Remember when you were young, you shone like the sun.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
People are mentioning other people all the time. Especially rockers. Especially legendary rockers, who've burned out. And people are dying all the time. Especially legendary rockers who've burned out.
Now there's a look in your eyes, like black holes in the sky.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
You were caught on the crossfire of childhood and stardom,
blown on the steel breeze.
Its only natural that occasionaly someone may mention a legendary, burned out rocker and then find out later in the day that he's just died.
Come on you target for faraway laughter,
come on you stranger, you legend, you martyr, and shine!
Of course, that doesn't make it any less weird for the person who did the mentioning and the finding out.
Syd Barrett is dead. He died as a result of diabetes.
We all knew it was going to happen eventually. Diabetes, severe mental illness, overuse of LSD. There was just too much wrong with him. But of course that doesn't mean I was quite ready to hear it.
You reached for the secret too soon, you cried for the moon.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
Threatened by shadows at night, and exposed in the light.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
For those who don't know, Syd Barrett was the original frontman of Pink Floyd. Not many heard his voice; not even all Pink Floyd fans; he suffered a mental breakdown before the band would ever complete it's most famous material; but it would be hard to escape the mark he left on rock music. His influence shaped Pink Floyd's development as a band, and he was the inspiration for several of their later works, including the entirety of the album Wish You Were Here.
Well you wore out your welcome with random precision,
rode on the steel breeze.
Come on you raver, you seer of visions,
come on you painter, you piper, you prisoner, and shine!
In fact, he happened to wander into the studio during a recording session for Shine On You Crazy Diamond. At first, no one recognized him as he'd shaved off his hair and eyebrows and gained a lot of weight. But eventually they noticed his eyes and knew who he was. They asked how he'd gotten to be the way he was and he said, "I have a rather large fridge in my flat and I've been eating pork chops." After the session the band wanted Syd to join them for a party, but he was gone.
Nobody knows where you are, how near or how far.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
Pile on many more layers and I'll be joining you there.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
If you haven't heard any of his tunes I absolutely recommend them. They're odd and quirky, but then again if that isn't your thing then I have doubts as to what it is you're doing here.
And we'll bask in the shadow of yesterday's triumph,
sail on the steel breeze.
Come on you boy child, you winner and loser,
come on you miner for truth and delusion, and shine
Rest in Peace, dude. I'm more than grateful for what I've experienced as a result of your brilliance.
But now he's resigned to his fate
'Cause life's not unkind - he doesn't mind.
Things cannot be destroyed once and for all...
(All lyrics are from Pink Floyd. Title and last two quotes taken from seperate songs writen by Barrett on Piper at the Gates of Dawn. The first paragraph is a paraphrase of a passage from Douglas Adams' The Long, Dark Tea-time of the Soul)
