The Narrow Way

"The Narrow Way" is a section on the studio half of Pink Floyd's fourth album Ummagumma.^[1] It was written and performed by David Gilmour and is divided into three parts. The only musician to feature is the composer (in this case, Gilmour), who recorded the song using multiple overdubs to play all the instruments himself.

Part one of the song was called "Baby Blue Shuffle in D minor" when played by the band in a BBC broadcast on 2 December 1968;^[2] it also strongly resembles the tracks "Rain in the Country (take 1)" and "Unknown Song" recorded (but eventually not used) for the soundtrack of Michelangelo Antonioni's film Zabriskie Point in November/December 1969. This portion features layered acoustic guitar with some spacey effects overtop.

Part two features an electric guitar and percussion which modulate heavily at the end, forming a drone that leads into part three.

Part three of the song features Gilmour's only vocal contribution to the studio part of the album. This final part was incorporated into The Man and the Journey by the full band on their 1969 tour.

Personnel

• David Gilmour — guitars, vocals, bass, piano, organ, drums

Cover versions

• Part 2 was covered by American heavy metal band Freak Seed during the recording sessions for their 1996 EP Grout. However, this version would not be released until 1999 on the Zero Reflection compilation containing live, rare, and unreleased material.

References