Jugband Blues
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "Jugband Blues" | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Song by Pink Floyd | ||
| from the album A Saucerful of Secrets | ||
| Released | June 29, 1968 (UK) July 27, 1968 (US) |
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| Recorded | October 1967 De Lane Lea Studios, London |
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| Genre | Psychedelic rock | |
| Length | 3:01 | |
| Writer(s) | Syd Barrett | |
| A Saucerful of Secrets track listing | ||
| See-Saw (6) |
"Jugband Blues" (7) |
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"Jugband Blues" is a song by British psychedelic rock band Pink Floyd, and is featured on their second album, A Saucerful of Secrets (1968). It was written by Syd Barrett, being his sole writing contribution to the album, and also his last published for the band.
Pink Floyd made two promo films for the song. The first, available on an early Pink Floyd video collection (now out-of-print), shows a seemingly depressed Barrett wandering around aimlessly, singing the song. The second, more straightforward music video, features Barrett and the group miming to the song in a more conventional stage setting, with psychedelic projections in the background. Roger Waters and Rick Wright switch to tuba and trombone respectively in the brass-driven instrumental break.
Allegedly, Barrett wanted a Salvation Army band to play on the track. They were brought in, but when he stated that he wanted them to simply play what they wanted to regardless of the rest of the group, Norman Smith insisted on recorded parts. Eventually both versions were recorded, although during the second, scored version, Barrett wandered off. The first, unplanned version is the one which appears on the album.
The song is viewed by many fans as a sad farewell piece by Barrett who, by the beginning of the recording sessions for Saucerful of Secrets, was already shrinking into a delirious state of mind, exacerbated by his feelings of alienation from the rest of the band, as can be gleaned from the painfully specific lyrics in the song. ("I don't care if the sun don't shine/ And I don't care if nothing is mine/ And I don't care if I'm nervous with you/ I'll do my loving in the winter.")
"Jugband Blues" is the second song from Saucerful to appear on the compilation album Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd (the first being "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun"). It is ordered near the end of the second disc, immediately following "Wish You Were Here", a song written by the rest of the band in 1975 in tribute to Barrett. Despite Jugband Blues being originally released seven years earlier, this is clever ordering, as Barrett's first lines, "It's awfully considerate of you to think of me here / and I'm almost obliged to you for making it clear that I'm not here" appear to be his response to "Wish You Were Here".
[edit] Personnel
- Syd Barrett - Guitar and Vocals
- Richard Wright - Keyboards and Trombone
- Roger Waters - Bass and Tuba
- Nick Mason - Drums and Percussion
with
- 8 members of the Salvation Army (The International Staff Band) - Ray Bowes (cornet), Terry Camsey (cornet), Mac Carter (trombone), Les Condon (Eb bass), Maurice Cooper (Euphonium), Ian Hankey (trombone), George Whittingham (Bb bass), and one other in "Jugband Blues".
