Shine On You Crazy Diamond

There were two strange occurrences during making of the Wish You Were Here album, both involving the song Shine On You Crazy Diamond. According to David Gilmour and Nick Mason of Pink Floyd, on the Wish You Were Here episode of In the Studio with Redbeard, the band recorded a satisfactory take but due to a new mixing console which was installed at Abbey Road, excessive echo from the other instruments all over the drums caused the band to re-record it. Nick Mason stated "with the invention of 16 track and 2-inch tape there was difficulty in editing tape that big and when they recorded this lengthy piece, him and Roger Waters had to record it beginning to end and had to get it right". The other strange occurrence happened during the mixing of the song when an obese and bald Syd Barrett was lurking around Abbey Road, although Nick Mason has since stated that he's not entirely certain whether this was the particular song being recorded when Barrett was in the studio. Apparently, the song was played back, and when asked what he thought, Barrett said it sounded a 'bit old,' and that a second playback wasn't needed when they'd just heard it.

The composition is a tribute to former band member Syd Barrett. Lyrics such as "Remember when you were young?/You shone like the sun" show strong appreciation for the contributions Barrett made to the band. The song's title also echoes Syd's name: Shine on You crazy Diamond. The word "Diamond" in this context corresponds to "Diamonds" in The Beatles classic Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, possibly an intentional reference to Barrett's struggle with LSD.



RIP SYD BARRETT