Bike (song)
| "Bike" | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Song by Pink Floyd from the album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Published | Magdalene Music/Essex Music | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Released | 5 August 1967 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Recorded | 21 May 1967 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Genre | Psychedelic rock, musique concrète | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Length | 3:21 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Label |
EMI Columbia (UK) Tower (US) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Writer(s) | Syd Barrett | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Producer(s) | Norman Smith | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
"Bike" is a song by British rock band Pink Floyd, which is the final track featured on their 1967 debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn.[1][2]
Information
In the song, Syd Barrett's lyrical subject shows a girl his bike (which he borrowed); a cloak; a homeless, aging mouse that he calls Gerald; and a clan of gingerbread men, because she "fits in with [his] world." With each repetition of the chorus, a sudden percussive noise is heard similar to the firing of two gunshots. Towards the end of the song, he offers to take her into a "room of musical tunes". The final verse is followed by an instrumental section that is a piece of musique concrète: a noisy collage of oscillators, clocks, gongs, bells, a violin, and other sounds edited with tape techniques, apparently the "other room" spoken of in the song and giving the impression of the turning gears of a bicycle. The ending of the song fades out with a tape loop of the band members laughing reversed and played at double speed. The song was written for Barrett's then girlfriend, Jenny Spires. She is also mentioned as "Jennifer Gentle" in the song "Lucifer Sam", which is also on The Piper at the Gates of Dawn.
Other album appearances
The song also appears on two Pink Floyd compilation albums: Relics (1971) and Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd (2001);[3] it serves as the closing track on both albums.
Cover versions
- P-Model covered this song for their 1984 album Another Game.[4] The song's lyrics were adapted by P-Model bandleader Susumu Hirasawa, who focused on Japanese lyrics which sounded similar to that of the English version rather than a direct translation of the song's lyrics, turning it into a parodic version; the cover also features a toy piano sound played by a Yamaha DX7.
- The Hotrats covered this song on their 2009 album Turn Ons.[5]
- Phish has performed this song at (to date, Sept. 2015) 41 of their shows, often with the drummer, Jon Fishman, playing a baby blue Electrolux vacuum cleaner.[6]
Personnel
- Syd Barrett – electric guitars, double-tracked lead vocals, laughing, tape effects
- Richard Wright – harmonium, violin (in the 2nd half), celesta, piano, tack piano, piano strings, double-tracked backing vocals (final verse), laughing, tape effects
- Roger Waters – bass, laughing, tape effects
- Nick Mason – drums, timpani, chimes, percussion, laughing, tape effects
References
- ↑ Strong, Martin C. (2004). The Great Rock Discography (7th ed.). Edinburgh: Canongate Books. p. 1177. ISBN 1-84195-551-5.
- ↑ Mabbett, Andy (1995). The Complete Guide to the Music of Pink Floyd. London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-4301-X.
- ↑ "Echoes: the album credits". Pink Floyd. Archived from the original on 2 June 2010. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
- ↑ "[PA-05] Another Game". NO ROOM. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
- ↑ Thomas, Stephen. "Turn Ons - The Hotrats : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
- ↑ "Bike History - Phish.Net". Retrieved 9 September 2015.
