Pink Floyd's "Grantchester Meadows" set to a video of the real Grantchester Meadows in Cambridge. The original and genuine! Accept no substitute! Video shot summer 2007.
I lived in Grantchester Meadows in a tent for one summer - I think it was 1971, along with four or five others. There was a free concert that year with Hawkwind and the Pink Fairies. Memories are few and vague.
my precious brother settled me in a comfortable chair upon my return in January, 1972 from my combat tour in Vietnam and set the PACEX phones on my head and set this on the Sansui . . . i was home.
@TIMOTHYSAARINEN Well, the video is of Grantchester Meadows, which is a real place, not just a Pink Floyd song. I live quite near Grantchester Meadows and I know the Pink Floyd song, so I thought people who've never seen the real Grantchester Meadows might be interested to see it. It's not a video about the Pink Floyd song, it's about the place that inspired the song: the Meadows came first! It's a great song and it's a beautiful place.
Good thing it wasn't named Grantchester Slough or some shit. All joking aside, there are a number of different versions I am finding here. My fave is the original but there is another one on here who'se acoustics are higher in the mix, gives it a different feel which as an ear musician makes it a bit easier for to copy note for note, then there is the live version which, well, is definitely not as good as the original studio one. Finally, this song, and The Narrow Way, were huge parts of the 'soundtrack of my life' as a teen, both responsible for irreparable damage of my first newspaper run subsidized stereo stylus.
The town I'm from has a place like this with over a mile of the old canal,those shots looking up the canal and others are exactly what it's like here too,no gondola though.
I have just come back from a long walk from Grantchester, accompanied by a friend. It's a very sunny day and went to the Orchard Tea rooms. Had tea and scones, clotted cream and jam. One of the best things in my life.
Having been to the meadows many times in the late 60's/early 70's, I had friends in the village. This always reminds me of those long lazy summers, both here and on the backs.
who knew that pink floyd were not just masters of stellar sound ? they are the most magnificent creators of idylls of pastoral beauty since beethoven, debussey, satie, etc. but the press kept them slotted as psychedelic sonic rock gods. this is bliss.
I'm starting to make a story of psychedelic music and the different routes it took, depending on the set and setting of the musical culture. This has inspired me.
thanks for the vid Max. I have loved this piece of music all my life. Almost haunted by it. always suspected the boys must have been talking about a real place, the music was so inspired. would love to go there and see it
My brother and his girlfriend moved to Cambridge and I was 17 and went to stay with them with my boyfriend he took us here and telling us about Floyd doing this song we sat there until a herd of cows headed towards us and we ended up in the river up to our waste brilliant memories…..thanks bro ❤
It's a great place, can be quiet especially early morning, too many tourists at weekends. I grew up in the area and know it quite well, had friends in Granchester. Even went to a music festival on the meadows in the early 70's! if you go back now, find a quite spot by the river, away from the paths and just listen the the bird song, it's still the same.
That's a part of the original recording. I heard that Pink Floyd auditioned a number of flies for this part, including 'Psychedelic Superfly', who turned up to the studio wearing a day-glo cape and kinky boots and played his kazoo through a Marshall head and an array of Leslie cabs, but in the end they settled for one of the many session flies who used to hang around Abbey Road in the hope of picking up some casual work. The name of the fly who actually played on this track remains a mystery.
thank you sir! just lovely! made my day so it did. been listening to this song since the month it was released; roger on his very best behaviour; those were the days. the word of gord
I always loved this tune.... I thought it was REALLY cool when D. Gilmore brought back the fly buzz for the last track on the Division Bell CD! Just All awesome if you are a thinker.
Sooooo, this is the infamous Grantchester Meadows. I pictured it just this way except for maybe very early in the morning as the sun came up. That's the visual I got with the song back in the day. Thanks for the video! (:
you can hear this song in so many other groups. in my opinion this song was used by other groups in different ways. very melodic and relaxing. such a pleasant change from all their radio hits. i found this 8 track at a flea market when i was a teenager and wore out this song. but I think there is another song that i really liked off "Ummagumma", but can't find it or really remember it. thanks for the post.
Thank you for showing this to us. Very beautiful place and song. Looks like some of the danish rivers where I am fishing (you can see them in some of my videos).
@MetallicBill Thanks, Bill! That's pretty much what I wanted to achieve. It's not a great cinematic masterpiece but it shows the real place as it really is.
@MaxGentle Hi Max, thanks a lot for the video :). I drove passed Grantchester Meadows (the street) on a sat afternoon on the disperate attempt of finding a non-resident car park... Do you happen to know at which numer D. Gilmour grew up?
I wish I could spend at least one afternoon on one of the Grantchester Meadows, lie on green grass. Jump.into the pond. So picturesque, unleavened, calm and homely space in the middle of hectic, hurrying world - Heaven..
@RatherLargeAllan Absolutley man it could have fit into Brooke's 'Oh Grantchester'. This song was the first to turn me onto pastoral music and from there poetry of the likes of Keats et al. Waters was part of the long linkage. What a song.
This song and the vocal part of the Narrow Way are the most sane songs on the solo parts of Ummagumma. Definately an aquired taste.This from me being a floydhead.
That's a bit shortsighted, don't you think? I spent 3 months in London 10 years ago, but we did get out to the countryside - saw both Stonehenge and Avebury and the small towns and such in between, including at least a couple of the white horses and the rather misty and mysterious Wiltshire Plain (it was a chilly March day when we were there). I'd go back in a heartbeat and see even more!
when roger was a student, his room's window look upon this very same place you're looking at,and he wrote the song.could that be the house where he had a room.
@peaceandbeads You mean the tree at around 4:40-4:50. Yes, I noticed that similarity, of course. I didn't plan it, it just happened to be there. It's an interesting image - Mother Earth, the Celtic belief that rivers & lakes are a border between this world and the otherworld, Alice Through the Looking Glass...
Ummagumma can be defined as excellent, experimental concepts that weren't executed quite right (but definitely improved upon in later Pink Floyd albums). Though it is widely agreed that the live tracks are great, the studio tracks often fall short. Still worth a good listen by any serious Pink Floyd fan.
@silvia8alex It was 106, apparently. I didn't know that but I found it uusing Google. If you drive along Grantchester Meadows to the end, where it turns into a footpath, there's a rough area of unadopted road where you may be able to park.
Super great song..even w/ a small note flub at 1 min and 9 seconds, that's how clear this recording is. I never heard it before. Glad the human element was left in, just as the Doors would agree.
Zigzag It's at 52.180342,0.097055. Drop that into Google Maps and it will point you to it. There's a field that runs down to the river behind The Red Lion pub - that's where I shot the video. There's a path through the meadows into Cambridge - lovely walk or bike ride on a summer day!
to understand the effect this had on me, you need to repeat the experience. Listen to it at 3 am on a winter morning, through stereo headphones. I challenge you not to flinch right at the end... Oh and bear in mind that this was the first time I'd ever worn stereo headphones and the first time I'd ever listened (properly) to Pink Floyd...
This song is one of the coolest and chilled sounds you will ever hear a masterpiece best from Glasgow
Lovely relaxed song and stunningly beautiful place. These places must be preserved in this country at all costs. Once they are gone theey are gone.
I lived in Grantchester Meadows in a tent for one summer - I think it was 1971, along with four or five others. There was a free concert that year with Hawkwind and the Pink Fairies. Memories are few and vague.
You've Lucky 😎😎 i'm so Very pool
Hawk lords huh?
I was at the Hawkwind concert on the meadows! My over-riding memory was the strobes lifting the stage off the ground, like a Spaceship!
This is the youtube comment of the year! Awesome.
@@mayflowerfolkclub8109 Wow!!!! Such a small world and what a sublime time.
my precious brother settled me in a comfortable chair upon my return in January, 1972 from my combat tour in Vietnam and set the PACEX phones on my head and set this on the Sansui . . . i was home.
@TIMOTHYSAARINEN
Well, the video is of Grantchester Meadows, which is a real place, not just a Pink Floyd song. I live quite near Grantchester Meadows and I know the Pink Floyd song, so I thought people who've never seen the real Grantchester Meadows might be interested to see it. It's not a video about the Pink Floyd song, it's about the place that inspired the song: the Meadows came first! It's a great song and it's a beautiful place.
Good thing it wasn't named Grantchester Slough or some shit. All joking aside, there are a number of different versions I am finding here. My fave is the original but there is another one on here who'se acoustics are higher in the mix, gives it a different feel which as an ear musician makes it a bit easier for to copy note for note, then there is the live version which, well, is definitely not as good as the original studio one. Finally, this song, and The Narrow Way, were huge parts of the 'soundtrack of my life' as a teen, both responsible for irreparable damage of my first newspaper run subsidized stereo stylus.
The town I'm from has a place like this with over a mile of the old canal,those shots looking up the canal and others are exactly what it's like here too,no gondola though.
This makes me homesick for this place, and I've never even been there.
Awesome song and video. Thanks for posting. :)
Forgive me, but acoustic songs rule all over! This is one of Floyd's best of all time!
A walk through Grantchester Meadows listening to Grantchester Meadows is on my bucket list.
I have just come back from a long walk from Grantchester, accompanied by a friend. It's a very sunny day and went to the Orchard Tea rooms. Had tea and scones, clotted cream and jam. One of the best things in my life.
Having been to the meadows many times in the late 60's/early 70's, I had friends in the village. This always reminds me of those long lazy summers, both here and on the backs.
who knew that pink floyd were not just masters of stellar sound ? they are the most magnificent creators of idylls of pastoral beauty since beethoven, debussey, satie, etc. but the press kept them slotted as psychedelic sonic rock gods. this is bliss.
oh man this takes me back 30 years skinning up on the album cover tnx dude
"ALL AROUND ME GOLDEN SUN FLAKES SETTLE ON THE GROUND"
Very trippy!
Hello I went there today at 7am got my phone out and played the song. Awesome. I shall not forget it.
I'm starting to make a story of psychedelic music and the different routes it took, depending on the set and setting of the musical culture. This has inspired me.
I live near to Grantchester and I go there at 7am in the summer morning it is awesome.
Took my boys and our puppy springer to a meadow like this Saturday afternoon in Maryland. It was a golden day; I thought of this song there.
Played this at a Folk Club last week and several people were astounded that it was a Pink Floyd song!
thanks for the vid Max. I have loved this piece of music all my life. Almost haunted by it. always suspected the boys must have been talking about a real place, the music was so inspired. would love to go there and see it
I just remembered this tune 10 minuts ago.........Such a good album "Ummagumma"...great piece !!!
My brother and his girlfriend moved to Cambridge and I was 17 and went to stay with them with my boyfriend he took us here and telling us about Floyd doing this song we sat there until a herd of cows headed towards us and we ended up in the river up to our waste brilliant memories…..thanks bro ❤
I used to listen to this every morning for over a year when my anxiety and such... Were bad. It was very calming.
I know that place. Grew up in Cambridge off the Trumpington road. Idyllic childhood boating on the Cam.
Sid had long since departed when this was written . Waters /Gilmour.
It's a great place, can be quiet especially early morning, too many tourists at weekends. I grew up in the area and know it quite well, had friends in Granchester. Even went to a music festival on the meadows in the early 70's!
if you go back now, find a quite spot by the river, away from the paths and just listen the the bird song, it's still the same.
That's a part of the original recording. I heard that Pink Floyd auditioned a number of flies for this part, including 'Psychedelic Superfly', who turned up to the studio wearing a day-glo cape and kinky boots and played his kazoo through a Marshall head and an array of Leslie cabs, but in the end they settled for one of the many session flies who used to hang around Abbey Road in the hope of picking up some casual work.
The name of the fly who actually played on this track remains a mystery.
I never knew that! 👌
It never ceases to amaze me these amazing stories about the band around this time, God bless the fly Guy,he played a mean goosed guitar!
@MaxGentle and what an inspired share! Thank you for caring & time, such a blessing! I am, one of many I am sure are, ever grateful! Blessed be!
This lazy river, reminds me of the one in New Market N.H, Just as peaceful and beautiful, thank you for this !
Another vote of thanks... a long lost favourite. Cheers.
Thankyou so much ,Awonderful song and a wonderful video.Thats how I remember the song and the place. Favourited
Listening to this in the Abbey Gardens in Bury St Edmunds on a beautiful warm September day. Lifes good !😊
the chirping birds brings a good mood to the song
ahhh, nature
son como me las imaginaba por la canción. Muy bella canción y muy bello lugar.
i just spent the afternoon at the Meadow.....so wonderful and peaceful... and great to find this vid! Thanks!
great song... brings back many pleasant and psychedelic memories... he he he....
thank you sir! just lovely! made my day so it did. been listening to this song since the month it was released; roger on his very best behaviour; those were the days.
the word of gord
I always loved this tune.... I thought it was REALLY cool when D. Gilmore brought back the fly buzz for the last track on the Division Bell CD!
Just All awesome if you are a thinker.
Beautiful place. I'd love to walk it, listening to this tune....!
Thanks so much for sharing
Sooooo, this is the infamous Grantchester Meadows. I pictured it just this way except for maybe very early in the morning as the sun came up. That's the visual I got with the song back in the day. Thanks for the video! (:
How Could Anyone Dislike This?
@RatherLargeAllan . . . be sure to hear Vaughan Williams' "The Lark Ascending" elsewhere on the 'Tube and think of the meadows . .
Thanks Max!
It's lovely, and much as I pictured it, too.
Long live Pink Floyd!!
Mate, you made my day!
just so visual
its so beautiful
just as beautiful
as pillow of winds
Hear the lark and harken
to the barking of the dog fox
Gone to ground
I'd guess that this is the best use of the English language in Rock 'n Roll
Michelle, thanks for hiking through the sheep shit with me this morning. One of the best days of my life.
x
you can hear this song in so many other groups. in my opinion this song was used by other groups in different ways. very melodic and relaxing. such a pleasant change from all their radio hits. i found this 8 track at a flea market when i was a teenager and wore out this song. but I think there is another song that i really liked off "Ummagumma", but can't find it or really remember it. thanks for the post.
Nicely done, I always wondered what the inspiration for this song looked like! ~G~
Thank you for showing this to us. Very beautiful place and song. Looks like some of the danish rivers where I am fishing (you can see them in some of my videos).
I used to live there. Stunning place to live. And stunning music.
Beautiful place. Someday I'll return to England and will definitely lie my head on one of those trees listening to Roger's GM.
Saludos desde Chile
Always loved this one. I want to lay in the and hear the lark and hearken to the barking of the dog fox
@MetallicBill
Thanks, Bill! That's pretty much what I wanted to achieve. It's not a great cinematic masterpiece but it shows the real place as it really is.
really funny - now i see the pictures, that are very beautiful - i just realize i allways thought the song is by night! :-)
thanks for sharing.
@MaxGentle Hi Max, thanks a lot for the video :). I drove passed Grantchester Meadows (the street) on a sat afternoon on the disperate attempt of finding a non-resident car park... Do you happen to know at which numer D. Gilmour grew up?
I love the seemingly lazy strumming.simplicity is beauty, beauty is simplicity
Hope to visite the birds-paradis of england.😇💓💖❣✌💥
great song and nice video ... I was there too, the place is really as is ...
thanks MAX, wish to know more about it .. PF forever
@zigzag909
It's on the outskirts of Cambridge in UK. Pink Floyd originated in Cambridge.
Love the video , thank you for sharing Granchester Meadows with us
@chamberl It's not, it'll will be Dave Gilmour. This was on Ummagumma, which was after Syd had left the band.
It's actually Roger Waters singing
I wish I could spend at least one afternoon on one of the Grantchester Meadows, lie on green grass. Jump.into the pond. So picturesque, unleavened, calm and homely space in the middle of hectic, hurrying world - Heaven..
brilliant that all i have to say. im not easily moved but this song actually brought a tear to my eye.
Beautiful
I think it's the only Floyd album I've loved! no wait, there's Piper too.
what an album to grow up to
As a kid I loved this song and was terrified lol.
Lovely! Complete with one of the Queen's swans and a punt.
fidelity with the precision of a watchmaker
Beautiful. Absolutely Beautiful.
Just beautiful.
Beautiful. Thank You.
Thank you for this pearl.
I love this album and it so happens i was born in 1969 too
Lovely song and vid, thanks : )
my fav song of PF
Pink Floyd's greatest song
Great Pinkfloyd music. The blury video quality needs to be updated.
mmm, your vid is nice. it reminds me of our little eramosa river flowing through guelph ontario... thnal for sharing max :)
Great effort. Thanks.
@RatherLargeAllan Absolutley man it could have fit into Brooke's 'Oh Grantchester'. This song was the first to turn me onto pastoral music and from there poetry of the likes of Keats et al. Waters was part of the long linkage. What a song.
This song and the vocal part of the Narrow Way are the most sane songs on the solo parts of Ummagumma. Definately an aquired taste.This from me being a floydhead.
That's a bit shortsighted, don't you think? I spent 3 months in London 10 years ago, but we did get out to the countryside - saw both Stonehenge and Avebury and the small towns and such in between, including at least a couple of the white horses and the rather misty and mysterious Wiltshire Plain (it was a chilly March day when we were there). I'd go back in a heartbeat and see even more!
Qué bonito lugar. Cuando escuchaba la canción me lo imaginaba así.
Nicely done, thanks!
when roger was a student, his room's window look upon this very same place you're looking at,and he wrote the song.could that be the house where he had a room.
@peaceandbeads
You mean the tree at around 4:40-4:50. Yes, I noticed that similarity, of course. I didn't plan it, it just happened to be there. It's an interesting image - Mother Earth, the Celtic belief that rivers & lakes are a border between this world and the otherworld, Alice Through the Looking Glass...
One does? Really? I think you should try to experience more of the green and pleasant stuff!
Nice work Max!
I would honestly like to know if it's possible for me to be more blissed out than when I hear those kingfisher wings hit the water.
Hugs from Brazil 🎉
Ummagumma can be defined as excellent, experimental concepts that weren't executed quite right (but definitely improved upon in later Pink Floyd albums). Though it is widely agreed that the live tracks are great, the studio tracks often fall short. Still worth a good listen by any serious Pink Floyd fan.
@silvia8alex
It was 106, apparently. I didn't know that but I found it uusing Google.
If you drive along Grantchester Meadows to the end, where it turns into a footpath, there's a rough area of unadopted road where you may be able to park.
Ian I remember hawk wind very well
Super great song..even w/ a small note flub at 1 min and 9 seconds, that's how clear this recording is. I never heard it before. Glad the human element was left in, just as the Doors would agree.
The Narrow Way????
Zigzag
It's at 52.180342,0.097055. Drop that into Google Maps and it will point you to it. There's a field that runs down to the river behind The Red Lion pub - that's where I shot the video. There's a path through the meadows into Cambridge - lovely walk or bike ride on a summer day!
All is good. ;-)
Very nice!!
Thanks
yup it's david gilmour's domain.
to understand the effect this had on me, you need to repeat the experience. Listen to it at 3 am on a winter morning, through stereo headphones. I challenge you not to flinch right at the end... Oh and bear in mind that this was the first time I'd ever worn stereo headphones and the first time I'd ever listened (properly) to Pink Floyd...