Chapter 24

Great song! It always makes me smile. As all other Pink Floyd song does. But there is something special with Syd Barrett's songs. They are just fun and charming listening to. They have this childish melody and wonderful lyrics. Great songs for children I am sure! When I have babies, they will of course grow up with the music. They have no choice. And from they are born, I will play "The piper at the gates of dawn" to them and using the songs as lullaby songs! Great idea!

Four great men!

Rick, Roger, Nick and Syd

This song, as you know, is from "The piper at the gates of dawn", the bands first album. That is easy to know since this is a song by Syd Barrett, and his way of writing songs is unique! Even a non Floyd fan would perhaps know the different between Pink Floyd with and without Syd. Well, that might not be true. Never mind. It's hard to make people who don't like the music, to listen to Pink Floyd. Especially the old albums, like "Piper..", " A saucerful.." and "Atom heart mother". Even my Floyd friends were critical to listen to the first PF albums for a long time. Hopefully they now have actually given the albums a chanse, and then discover that it's not bad at all! It's just wonderful and amazing.

These four guys were amazing together!

The song "Chapter 24" has lyrics that are inspired from 'I Ching', the Chinese book of changes, a 5000 year old Taoist oracle. The book became very popular with late 1960s youth and chapter 24 in the book is 'Fu, Return or Turning point'. One of many translations of the book, this one by Richard Wilhelm, seems to have been the one Syd consulted - the guitarist lifting lines like "all movements are accomplished in six stages and the seventh bring returns" verbatim. He was probably turned on to the book by the bohemian mother of Cambridge friend Seamus O'Connel.

Syd Barrett! You will always live on in every Pink Floyd heart

All in all, it is a great song, and Syd often had great meanings behind each song he wrote. It's always fun to look a bit on the lyricks meaning, and also what story you might find behind the idea of each song.

listen and enjoy