# The happy, peppy songs of... Pink Floyd **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 17, 2007, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-happy-peppy-songs-of-pink-floyd/412143 "2007-07-17T15:24:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-happy-peppy-songs-of-pink-floyd/412143/1 "2007-07-17T15:24:54Z")
This should be a short thread. So short, it has already dropped off of page one, and I haven’t even posted it yet. Has Floyd ever had a song with a positive, upbeat message? I’m not familiar with much pre-Meddle stuff, and I don’t know The Division Bell. Of the stuff in between, I can think of Shine On and Wish You Were Here – and those are ultimately about Syd going crazy, AFAIK. Still pretty dark. So what of it? Any silly love songs? Have they ever told us don’t worry, be happy? ---
**Author:** ![Scoundrel\_Swanswater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dfb087/32.png) [@Scoundrel\_Swanswater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scoundrel_Swanswater)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-happy-peppy-songs-of-pink-floyd/412143/2 "2007-07-17T15:27:17Z")
I think they created a log of crazy, funny, happy ditties in the beginning. _Arnold Layne_ comes to mind as well as _See Emily Play_. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-happy-peppy-songs-of-pink-floyd/412143/3 "2007-07-17T15:30:25Z")
“Pre”-Meddle stuff means, apparently, that you are familiar with Meddle? How about the lounge stylings of San Tropez, or the dirty blues of Seamus, to name two offerings? (I’ve actually heard _San Tropez_ on the [del]Muzak[/del] radio!!! And what Scoundrel said. Syd could be dark but he could be happy-peppy too. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-happy-peppy-songs-of-pink-floyd/412143/4 "2007-07-17T15:32:03Z")
_[Learning to Fly](http://www.guntheranderson.com/v/data/learning.htm)_ is probably about as close to happy or inspirational as they get in the past couple of decades. A good pile of their early work was happy in that hippy-dippy-trippy way, and it didn’t necessarily make any sense unless you partook of the appropriate substances. The pilot’s pre-flight chatter is actually drummer Nick Mason during a flying lesson. He and David Gilmour are both pilots now. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-happy-peppy-songs-of-pink-floyd/412143/5 "2007-07-17T15:33:55Z")
Ever heard “[Effervescing Elephant](http://www.pink-floyd-lyrics.com/html/elephant-syd-barrett-lyrics.html)”? It sounds like a kids song. ---
**Author:** ![TheBoneyKingofNowhere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@TheBoneyKingofNowhere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheBoneyKingofNowhere)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-happy-peppy-songs-of-pink-floyd/412143/6 "2007-07-17T15:37:56Z")
[QUOTE=ZipperJJ] Ever heard “[Effervescing Elephant](http://www.pink-floyd-lyrics.com/html/elephant-syd-barrett-lyrics.html)”? It sounds like a kids song. [/QUOTE] I think Syd actually wrote that when he was a kid, which makes it even better. I’ve always kind of liked Atom Heart Mother, which isn’t exactly peppy, but not really dark either. It makes me laugh sometimes, later described by one of the members as “somewhat pompous”. ha. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-happy-peppy-songs-of-pink-floyd/412143/7 "2007-07-17T15:44:12Z")
[QUOTE=Ludovic] “Pre”-Meddle stuff means, apparently, that you are familiar with Meddle? How about the lounge stylings of San Tropez, or the dirty blues of Seamus, to name two offerings? [/QUOTE] And Fearless as well. Come to think of it, even Echos isn’t really that dark, just spacy. And like I said, I don’t really know the earlier stuff, except that I’ve heard Ummagumma a few times. I mostly know the 4 albums after Meddle. Dark stuff, there. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-happy-peppy-songs-of-pink-floyd/412143/8 "2007-07-17T15:47:41Z")
[QUOTE=Scoundrel Swanswater] I think they created a log of crazy, funny, happy ditties in the beginning. _Arnold Layne_ comes to mind as well as _See Emily Play_. [/QUOTE] Check the lyrics again–those songs are anything but happy and funny. (Crazy, yes.) But then there are lighter things like: The Gnome Flaming Bike Candy and a Currant Bun Spanish Piece See Saw Grantchester Meadows Fat Old Sun (the last three being musically downbeat, but lyrically cheerful) …and the ones **Ludovic** mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-happy-peppy-songs-of-pink-floyd/412143/9 "2007-07-17T15:52:49Z")
A lot of stuff on _Piper At The Gates Of Dawn_ is peppy, in the same way as the Beatles’ most psychedelic songs. Try the song “Bike.” 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![duality72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duality72/32/3910_2.png) [@duality72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duality72)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-happy-peppy-songs-of-pink-floyd/412143/10 "2007-07-17T15:59:11Z")
Another vote for Bike. Here’s a [link](http://www.actionext.com/names_p/pink_floyd_lyrics/bike.html) to the lyrics and a track sample. ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-happy-peppy-songs-of-pink-floyd/412143/11 "2007-07-17T16:07:09Z")
[QUOTE=Biffy the Elephant Shrew] (the last three being musically downbeat, but lyrically cheerful) [/QUOTE] And for the opposite, there’s “Free Four,” which is musically cheerful but lyrically kind of a downer: _The memories of a man in his old age Are the deeds of a man in his prime. You shuffle in the gloom of the sickroom And talk to yourself as you die._ “Green Is the Colour” is a fairly sweet love song, though of course it’s got a downer line or two in it. Something about “Fine is the line between the hopeless and the dying”? Oh, and **Ludovic** , I remember hearing “San Tropez” in the grocery store once. One of those odd moments when you suddenly notice the background music and go, “What the hell?” ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-happy-peppy-songs-of-pink-floyd/412143/12 "2007-07-17T17:08:55Z")
[QUOTE=Biffy the Elephant Shrew] Candy and a Currant Bun [/QUOTE] The only way Candy and a Currant Bun could be more psychedelic is if they kept the original title 🙂 Let’s Roll Another One > [@](#): > > Flaming It’s lyrics and delivery and theme are ostensibly happy, but it’s psychedelic key and possibility to touch someone who can’t see you make it sort of creepy. Actually, I can’t think of a song off of PatGoD that doesn’t seem to be written in some sort of psychedelic not-major not-minor key, although I’m pretty bad at identifying keys, although the [allmusic listing](http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:h9frxqr5ldje) agrees with me if their use of “chromaticism” means the same thing I am meaning here. A lot of the stuff from PatGoD comes off as creepy because of this and because of Syd’s singing, but you can still tell that they were written in the _spirit_ of lightheartedness if they didn’t fully achieve it. **Biffy** , I’d agree that Arnold Layne isn’t a very happy song because of the lyrical content, but I’d disagree about See Emily Play: I can’t really think of a song with happier lyrics. It’s just that the key doesn’t seem to agree with the lyrics and singing, (with again the caveat that I’m pretty bad at identifying key and mode,) but in _Emily’s_ case the lyrics and delivery totally make up for this. Happiest. Song. Ever. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-happy-peppy-songs-of-pink-floyd/412143/13 "2007-07-17T17:32:55Z")
[QUOTE=Ludovic] **Biffy** , I’d agree that Arnold Layne isn’t a very happy song because of the lyrical content, but I’d disagree about See Emily Play: I can’t really think of a song with happier lyrics. It’s just that the key doesn’t seem to agree with the lyrics and singing, (with again the caveat that I’m pretty bad at identifying key and mode,) but in _Emily’s_ case the lyrics and delivery totally make up for this. Happiest. Song. Ever. [/QUOTE] Wow, my take on these lyrics is so totally the opposite that I wonder if I’m being whooshed. The first verse has Emily “try[ing] but misunderstand[ing]” and living vicariously on other people’s dreams, the second verse has her crying and “gazing through trees in sorrow,” and the last verse… _Put on a gown that touches the ground, Float on a river forever and ever, Emily…_ …now maybe Syd had in mind a candy-colored psychedelic Lucy in the Sky-type boat ride, but those lines remind me of nothing so much as the famous painting of the drowned [Ophelia](http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Millais_-_Ophelia.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-happy-peppy-songs-of-pink-floyd/412143/14 "2007-07-17T17:38:24Z")
[QUOTE=Biffy the Elephant Shrew] The first verse has Emily “try[ing] but misunderstand[ing]” [/quote] as do many children when they emulate adult behavior. > [@](#): > > and living vicariously on other people’s dreams, okay, perhaps there is something to that. > [@](#): > > the second verse has her crying and “gazing through trees in sorrow,” but that’s only until “tomorrow” when she can play again. > [@](#): > > _Put on a gown that touches the ground, > Float on a river forever and ever, Emily…_ > > …now maybe Syd had in mind a candy-colored psychedelic Lucy in the Sky-type boat ride, but those lines remind me of nothing so much as the famous painting of the drowned [Ophelia](http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Millais_-_Ophelia.jpg). I can’t help but visualize it as the former–the latter never even crossed my mind. ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-happy-peppy-songs-of-pink-floyd/412143/15 "2007-07-17T17:41:40Z")
I’ve got a bike, you can ride it if you like. It’s got a basket, a bell that rings And things to make it look good. I’d give it to you if I could, but I borrowed it. You’re the kind of girl that fits in with my world. I’ll give you anything, everything if you want things. Syd when south before I was even born but I still miss him ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-happy-peppy-songs-of-pink-floyd/412143/16 "2007-07-17T17:53:54Z")
Another vote for “See Emily Play” as an upbeat song. I see it as about drug experimentation. Perhaps she is maturing and no longer even plays outside, so it’s suggested she should find a way to entertain herself without leaving the house. There’s just a touch of darkness in the honesty of “You’ll lose your mind”, but it seems mainly psychedelically happy to me. The video (watchable on Youtube) is a playful romp in the park as well. “Bike” is sort of upbeat, but there’s the slightly discordant melody, especially on “You’re the kind of girl who fits into my world”, which comes off creepy to me. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-happy-peppy-songs-of-pink-floyd/412143/17 "2007-07-17T17:58:30Z")
Agree with “Learning to Fly.” What about “On the Turning Away,” from the same album. This part: > [@](#): > > No more turning away > From the weak and the weary > No more turning away > From the coldness inside > Just a world that we all must share > It’s not enough just to stand and stare > Is it only a dream that there’ll be > No more turning away? Seems to convey a pretty good message. Or at least a hopeful one. ---
**Author:** ![CJJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecc23a/32.png) [@CJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CJJ)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-happy-peppy-songs-of-pink-floyd/412143/18 "2007-07-17T18:00:33Z")
A bit off-topic, but if you want a little happy & peppy Pink Floyd, check out [Polka Floyd](http://myspace.com/polkafloyd), a band that remixes classic Floyd into a polka format (please note, I’m not associated with this band at all, but I did happen to catch a live show of theirs a couple of weekends ago, and it’s been a while since I’d seen a crowd that into a bar band). ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-happy-peppy-songs-of-pink-floyd/412143/19 "2007-07-17T19:28:33Z")
Huh. Let me rephrase the OP: Happy and peppy songs… by Roger? ---
**Author:** ![fessie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@fessie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fessie)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-happy-peppy-songs-of-pink-floyd/412143/20 "2007-07-17T19:30:57Z")
bwahaha – reminds me of the time my Aunt bought _A Collection of Great Dance Songs_, which I inherited as soon as she listened to it. 😃 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-happy-peppy-songs-of-pink-floyd/412143.md?page=2)