Lyrics for Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts I - V) as interpreted by Demau Senae

Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts I - V) Lyrics
Remember when you were young
You shone like the sun
Shine on you crazy diamond
Now there's a look in your eyes
Like black holes in the sky
Shine on you crazy diamond
You were caught on the cross fire of childhood and stardom,
Blown on the steel breeze
Come on you target for faraway laughter,
Come on you stranger, you legend, you martyr, and shine

You reached for the secret too soon
You cried for the moon
Shine on you crazy diamond
Threatened by shadows at night
And exposed in the light
Shine on you crazy diamond
Well you wore out your welcome with random precision,
Rode on the steel breeze
Come on you raver, you seer of visions,
Come on you painter, you piper, you prisoner, and shine!

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Floydian
01-25-2002

Rated 0 
One of the best guitar solos of all time...Gilmour is awesome. The melody is so haunting and the lyrics are pretty righteous. Even though its a long song, especially both part I and II together, it is still cool to listen to.

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Floydian
01-25-2002

Rated 0 
One of the best guitar solos of all time...Gilmour is awesome. The melody is so haunting and the lyrics are pretty righteous. Even though its a long song, especially both part I and II together, it is still cool to listen to. Also, one of the hardest songs to do a good cover of...its eternally floyd

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thatsreallymessedup
03-10-2002

Rated 0 
I totally agree with Floydian. I grew up with Pink Floyd, and I have yet to tire of their music. This is an awesome song and everone should have to listen to it at least once. It's got something for every one. You can listen to country or metal and still like this song. Well.....I dunno bout country, but every thing else you could.

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dancingbears
03-23-2002

Rated 0 
the song is written about the ex-guitarist Syd Barett who took too many drugs and went crazy, written as kind of a eulogy i guess.

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thedealer
04-10-2002

Rated 0 
like dancing bears said, this song was based on syd barett. and if anyone actually has the wish you where album, the album is diticated to him.

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sipayi
04-19-2002

Rated 0 
Whole song is on Syd.
"Remember when you were young, ...You were caught on the cross fire of childhood and stardom, blown on the steel breeze."
Hit the stardom too early, couldn't enudure the dose of success.
"You reached for the secret too soon, you cried for the moon."
Secret = Saucerful of Secrets; Moon = DSOM
"Treatened by shadows at night, and exposed in the light." Drugs at night, could not perform under spotlight (on stage)
"Come on you raver, you seer of visions, come on you painter, you piper, you prisoner, and shine!"
most of it straight, painter = artist; piper = drug addict (smoker);
However, what does "steel breeze" depict? stardom? music industry? difficulties? none fit in properly in all the three references "blown on the steel breeze" first, "rode on it" next, and "sail on it" at the end?

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Snocore04
04-26-2002

Rated 0 
I always thought Piper could also be a reference to "Piper at the Gates of dawn."

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sipayi
05-02-2002

Rated 0 
Snocore, that also kinda fits in, but piper made more sense as a smoker to me, for the other words in the sentence -- raver, dreamer, prisoner, painter (Syd in fact rated himself to be a better painter than musician) depict Syd's personality.

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regb
06-07-2002

Rated 0 
i think the Steel Breeze symbolizes fame, blown on it = fell into it, wasn't planned.
Rode on it =went along for the Ride
Sail on it = Deal with it, accept it and move along, control it.

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FelixCloud
07-20-2002

Rated 0 
Roger Keith Barrett (Syd) was an utter genius. I would like to say that this song celebrates that, but it doesn't. Waters wrote it (the lyrics, that is) and his feelings towards Syd seem somewhat ambivalent. Fair enough, the old painter was a somewhat ambivalent mummy's boy chap, but sod it. Syd was god. Waters had to kick him out of the band because he was unworkable. This is one of the few Floyd tunes to rival his solo work! Syd is Emperor, and long live that chappy-wappy!

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killingFloor
08-23-2002

Rated 0 
Don't try to find out a metaphore in every line or word of the lyrics.
this song is dedicated to syd barrett. this was said by the group members in more than one interview. somebody like to say (and perhaps is ture) that barret came in the studios during the recording of this song.
two months ago i've seen a concert of Waters: while the band played this song, behind them the megascreen over the stage was showing pictures of barrett and the first pink floyd.
i've interpreted this as a sort of celebration of the utter genius (in this i agree with FelixCloud) and the days gone by... it's true that Water had to kick him out of the band, but in my point of view "kick out" is a bit negative.

One think as a not-english-speaker i'd like to know: how do explain the title? i mean: is it imperative, conjunctive or what? "you" and "crazy diamond" are both subjects or objects or what?
thanx to whom answer. bye

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Vozzy
09-24-2002

Rated +1 
To Killingfloor:

Imagine a comma (,) in the title, like this, "Shine On, You Crazy Diamond." You'll see that the You Crazy Diamond is one construction, the subject of the phrase, as in: "You (Crazy Diamond) Shine On," Or "(You Crazy Diamond) Shine On." Consider the title a command sentence, where the "you" is implied.

"You Crazy Diamond" is a similar construction grammatically to "We Three Kings" or "We the People" or "Bob the Builder". These are all one "subject" or noun-phrase.

Hoping this helps,
vozzy

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toolucky1234
10-13-2002

Rated +1 
ive always thought that reaching for the secret to soon was syd discovering how drugs freed his mind to soon, and his crying for the moon was his overdosing to the point of insanity, the the point of mental though not physical death, this can relate back to brain damage on dark side, if you think that waters is telling Syd that a point will come that he will see him again on the dark side of the moon, or where they are both on the same wavelength again, probably in death

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toolucky1234
10-13-2002

Rated 0 
by the way, vozzy, that last commment makes me think your experimenting with the same thing that brought syd down

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1 Reply
Muzzy
03-18-2003

Rated 0 
Bob the builder???

Anyhow, beautiful song, love the guitar playing sooo awesome.

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ledded
04-04-2003

Rated 0 
The song is called Shine On, You Crazy Diamon (Parts I-V)...yeah it's about Syd Barrett...the meaning is pretty obvious

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eddievanhillbilly
05-02-2003

Rated 0 
interesting vozzy. PINK FLOYD reminds me of all that i was, am and ever will be, and of all that is beautiful and true in music. this is not a band that set out to be classic. they're more than that. classic means that its somewhat stuck in time, PINK FLOYD is timeless. thats exactly why every generation has and will keep discovering them and their legend and hold it close to their hearts. they are the pinnacle of great history and music.

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alty6905
05-06-2003

Rated -1 
It's about Santa Clause talking to all the coal for the bad children about how they used to be beautiful diamonds

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wm010403
05-10-2003

Rated 0 
"Shine on You Crazy Diamond", the title is a acronym for Syd Barrett, Shine You Diamond. S-Y-D. The whole album is a tribute to him.

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teen_spirit
06-30-2003

Rated 0 
idk about the whole acronm thing, but regaurdless thisi a grea song. my personal favorite lne is the first one "remember when yo ere youg, you shoe like the sun, shine on you crazy diamond" i think its sayig for syd to find the happiness from earlier in his life and hold on to it.

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phalanx
04-07-2004

Rated 0 
The steel breeze most logically means fame and its utter shock. Imagine a breeze. What do you think of? A nice, cool wind that whips through your hair. Well, a steel breeze would be more like getting hit in the back of the head with an I-beam. Plus, if you're hit with something like steel, you're going wherever the steel is going you have no say in the matter. The immense force of the "steel breeze" propells you and throws you away whenever it feels fit.

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nukethesun
04-14-2004

Rated 0 
I see something a bit different, it was no doubt written in memory of Syd, but it can almost be seen as a call to make something of yourself, or do something worthwhile.

First there's the line "Come on you stranger, you legend, you martyr and shine." A stranger can reach a few people, a legendary person, those with whom he agrees, but a martyr can spread his/her message to friends and enemies alike.

The line about the painter, piper and prisoner, the same analogy can be made. A painter's views can be seen by those looking for his work, a piper (musician) can spread his message to anyone within earshot. A prisoner's message can be heard or seen by anyone who keeps up with current events, even if those in charge don't want his message spread.

This was probably me reading into it from some off angle, but if it is read that way, it can be a very powerful, inspirational piece.

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Mymloch
05-05-2004

Rated 0 
"Piper", to me, refers to him as a sort of "Pied Piper", a leader of men. Popular musicians can often be thought of this in their roles today, though most are not qualified for such a position. I thinkit's safe to say that about Barrett here. Quite simply, too much too fast.

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kci
05-18-2004

Rated 0 
i just got the best of pink floyd cd, and it says this song has 7 parts.. is that true? ? ? ?

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Accordplaya88
05-20-2004

Rated 0 
Well, I have only been listening to Pibk Floyd for about a year now, and I am hooked, they are by far the best band I have listened to. I think this whole song, and the whole "Wish you were here" album is about Syd. It makes perfect sense when you listen to all the lyrics.

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