Pink Floyd – See Emily Play

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  My Interpretation:I just don't see this song as being about suicide. I think the key to the meaning of this song is the name Emily. This name is not a usual name. It conjures up images of an upper-class family, or a family that has pretensions of being upper class and have foisted this on their daughter - and she feels somehow trapped by it. She longs to know what others who are more "down to earth" (thus the "gown that touches the ground" i.e. being grounded) but she is out of touch with "normal" every-day people, and so she "feels inclined to borrow somebody's dreams till tomorrow." For someone who is thinking of suicide, there IS no tomorrow. Also, why borrow dreams if you are going to commit suicide? It doesn't make sense. She wants change in her life - fundamental change - and she cannot wait "another day" because she doesn't want to have a life like her parents ("In the room the women go/Talking of Michelangelo"). She doesn't want to misunderstand what is going on in the society around her, so the "other way" to break free from this oppressive life is to lose her mind (meaning to start with a new perspective) and "play". Playing is another way of rebelling, and that is exactly what Emily is doing. It says SEE Emily play - she is playing right now. "Float on a river forever and ever" reminds me of "The Wind in the Willows" - and the name of Pink Floyd's first (Barrett) album took its name from chapter 7 of that book.

  Flagged Fluxiuson January 24, 2013   Link

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  General Comment:i feel most any association to this song deserves credit. it leaves a lot of space to an open mind. the first line for instance, I always have to think about my autistic daughter. trying and misunderstanding. Yet at the same time I feel I have to try harder in order to understand her. This line goes in two directions.
  She is a beautiful girl and so is Emily, I feel.

  Flag Maaierhawkon June 04, 2012   Link

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  General Comment:I really agree with what steve82c_my_AIM_ wrote.
  Sadly people know so very little about Syd Barrett to comprehend that he was in a world of his own. If you think drugs, lsd or his mental disorder is all he was about, you're irrevocably wrong. He was a true artist in every sense of the word. He was not only an incredible lyricist he was also a painter and a writer. He just happened to be too bright for the lay man to understand. His imagination surpassed all human limits. As a person who has read many of his biographies and watched documentaries dedicated to the Floyd that's just how I see him. And like most geniuses he is mythologized.
  As for my interpretation of this song, regardless of whether Emily was real or just a character in Syd's mind, I feel as if its a suicide story. "Emily tries but misunderstands.." talks of the eternal mental struggle a depressive person has. Never understanding people or events happening around them. "She's often inclined to borrow somebody's dreams till tomorrow.." always wishing to be someone else or living another life but her own because she is unhappy with herself. "There is no other way, let's try it another way" refers to her attempts at ending her life but not really succeeding. "Soon after dark Emily cries" talks about her endless nights crying where no one can see her. I really could explain every line but I think it becomes more clear in the end when he says, "put on a gown that touches the ground, float on a river forever and ever.." referring to that moment when a suicidal person finally decides to end it all. Its an important ceremony for Emily so she chooses a beautiful long dress and (presumably) jumps off a bridge into a river and drowns.
  In the end it could not mean any of this, but in my mind thats how it plays out. :)

  Flag DeeLovesRockon May 18, 2012   Link

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    "In the end it could not mean any of this, but in my mind thats how it plays out. "
    At least your honest :)

    Flag vinces81on November 22, 2012  

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    Not to be critical, but too many of these interpretations read WAY too much into some of these earlier works. Syd Barrett himself stated he was simply inspired by a girl he saw after a gig...(after sleeping in the woods on LSD). while he later recanted that story, Nicholas Schaffner, a Floyd biographer, said it was about Emily Young, a British artist (recall Syd was also an artist).
    
    While it can be fun to try to interpret lyrics, it really has to be reasonable - adding long paragraphs of conjecture just seems silly. Syd's songs were not like those by Roger Waters, which often have deep meaning. I'm surprised some of you haven't found 5 paragraphs of meaning behind "Apples and Oranges" too (another one with exteremely simple lyrics). Many of Syd's songs were very simple in concept, lyrics, and guitar chords. The complexity comes in the additional sounds and music added around the main part of the song.
    Keep it simple, people.

    Flag bilbo2001on April 25, 2013  
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  General Comment:i think emily is a metaphor for the egoic mechanism of the mind borrowing dreams to make herself feel complete.. this is what 'tries but misunderstands' means.. the only way to feel complete is to start from now (there is no other day) and to keep seeing emily play without becoming emily, which results in floating on the river forever and ever without feeling the need to borrow dreams and make phony attempts at liberation

  Flag filthylieson April 11, 2011   Link

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  General Comment:i think this song is about a child in a world of adults who tries to grow up too fast.

  Flag expressfreelyon April 04, 2010   Link

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  General Comment:I was also named after this song, My name is Camilla Emily.
  C(amilla) is for see and
  Emily for Emily.

  Flag Camilyon March 12, 2010   Link

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  General Comment:No other song can make me quite like this one does... To me its about the despair a child feels. There is no past and there is no future, only the eternal present of existence. This song hauntingly beautiful.

  Flag Overskyon February 15, 2010   Link

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  My Opinion:I'm not quite sure what this means (at least I have no interpretation of my own) but it makes me rather sad for some reason. It's amazing, 'tis a work of art like any of Syd's music, but it just makes me sad...

  Flag RRForeveron January 19, 2010   Link

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  General Comment:I was named after this song... I know this for a fact.
  I also realize that no one cares... oh well, just thought that I would share.

  Flag screamxshouton November 22, 2009   Link

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  General Comment:LOVE THIS SONG.. VERY GOOD TRIPS!

  Flag trichohmon November 21, 2009   Link

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