Wish You Were Here, Crazy Diamond!

Most often, when we listen a song repeatedly in the radio, we don't play must attention to it consciously, and yet, at one point of time, the lyrics become a part of our vocabulary so much so that we start singing when the song plays in the radio again. "Wish you were here" by Pink Floyd is one such song for me, the lyrics of which is as follows:

Wish You Were Here

"So, so you think you can tell Heaven from Hell,
blue skies from pain.
Can you tell a green field from a cold steel rail?
A smile from a veil?
Do you think you can tell?
And did they get you to trade your heroes for ghosts?
Hot ashes for trees?
Hot air for a cool breeze?
Cold comfort for change?
And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage?
How I wish, how I wish you were here.
We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl, year after year,
Running over the same old ground.
What have you found? The same old fears.
Wish you were here."

I never knew that there was a tragic story behind this song. That is, not until very recently. And that tragic story is the life-story of Syd Berett, who founded Pink Floyd.

Considered to be one of the most original lyricists of his day, Syd Berrett was also an innovative guitarist. He was being one of the first to fully explore the sonic possibilities of distortion. However, this did not remain this way for long. Actually, Syd had to leave Pink Floyd just 2 years after he founded it. The man who wrote songs such as the poignant "Jugband Blues," which makes obvious reference to his growing estrangement from the band with lyrics including "and I'm Wondering Who Could Be Writing This Song" was eased eased out of the group. A glimpse of his level of crazy brilliance can be witnessed in the story, where he turns up at the recording studio with a new song he named "Have You Got It Yet". "As he taught the group the song, it soon became obvious that he was changing the chords each time he played it through (hence the title) making it virtually impossible for them to learn it."

And it was not jealousy or ego clash that led to his departure, but the reason was his serious drug addiction and mental illness. And that's why it's a tragic story. And his departure was not without a deep impact on the band. The theme of mental illness and the shadow of Syd's disintegration had always been a recurring theme in all three of Pink Floyd's most successful albums, "Dark Side of the Moon", "Wish You Were Here", and "The Wall".

"Wish You Were Here", which was a tribute to Syd, was reportedly prompted by Syd Barrett's suddenly turning up unannounced at one session, claiming to be ready to work again, which led However, another version of the story tells that when Syd showed up at the studio, bald and fat,no one noticed him in particular, and even his former band members realized his presence only later. Pink Floys members have explicitly acknowledged the song, "Shine on You Crazy Diamond", to be about Syd, their former frontman.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syd_Barrett
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink_Floyd
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychedelic_music
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psych_folk