"Bike" | |
---|---|
Song by Pink Floyd | |
from the album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn | |
Released | 5 August 1967 |
Recorded | 21 May 1967 |
Genre | |
Length | 3:21 |
Label | EMI Columbia (UK) |
Songwriter(s) | Syd Barrett |
Producer(s) | Norman Smith |
"Bike" is a song by the English rock band Pink Floyd, which is the final track featured on their 1967 debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn . [3] [4]
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In the song, Syd Barrett's lyrical subject shows a girl his bike (which he borrowed); a cloak; a homeless, aging mouse that he calls Gerald; and a clan of gingerbread men, because she "fits in with [his] world". With each repetition of the chorus, a sudden percussive noise is heard similar to the firing of two gunshots. The heavy reverb from these bangs immediately cuts out when the following verse begins. Towards the end of the song, he offers to take her into a "room of musical tunes". The final verse is followed by an instrumental section that is a piece of musique concrète : a noisy collage of oscillators, clocks, gongs, bells, a violin, and other sounds edited with tape techniques, apparently the "other room" spoken of in the song and giving the impression of the turning gears of a bicycle. The ending of the song fades out with a tape loop of geese squawking. The song was written for Barrett's then girlfriend, Jenny Spires. She is also mentioned as "Jennifer Gentle" in the song "Lucifer Sam", which is also on The Piper at the Gates of Dawn.
The song also appears on two Pink Floyd compilation albums: Relics (1971) and Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd (2001); [5] it serves as the closing track on both albums.
The Piper at the Gates of Dawn is the debut studio album by English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 4 August 1967 by EMI Columbia. It is the only Pink Floyd album made under the leadership of founder member Syd Barrett ; he wrote all but three tracks, with additional composition by members Roger Waters, Nick Mason (drums), and Richard Wright. The album followed the band's influential performances at London's UFO Club and their early chart success with the 1967 non-album singles "Arnold Layne" and "See Emily Play".
A Saucerful of Secrets is the second studio album by English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 28 June 1968 by EMI Columbia in the UK and in the US by Tower Records. The mental health of singer and guitarist Syd Barrett deteriorated during recording, so guitarist David Gilmour was recruited; Barrett left the band before the album's completion.
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The Madcap Laughs is the debut solo album by the English singer-songwriter Syd Barrett. It was recorded after Barrett had left Pink Floyd in April 1968. The album had a lengthy recording history, with work beginning in May 1968, but the bulk of the sessions taking place between April and July 1969, for which five different producers were credited − including Barrett, Peter Jenner, Malcolm Jones, and fellow Pink Floyd members David Gilmour and Roger Waters. Among the guest musicians are Willie Wilson from Gilmour's old band Jokers Wild and several members of Soft Machine.
"See Emily Play" is a song by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released as their second single on 16 June 1967 on the Columbia label. Written by original frontman Syd Barrett, it was released as a non-album single, but appeared as the opening track of Pink Floyd, the US edition of the band's debut album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967).
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"Arnold Layne" is a song by English rock band Pink Floyd. Released on 10 March 1967, it was the band's first single and was written by Syd Barrett.
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Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett was an English singer, guitarist and songwriter who co-founded the rock band Pink Floyd in 1965. Barrett was the band's original frontman and primary songwriter, known for his whimsical style of psychedelia, English-accented singing, and stream-of-consciousness writing style. As a guitarist, he was influential for his free-form playing and for employing effects such as dissonance, distortion, echo and feedback.
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