The madcap speaks
Terrapin #9/10, Jul
1974, Giovanni Dadomo
There is a formidable and sometimes rather tasteless mystique
surrounding Syd Barrett, not very different to that
which until recently went hand in hand with the name of Arthur Lee. What little
has been written has only added weight to the myth of a modern day Nietzsche/Nijinksy figure who mumbles inanities and vague things
about 'getting it together'.
Strangely
enough Syd turns out to be as normal, unkempt and
emaciated as most of us. Talkative, unpretentious and above all, very human....
Q: Piper at the Gates of Dawn?
Syd: 'Wind in the
Willows.' That was very difficult in some ways, getting used to the studios and
everything. But it was fun, we freaked about a lot. I was working very hard
then; there's still lots of stuff lying around from then, even some of the
stuff on 'Madcap'.
Q: Some of your songs seem rather obscure, like Chapter
24 on Piper.
Syd: 'Chapter
24'...that was from the 'I Ching', there was someone
around who was very into that, most of the words came
straight off that. 'Lucifer Sam' was another one, it didn't means
much to me at the time, but then three or four months later it came to mean a
lot.
Q: How important are lyrics to you?
Syd: Very
important. I think it's good if a song has more than one meaning. Maybe that
kind of song can reach far more people, that's nice. On
the other hand, I like songs that are simple. I liked Arnold Layne because to
me it was a very clear song.
Q: Some of your words don't come over too clearly, like
on 'Octopus' there's 'little Minnie Conn coughs and
clears his throat'. Have you though about printing the words on the sleeve next
time?
Syd: Yeah that
would be nice (laughing). That was 'little minute gong.'
Q: What about Octopus, that was
my personal favourite.
Syd: I carried
that about in my head for about six months before I actually wrote it so maybe
that's why it came out so well. The idea was likethose
number songs like 'Green Grow the Rushes Ho' where you have, say,
twelve lines each related to the next and an overall theme. It's like a
fool-proof combination of lyrics, really, and then the chorus comes in and
changes the tempo but holds the whole thing together.
Q: There's a strong childhood feel to a lot of your
songs with lots of fairy-tale and nursery rhyme elements. Have you ever thought
of writing for kids?
Syd: Fairy-tales
are nice...I think a lot of it has to do with living in Cambridge, with nature
and everything, it's so clean, and I still drive back a lot. Maybe if I'd
stayed at college, I would have become a teacher. Leaving school and suddenly
being without that structure around you and nothing to relate to...maybe that's
a part of it, too.
Q: There was a strong science-fiction thing in the early
Floyd. Were you ever into that?
Syd: Not really, except
'Journey into Space' and 'Quatermass', which was when
I was about fifteen, so that could be where it came from.
Q: Your lyrics could be described as surrealistic
collages. Did your art training affect your writing?
Syd: Only the rate
of work, learning to work hard. I do tend to take lines from other things,
lines I like, and then write around them but I don't consciously relate to
painting. It's just writing good songs that matters, really.
Q: Do you still paint?
Syd: Not much. The
guy who lives next door to me paints, and he's doing it well, so I don't really
feel the need.
Q: Do you want to do other things?
Syd: A lot of
people want to make films and do photography and things, but I'm quite happy
doing what I'm doing.
Q: Are you into other people's music?
Syd: I don't
really buy many records, there's so much around that you don't know what to
listen to. All I've got at home is Bo Diddley, some
Stones and Beatles stuff and old jazz records. I like Family, they do some nice
things.
Q: What about the Underground?
Syd: I haven't
been to the Arts Lab or anything, so I don't really know what's happening. There
are just so many people running around doing different thingsand
no kind of unity. It doesn't really bother me.
Q: Do you read poetry?
Syd: I've got
Penguins lying around at home. Shakespeare and Chaucer, you know? But I don't
really read a lot. Maybe I should.
Q: Were you satisfied with Madcap Laughs?
Syd: Yes, I liked
what came out, only it was released far too long after it was done. I wanted it
to be a whole thing that people would listen to all the way through with
everything related and balanced, the tempos and moods offsetting each other,
and I hope that's what it sounds like, I've got it at home, but I don't listen
to it much now.
Q: Madcap is rather gentle compated
with your Floyd stuff. What about the new album?
Syd: There'll be
all kinds of things. It just depends what I feel like doing at the time. The
important thing is that it will be better than the last.
Q: In 'No Man's Land' on Madcap there's a long spoken
part which is barely audible, like the 'faded' lyrics of Astronomy Domine. Was the intention to abstract the words into just
background noise?
Syd: Originally
the words were meant to be heard clearly, but we went and actually did it,
that's how it came out, which wasn't really how I'd planned it.
Q: How's the guitar playing?
Syd: I always
write with guitar. I've got this big room and I just go in and do the work. I
like to do the words and music simultaneously, so when I go into the studio
I've got the words on one side and my music on the other. I suppose I could do
with some practice.
Q: What about the future? Are you looking forward to
singing and playing again?
Syd: Yes, that
would be nice. I used to enjoy it, it was a gas. But so's doing nothing. It's
art school laziness, really, I've got this Wembley
gig and then another thing in summer.
Q: What about forming a band?
Syd: I'll be
getting something together for the Wembley thing and
then just see what happens.
Q: And now?
Syd: I'm working
on the album. There's four tracks in the can already,
and it should be out about September. There are no set musicians, just people
helping out, like on 'Madcap', which gives me far more freedom in what I want
to do...I feel as if I've got lots of things, much better things to do still,
that's why there isn't really a lot to say, I just want to get it all done.