| "Octopus" | |
|---|---|
| Single by Syd Barrett | |
| from the album The Madcap Laughs | |
| B-side | "Golden Hair" |
| Released | November 14, 1969 |
| Format | 7", 45rpm |
| Recorded | 12 and 13 June 1969 |
| Genre | Psychedelic folk |
| Length | 3:48 |
| Label | Harvest Records |
| Writer(s) | Syd Barrett |
| Producer | Syd Barrett and David Gilmour |
Octopus, also known as Clowns and Jugglers, is a 1969 song by Syd Barrett, and appeared on his first solo album, The Madcap Laughs. The album's title came about as a result of co-producer David Gilmour mishearing a line from this song ("Well, the mad cat laughed at the man on the border..." - although the word "madcap" does figure in another of the song's lyrics, "To a madcap galloping chase"). "Octopus" is also notable for being Barrett's only single as a solo artist. It was released on November 14 1969, two months before the release of The Madcap Laughs.
An early version of the song was released on the Barrett rarities album Opel (1988) under the title "Clowns and Jugglers", which was recorded with the band Soft Machine. The 1993 re-releases of The Madcap Laughs and Opel contain alternate versions of "Octopus" and "Clowns and Jugglers" respectively, as bonus tracks.
I carried that about in my head for about six months before I actually wrote it so maybe that's why it came out so well. The idea was like those number songs like "Green Grow the Rushes Ho" where you have, say, twelve lines each related to the next and an overall theme. It's like a fool-proof combination of lyrics, really, and then the chorus comes in and changes the tempo but holds the whole thing together.
"Octopus" directly quotes a section from the poem "Rilloby-Rill" by Sir Henry Newbolt. The song features a variety of other influences as well.[2]
The B-side of the "Octopus" single - "Golden Hair" - is an acoustic song set to the words of a James Joyce poem called "Lean Out of the Window" which originally appeared on his book of poems entitled "Chamber Music".
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