Shine On You Crazy Diamond

Remember when you were young, you shone like the sun
Shine on you crazy diamond
Now there's a look in your eyes, like black holes in the sky
Shine on you crazy diamond
You were caught in the crossfire of childhood and stardom, blown on the steel breeze
Come on you target for faraway laughter, come on you stranger, you legend, you martyr, and shine!

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
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!

(Part II)
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
And we'll bask in the shadows 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!



- Released September 15, 1975

- "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" is a nine-part composition in tribute to former band member Syd Barrett

- During the band's recording session, a heavyset man with a completely shaved head and eyebrows wandered into the studio. The band could not recognize him for some time, when suddenly one of them realized it was Syd Barrett. At that time, Barrett had gained a lot of weight and had shaved off all of his hair, including his eyebrows, and the five-year gap since his ex-band mates had last seen him meant that it took some time for them to identify him.

When they eventually recognized Barrett, Waters was so distressed he was reduced to tears. Someone asked to play the song again and Barrett said a second playback wasn't needed when they'd just heard it. Apparently, when "Wish You Were Here" was played, "He [Barrett] stood up and said, 'Right, when do I put my guitar on?'" keyboardist Rick Wright recalled. "And of course, he didn't have a guitar with him. And we said, 'Sorry, Syd, the guitar's all done.'"

When asked what he thought of Wish You Were Here, Barrett said it sounded a "bit old". He subsequently slipped away during the party for Gilmour's wedding (which was, coincidentally, also on that day). It was the last time any of the other band members saw him. Reference