsense, but when quoting someone else's nonsense, Syd is making a literary reference, not indulging in psychedelia. Even the "madcap" was originally a reference to a poem about a carnival ride (obvious in an earlier draft of the lyrics, that one a quote from a book of poems edited by Kenneth Grahame, massive influence on Syd, as "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn" is a chapter name from Grahame's Wind in the Willows; Apples and Oranges on Barrett is also full of Grahame quotes, as is The Gnome)
"There was an old man on the Border,
Who lived in the utmost disorder
He danced with the cat, and made tea in his hat
Which vexed all the folks on the Border"
yes but as an artist syd would be using the words to express,in part, his condition and relationship to his old band and the record industry, (as in the octopus ride), jug band blues, dark globe, here i go etc. the man on the border is roger waters (the half mad) syd is the fully madcap!
He says "madcat"
they call it borderline , man on the border ,,, not psykotic , not neurotic ,,, just normal
@@marinam3607 False
I honestly cant believe this song doesn't have more plays. Just from artists alone. The songwriting is nothing less than perfect. God was this guy amazing. People like syd could've wrote songs without guitars or drums. Poets unite for one final night.
I remember one night eating to many mushrooms and this song kept playing on repeat, shattered my brain and i was cast into insanity in an extremely paranoid state. I was truly the madcap. Good times.
Lmfao
You should be ashamed and also what you're doing is illegal, I remind you that youtube is a public platform
@@BernardoFernandinoDellaCosasti you should be ashamed of yourself for your attempt at shaming people, I can say whatever i want, the most they'll do is remove something if its deemed to "offensive" lol. Get outta here
@@camblas6380 You can't say whatever you want, it's the basic definition of living together. There are rules to respect, so get lost under your bridge, acid eater
@@BernardoFernandinoDellaCosasti im not insulting anybody, therefore i can say whatever i want. Stop being a snow flake
Oh Syd.
In hindsight the 70s and 90s scenes were inspired by this. You can hear Bolan, Bowie , blur and pulp in this. This has aged so well.
Yep. As someone who was born in ‘78 and grew up with my ‘46-born dad’s,music…. I agree!
I love syd and early pink floyd🙂
One of the best songs ever written.
This song rocks
Love this song, it has a fantastic rhythm with the lyrics where it sounds like he's going to fall over himself and it'll all fall apart and it never does
Just a lovely song about a trip to the fair. I love it. I love the poetic imagery of the carnival such as "sails cackling at every plate we break".
I always the song was about Death. Not saying you are wrong, you know it is a good song when it can be interpreted many ways
Going to perform at a comedy club called the Madcap Laughs in a few days and can't get this out of my head.
David Gilmour played drum parts of this record .
Always trying to deny he barely even knew Syd. Shit The fuckin guy started Pink Floyd, Gilmour is an ass
Gilmour is great, but the thing is that he plays a lot different from Syd.
And his solos are great especially in ''Dogs'' and ''Pigs''.
I'm not gonna suck Gilmour's ball's, but he's very good
David Gilmour played drums and bass on this track, but he far from did on the whole album, some of the tracks are backed up by Soft Machine, like Love You and No Good Trying.
Chali Q David is one of best friends of Syd, after Barrett (the album) was recorded he thanks a lot Dave for help him(sorry for my english)
I don't think he means it in a bad way. He's saying he barely knew him because it's true, Gilmour was Syd barrets replacement.
"I like to be..."
Wait, wrong theme.
Ha. Great wry comment. Greetings from Melbourne, Australia
This has such a great and wonderful energy that not many things can produce
Please leave us here! Love you so much Syd! Hope you are happy now!
Syd Barret gave his life for psychedelic rock. Literally... he lost his mind searching for sound on psychedelics and tbh this sound is beautiful. RIP you are a king in Rock in Roll Music.
I can't get over him 💖
I love his solo work
RIP Syd 💜✨🕯️✨😥
ua-cam.com/video/8k5WQnfCjmk/v-deo.html
this song fills me with life.
Tripping and thought of this...been around the sun 50 times this week.. can't believe I thought of this song
Happy Birthday Syd!
get better for every time i hear it , what blessing to have songs like that for your life and about your life
That first Floyd album, his two solo records, plus that grinding garage rocker 'Lucy Leave', I think he did enough in that short time to allow him to walk away and be a home body for the rest of his days. You can stack it up against anything and it always shines a bit brighter.
What a poet. What a visionary.
12 people never painted the inside of their heads and didn't wait until paint had dried before they touched it.
They became impatient and trod on it.
Okay that’s just plain weird man
thinking about that , its fucking deep actually
@Bekind Befree ikr
@@Garrysullivanjones found the guy who never dabbled into the unknown.
Really strong Bowie vibe which really is the other way around...woulda been nice to see Syd work with Cale Bowie and Eno etc discreetly and spare in sound...just a dream
I COULD NOT IMAGINE A WORLD WITHOUT SYD BARRETT!!!♥️👼🏻👏🏻⚡️🇬🇧
Oh my! never get tired of barrett!
Syd Barret is similar to Van Gogh in the sense that the norm can't appreciate the complexity. The potency of his talent is awesome & sadly, escapes common understanding.
What a fucking moron you are
Oh please, syds music was great but alot of it truly is what you get at face value. Barring a few tracks, I really dont believe syd was a savant of deep complex music like you do. Some songs are just a throw together of random sound with hardly any rhythm, and with lyrics, syd mostly was more concerned about the sound of the words working with the music rather than the meaning of them.
To be fair, you have to have a very high IQ to understand Syd Barrett. The humor is extremely subtle, and without a solid grasp of 60s counterculture most of the lines will go over a typical listener's head. There's also Syd's optimistic outlook, which is deftly woven into his lyricism - his personal philosophy draws heavily from surrealist literature, for instance. The fans understand this stuff; they have the intellectual capacity to truly appreciate the depths of these songs, to realize that they're not just catchy- they say something deep about LIFE. As a consequence people who dislike Syd Barrett truly ARE idiots- of course they wouldn't appreciate, for instance, the humour in Syd's existential catchphrase "I've got a bike you can ride it if you like," which itself is a cryptic reference to Carroll's English epic Alice in Wonderland I'm smirking right now just imagining one of those addlepated simpletons scratching their heads in confusion as Syd Barrett's genius unfolds itself on their computer screens. What fools... how I pity them. 😂 And yes by the way, I DO have a Syd Barrett tattoo. And no, you cannot see it. It's for the ladies' eyes only- And even they have to demonstrate that they're within 5 IQ points of my own (preferably lower) beforehand.
Tetsuo Umezawa hahahahaha brilliant
@@tetsuoumezawa5833 if you’re so smart why is your bank account balance embarrassingly low and coupled with a glaring lack of any meaningful life accomplishments?
Octopus/Syd Barrett
Trip to heave and ho
Up down, to and fro'
You have no word
Trip, trip to a dream dragon
Hide your wings in a ghost tower
Sails cackling at every plate we break
Was cracked by scattered needles
The little minute gong
Coughs and clears his throat
Madam you see before you stand
Hey ho, never be still
The old original favorite grand
Grasshoppers green Herbarian band
And the tune they play is "In Us Confide"
So trip to heave and ho
Up down, to and fro'
You have no word
Please, leave us here
Close our eyes to the octopus ride
Isn't it good to be lost in the wood?
Isn't it bad so quiet there, in the wood?
Meant even less to me than I thought
With a honey plough of yellow prickly seeds
Clover honey pots and mystic shining feed
The madcap laughed at the man on the border
Hey ho, huff the Tolbert
"Cheat" he cried shouting kangaroo
It's true in their tree they cried please leave us here close our eyes to the octopus ride
The winds they blew and the leaves did wag
They'll never put me in their bag
The raging seas will always seep
So high you go, so low you creep
The wind it blows in tropical heat
The drones they throng on mossy seats
The squeaking door will always squeak
Two up, two down we'll never meet
Please, leave us here
Close our eyes to the octopus ride
Please, leave us here
Close our eyes to the octopus ride
Squeking doors will always squeek
Forever Syd Barrett!!
A blowing song in every way, Syd 💫
He thought he was the antichrist and it was me hehe antichrist society authorized
Electric dreams brought me here. Great song.
Teal'c Yes, fantastic!!! The version played on the show is covered by Robin Hitchcock
Yes! I recognized sids voice
Ahh I love this song.... makes me wanna cry.
Syd was such a genius...
Love it..what a tune
Bloody hell this is good
He was an amazing human being. He also did indeed jump rope the that proverbial fine line between genius and insanity.
What if we all stopped worrying about who did what before whom and just enjoyed great music when we’re lucky enough to find it?
"PLEASE LEAVE US HERE, CLOSE OUR EYES TO THE OCTOPUS RIIIDE🗣️!!!"
That's one of the best guitar solos i've ever heard.
he slayed
@S T R A N D C A S T and the non-accoustic guitar is probably Gilmour. unsure how good Syd was on guitar at this point
@@atomeyes99 I'm pretty sure Gilmour chose not to play guitar for any of Syd's tracks, as he saw his role as helping his friend, not taking over the project. In any case Syd's guitar has so much character and suits his voice and vocal delivery so well that adding another guitarist would have detracted from the charm and flow of the music. Syd is anyway the only guitarist listed for this album and I think for all of his solo work.
Syd's guitar always sounds good, he had an ear for how much was just enough for the song, he had a little trick bag of effects and simple, catchy licks he knew how to apply, and some bounce in his rhythm that went with the nursery rhymish lyrics.
@@openmodalguitar61 sorry but dave was on the album, he played bass and acoustic and drums on octopus.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Madcap_Laughs
@@NiskRanThawll Yes Dave played other instruments on the album, my comment was specifically about guitar. I don't have the source for the quote but I recall that DG purposely didn't play guitar on any of Syd's sessions because Syd was still capable of playing well and because Syd's playing was distinctive and gave a particular character to the songs. Which I think was a good decision from a personal and a musical point of view.
Listening to this song I can just hear how Blur got their sound. you know the multitracked vocals, the english accent the kind of rhythm. I'm just thinking of "Country House" in particular though
Omg I never made that connection before but you are spot. Also sounds remarkably like the Blur song "There's No Other Way"
Yes, they definitely got their English accent from Syd Barrett
The English accent hahahah
@@pigspoon Syd had that kind of middle class eastern accent, Cambridge you know, which is really marvellous!
They are English and always cited The Small Faces as their major inspiration.
Happy heavenly birthday Syd 🎉🎉🎉
Very reminiscent of The Beatles, particularly John's compositions such as Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds, or I am the Walrus.
When im out of my head, i always play this song😊😊😊
1:10 damn
Aldrin Aldrin the boy got far too lost in the wood
Such a talent
Syd is so coherent on this track, if you don't get Syd or his brilliance from this track ,there is no hope for you lol
I have this album!👍
Very solid.
REST WELL SYD AND CONTINUE TO SHINE ON YOU CRAZY DIAMOND❤️
I got very sick on an Octopus Ride as a kid and had to close my eyes to stop myself puking. Southend Kersaal 1969 I think. Maybe Syd was there too? ;-)
I love the Bo Diddly tribute in the middle
A master piece
Never forget this great musiscian
R.I.P.
OMG, what talent gone in our lifetime. He was special.
I finally understand the song, its not worthless ramblings, its syd explaining what its like to be alone with himself and the madcat. Being lost in the wood, isnt it good to be lost in the wood? so much meaning, but you forget the painful truth is a price to pay and in return you gain a creative trait. Insanity
Fantastic song !
Syd...entre acordes dissonantes...entre cores alucinantes...🎸🎶🌙🎨✨
I think straight from the first album his writing style showed he was maaaaad even before he became mad - shine on brother