Hello. This is my first post. My apologies if this has been discussed before.
In 'Brain Damage', Roger sings: "You raise the blade/ You make the change/ You rearrange me til I'm sane." I've always assumed this lyric was about Roger personally witnessing Syd's mental deterioration while still in the band, and the effect it had on Roger's own personal psyche. Yet Syd did exactly that, in the most literal way possible, by shaving off all his hair and eyebrows and putting on a lot of weight.
From what I've read, those who knew or associated with Syd have said that he looked more or less the same in 1974 as he did in the earlier years. Is it possible that the success of DSOTM pushed Syd further over the edge? Did Syd take some cues from the lyrics?
Syd's physical transformation
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rememberaday
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Re: Syd's physical transformation
While Syd did shave his hair off, he certainly never "transformed" as you say. It's not wise for me to assume anything about Syd, especially since I don't even know him personally.
I believe Syd didn't really care about Floyd after him, though he might have paid attention to what they were doing. He still might have seen Floyd as "his" band, after all.
The song Brain Damage, though maybe influenced by Syd's apparent mental condition, has nothing to do with Syd as far as I can tell.
(Welcome to the forum, btw.)
I believe Syd didn't really care about Floyd after him, though he might have paid attention to what they were doing. He still might have seen Floyd as "his" band, after all.
The song Brain Damage, though maybe influenced by Syd's apparent mental condition, has nothing to do with Syd as far as I can tell.
(Welcome to the forum, btw.)
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thefinalcut
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Re: Syd's physical transformation
You think so? In several interviews Roger had mentioned Syd as one of the sources of inspiration, in order to write that song.rememberaday wrote:
The song Brain Damage, though maybe influenced by Syd's apparent mental condition, has nothing to do with Syd as far as I can tell.
(Welcome to the forum, btw.)
According to WP:
"Roger Waters has stated that the insanity-themed lyrics are based on former Floyd frontman Syd Barrett's mental instability, with the line "I'll see you on the dark side of the moon" indicating that he felt related to him in terms of mental idiosyncrasies. The line "And if the band you're in starts playing different tunes..." references Barrett's behaviour near the end of his tenure with the band; because of his mental problems, there were more than a few occasions where Barrett would play a different song than the rest of the band in the middle of a concert. The song has a rather famous opening line, "The lunatic is on the grass...", whereby Waters is referring to areas of turf which display signs saying "Please keep off the grass" with the exaggerated implication that disobeying such signs might indicate insanity..."