Musical Analysis of Pink Floyd's 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond'

Jun 18, 2011
Matt Hall

Wish You Were Here album cover - Michael Franz

A detailed look at one of Pink Floyd's most popular large-scale pieces, 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond', from the album Wish You Were Here

In 1975 Pink Floyd were at the peak of their successes, still enjoying the wave of fame and fortune that followed their magnum opus Dark Side of the Moon, which remains the third best-selling album in the world today. After abandoning a musical project involving household objects in place of instruments, the band recorded one of their most creative albums, Wish You Were Here. Making up about two thirds of the album and book-ending the other tracks in two halves, the epic suite ‘Shine On You Crazy Diamond’ was intended as a homage to Floyd’s original leader and guitarist, Syd Barrett.

Overture

The piece is in nine parts, and begins part one by fading in with a thick soundscape of eerie synthesizer drones and a single chord (Gm) played on a string machine. Some of the sound effects left-over from the household objects project are used here to create an airy, atmospheric mood. A soft synth horn played by keyboardist Rick Wright introduces some modest melodic phrases that almost form an overture for the song. When Gilmour’s bluesy guitar takes over, we have moved into part two of ‘Shine On…’.

The drones remain from part one as the guitar plays a short solo, during which the related chords of Gm are used for harmonic effect. These two parts together can be seen as a developing introduction both to the song and to Syd’s life, which began so beautifully but would grow into something a lot madder. As the Gm chord fades away, a single guitar is left alone to play what has become known as ‘Syd’s theme’, four chilling notes that signal the madness to come.

Syd’s Theme

Part three begins as a pounding drum and bass fill builds up tension over the last outing of Syd’s theme, until we explode into a minor blues romp involving the whole band. Syd’s theme is still played at the start of each bar, but now there is a proper chord sequence and a more conventional electric guitar solo. The 6/8 time signature (which characterises most of the song’s rhythm) makes for a galloping, slightly swung feel that reflects Barrett’s care-free attitude and love of life.

The band then lower the energy level slightly for part four as Wright takes a fat synth solo. The piece now feels less rocky and somewhat jazzier, but the chord sequence from part three remains. A guitar solo in a similar vein follows the synthesizer, and the string chords have been replaced by Hammond organ for this section. Throughout the first four parts, everything from the initial soundscape has gradually been dropped and replaced by elements more typical of rock music, and this is parallel to Syd Barrett’s descent into madness, which was certainly not instant.

‘Remember When You Were Young?’

The first section involving vocals is part five, in which Waters sings about Syd’s happy, “shining” formative years, and encourages him to shine on at the end of each measure. The chord sequence here is no longer a blues one, but a rather interesting progression similar to that of a pop ballad but with more chromatic passages. The verses have an AAB structure, with the B section being an epic cadence (the word “shine” is always carried over into the following verse). Two verses are separated by an emotion-fuelled, crying guitar solo from Gilmour.

‘You were caught in the crossfire of childhood and stardom’ sums up the message of the song. Syd was young and innocent yet a bit of a musical genius, and didn’t want to embrace the fame and fortune that perhaps drove him to madness. During the rocking saxophone solo that closes the first half of the piece, the time signature is changed to a swinging 2/4, which certainly makes the song feel unfinished when the last few sax phrases fade into the next song on the album.

At the end of the album, a single, rumbling G note is played by the bass to introduce part six, which is similarly atmospheric to part one. A minimoog solo builds tension towards a loud, rocking section with a high-pitched lap steel solo, both of which being more aggressive in tone than the first five parts of the song. This fast tempo slows back to a steady 6/8 when the vocals return for part seven, which is almost identical to part five but with much sadder lyrics about Barrett’s depleting charisma and deepening madness.

Ambiguous Ending

Part eight is characterised by a funky rhythm which visits 4/4 for the first time in the song. Clavinet and organ provide backing to a synth solo, with the whole feel of the section being neither positive (like parts 1-3) nor sad (like the parts 4-7). It is almost as if this section represents a passing of time, before the melancholy part nine gradually takes over, acting as a musical eulogy to Syd.

A very sad and uncomfortable chord sequence is played by the band, with piano introduced for the first time. As the tension is released, only synthesizer chords are left, and a noticeable change is made from G Minor (the key of the whole 25 minutes of the song) to G Major, creating a much more positive ending to the piece. A whimsical synth plays some codetta melodies, including a brief reference to ‘See Emily Play’, one of Syd’s most well-known songs. The song then fades out for good, and we are left blown away by a musical journey of one man’s ambivalent life.