My take on Brain Damage is the damage to which the lyrics allude isn't specific to Syd Barrett or the band at the time... (Please people, the entire Pink Floyd catalog is not about Syd.) They reference the brain damage the modern world inflicts on all individuals by overwhelming you with fear (Us and Them), fixations about wealth and power (Money) and general distractions of other people telling you how you should spend your years (Time). The line "And if the dam breaks open many years too soon /And if there is no room upon the hill / And if your head explodes with dark foreboding too / I'll see you on the dark side of the moon" is conveying that everyone is eventually going to become overwhelmed by the forces just described. Having EVERYONE try to escape simultaneously but trying to do so individually only produces more chaos. Successfully escaping the chaos of the modern world requires you to reach out to other like minded people for commiseration. Those relationships are the only refuge that takes you as far away from the madness of this world as you can get -- the dark side of the moon. If you try to escape by yourself, THAT is the path to madness. And THAT is why Brain Damage and Eclipse should be heard as a set because the lyrics to Eclipse itemize all of the things that come into harmony "when the sun is eclipsed by the moon."

The lunatics in the hall are photos of politicians in folded newspapers on the floor.

Brain Damage and Eclipse are basically one song and are never separated. You wouldn't know that but just to let you know. Great reaction to a brilliant album. 👏

You have committed a musical crime for separating Brain Damage with its climax which is Eclipse.

The line, "The lunatic is on the grass" is Waters referencing the beautiful, lush grass outside of Cambridge where he went to school. The lunatic (in this line) is the person who steps on the beautiful grass and ignores the signs to stay off the grass. That's what Waters said in at least two interviews I've seen. Great reaction and btw, you are so adorable 🖤

any color you like is a great example That the band in the past was a live jam band, just 20, 30, 45 minutes of sound, Astro Domini, echos etc.. I was glad to hear it on the album way back then

If you want funky Floyd watch Echoes from Live at Pompei 1971. Before DSOTM. They have al their equipment set up in the collesseum of Pompei playing to nobody. It's beautiful.

Hadn't thought of "Any Colour You Like" being an aural/musical representation of the drug taking/LSD experience, then leading into "Brain Damage", as it did for Syd.

Some love ought to go to Rick Wright for his Keyboard and Synth work to

Should of done Brain damage and eclipse together buddy. They cannot be listened to seperately. Apart from that really enjoying your breakdown of the album. Fresh pair of ears, fresh ideas

The beauty of art is how it allows people to interpret it in their own way. Yours is quite intriguing. Nice job.

We must not forget to mention Alan Parsons' masterful engineering. It was all done with analog equipment on tape. Talk about raising the bar.

"The paper holds their folded faces to the floor" is a reference to a delivered newspaper, its folded page holding the front cover photo of lunatics to the floor.

Thank you. I was in a band in the seventies and we played one Pink Floyd (Time) and two Led Zep's (Rock and Roll - been a long time, and the Ocean). I played guitar and lead vocal on TIME and bass and back-up vocals on the two Led Zep's. The OCEAN was my favourite because of the unusual time signature. YOU have shown me aspects of Floyd's and Zep's music I did not appreciate at the time. You have increased my enjoyment of listening to their music again. I thank you!

Alan Parsons, the producer of this album was 25 or 26 at the time. He is an outstanding musician himself.

I absolutely love the instrumental pieces in this work, they make me feel so much. This is one album I tell people to listen to when they're in a bad place mentally, not that the themes of the album are good for that, but sitting and closing your eyes to be present with this album is a great distraction and catharsis.

Can I just express my delight at you reacting to Dark Side of the Moon in the only real "right" way; in one session - with the individual videos being edited to one/a few songs. Too many reactors tend to listen (with the right intentions) to a track every few days, in which way it's almost impossible to grasp "the album" as a whole. The same goes for "The Wall" (even more so I'd say) and for "Wish You Were Here". Please stick to this format if/when you get to those!

Pink Floyd make music sound genius so effortlessly. Simplicity in combination with imagination are their strongest qualities!

I've enjoyed this breakdown of DSOTM immensely. I know you usually stick to individual song breakdowns, but with this band for their big 4 albums of the 70's it is worth doing what you've done here. I would love to hear you breakdown the Wish You Were Here album. Just like Dark Side, it is essentially one long piece, and is best experienced and understood as a single piece. Nice work you've done with this album. Subscribed.

Isn’t lunatic derived from lunar? Lunar = moon Album title….?

Roger Waters is definitely underrated as a Bass Player but still highly regarded as an artist.

There’s no such thing as a favorite song on dark side of the Moon, but this part blows my fucking mind every time

Great reactions, the one thing you could have done better was the sequencing, as Time and Great Gig should always be paired as should brain damage and Eclipse, which we're always played back-to-back on the radio. The best way to hear this album is always start to finish, it goes so fast as it is so good. Top 5 album of all time for me, amazing work that will be heard centuries from now. Also this album is not specifically about Syd, though I'm sure he inspired Brain Damage. The next album is more a tribute to him and an exposure of the greed of the record industry. More Floyd for sure! Echoes, original studio, followed by it at Pompeii for another wild ride. Enjoy! 🎵🎹🎸

"You raise the blade, you make the change. You re-arrange me till I'm sane" = lobotomy

It wasn't the 70.s it started in the late 60s, amazing reaction I have listened to this all my adult life but I have learnt so much watching you

Each to their own. Great reaction. I take it as more of a commentary on the lunatics supposedly in charge. Politicians, elite celebrities etc.

The lyric about the band playing different tunes is a literal line. Before Syd's mental break he actually would play a different song than the rest of the band was playing.

Excellent reaction thus far. Thought I'd left a comment before. Apologies. Never ever tire of hearing it. See you on the dark side...

"the band you're in starts playing different tunes" there were also times on stage towards the end of Syd's involvements with the band where he would legitimately get confused on stage and be playing a different song than the rest of the band. I believe that's what that line is referencing personally.

Being 16 when that album was released.... combined with the likes of Led Zeppelin, Moody Blues, Pocol Harem, edgar Winter, Yes, Cream, etc, etc... we were so spoiled

Wish you were here, it’s still about Syd. Shine on you Crazy Diamond, have a cigar, welcome to the machine, etc…

Yes, DSOTM was created to be listened to in the Gestalt.

My daughter is studying psychology and spirituality and she has learned that when some people have a spiritual awakening too rapidly it can cause psychosis, in other words their mind gets blown. Certain drugs, even natural ones, can precipitate this. It is my understanding that simply doing some kinds of yoga can do the same thing by raising ones kundalini too fast. If the individual is unprepared and unguided they can end up certified and on meds. Your analysis put me in mind of this concept.

Must say, I generally get fed up with a lot of digging into lyrics/meanings but you are super smart and insightful. Great job

Looking forward to you doing Wish You We’re Here. You will enjoy that album as well.

I think the first verse is about those who won't, or can't, follow the 'Keep of the grass' signs, and don't keep to the accepted pathways through life. The next part is the state of society in general, the pictures of lunacy of politics, celebrity, war, and crime that fill the pages of each daily newspaper posted through his letterbox and landing on his hallway floor. Unfortunately for some there is nowhere to escape to, there is no room upon the hill even for a short while where they may find space and some perspective above all the cares of the world. The only alternative then is to journey inwards to find a little sanctuary. Syd's mental decline did have a lasting effect on the band, there must have been feelings of guilt that they just couldn't reach him anymore and they didn't know how to handle it. His contribution to the band was already seriously on the wain before they reached their second album, on stage he would stand and just stare into the distance, disconnected from his bandmates and the music around him. From being a linchpin of the band, Gilmour described the light going out in Syd's eyes. That last verse has a lot to do with Syd, but it has a wider message to anyone who is not coping with the world around them.

At the beginning of Brain Damage, they're just talking about the "Keep Off the Grass" signs in London parks. The entire album is not about Syd. You should have done Brain Damage AND Eclipse together at the end.

I found my eyes drifting closed as I got lost in the groove - and then I'd snap them open again when I remembered I'm supposed to be watching YOU get lost in the groove 😄❤️

IMO the paper boy could be the LSD dealer. Besides Sugar cubes, LSD was also put onto small paper squares. " The paper holds their folded faces to the floor " LSD users well into their trip, laying on the floor was a pretty normal thing. I could be wrong but that's the best i could come up with. " every day the paper boy brings more " could be a comment on how they couldn't get Syd away from the drug ultimately. He was once found sitting on the street with his girlfriend and she was freaking out, saying Syd had been dosing for 4 or 5 days straight. " And if the band your in starts playing different tunes " is more about the last phase of their gigs where Syd would go on stage and either play the wrong things or one note or nothing at all, while the rest of them scrambled to cover for him. He just wasn't there anymore.

This song is more about how authority (whether its government, media, religion, etc) overwhelm people and wrap them up in their control...a control that, while often financial or political or even physical, is fundamentally about getting into their conscious and brain washing them. That's the brain damage. "The paper holds their folded faces to the floor , And every day, the paperboy brings more" alludes pretty directly to the method of conveying this control through the media and how constant it is every day. The dark side of the moon is the only place to escape this constant assault to control people's way of thinking from those in positions of power and authority.

Any Colour You Like is up there for me as one of my favourite pieces of music ever. Not just Floyd but from anyone. Something about how it all comes together, the build up and then call-and-response type playing - especially with the headphone experience - just blows me away every time. I always have the head tingles, a braingasm, whenever I listen to it and I've listened to it too many times to count but it still happens. Every time. Love it.

Whatch the doc on Yt about the making Whish You WH. They tlk about Syd showing up out of the blue. 1975? Great doc.

That first jam was the conversation between Dorothy and the scarecrow. The staccato guitar is the movement of the scarecrow being untied. Watch for the crow to pluck. The bending guitar notes represents excitement. Notice the happiness and excitement in the guitar? The scarecrows freed for the first time. The really warbly keyboard is him rolling down the hill to the yellow brick road.

I’ve really enjoyed getting your daily reactions!

During Syd’s sad and tragic downfall and slide into insanity, many times he would start playing a song different than what the band was playing. So this is told sort of in retro-perspective: If the band is playing a different song than you are playing, you have vanished (to the DSOTM)

Love the way you dissect each track.... then, sew the entire album back together

Yes, should not have split those tracks. Brain Damage, and Eclipse

This album is 50 years old and young people listening to it for the first time are still blown away. What the hell does that tell you

I have always loved "Any Colour You Like." The guitar channeled through a fast-rate phaser is amazing.

I like your reactions very much. You have a great understanding for what you listen to.

David Gilmour actually played bass on more than half of the studio records

Brilliant analysis, man! Really great.

Dann, I was really hoping he would not flub the landing, even unintentionally, by splitting Brain Damage & Eclipse....😢😢😢😢

When the lyrics start the scarecrow spins a circle and stands giving a speech. The lunatic on the grass is the scarecrow...he was on the grass and he is made of grass he even tucks it in his shirt. His memories would be of children playing... Daisy chains... Laughter. the loonies are Dorothy the scarecrow and the whole gang they're "on the path". Get it? It's not hard. I believe the next lyrics about in the hall are later in the movie the second time around. "You raise the blade you make the change..." This is the scene when they steal the guards uniforms. don't forget the album plays two and a half times through the movie so lyrics that don't fit the first time do the 2nd or 3rd. The last song being eclipse is a message for The Listener to turn the album over and start again. that's why it ends with the heartbeat and starts with the heartbeat.

Some say the dark side of the moon analogy represents the part of ourselves we cannot actually see, grasp or understand. Just as we cannot see the dark side. Note the entire album, as well as Wish You Were Here, and much of the Wall are basically about Syd.

I suggest watch the short clip behind the the making of Brain damage. Yes definitely refers to Syd running through the grass to some place In England instead of on the walkway with respect.

Roger Waters writes a lot of his lyrics from a political and social perspective. To me, the paper reference is about politicians on the front cover of newspapers. This is confirmed in their live performances (as an example, see the Pulse concert version of this song) when as soon as Gilmour starts singing the first verse they are showing videos of people like Thatcher and Reagan in the background - they are the “lunatics”. To me, the song is about how we are conditioned to believe these lunatics by the media and if we question the narrative we are fed, we are labelled the “lunatics” because we don’t conform with what society dictates we should believe. That is how I interpret the lines “you lock the door and throw away the key. There’s someone in my head but it’s not me” and “you rearrange me til I’m sane”. But the beauty of all art is that it’s open to interpretation and it will mean different things to different people. I am glad I found your channel because your analysis is very insightful. I’m looking forward to continuing your Floyd journey with you.

The main reason for bringing Gilmour in is that when they were at gigs Syd would start singing and playing a different song in the middle of the song they were playing. This was the start of his mental decline. They brought Dave in to play Syd's parts and sing. Yes, on the Wish you were Here album Syd showed up at the studio while they were recording. By now he was bald and had put on a lot of weight so much so that they didn't recognize him at first.

I love your interpretations and thinking process. Very erudite, but emotionally connected to the music.

Great stuff....Looks like you're ready for The Wall next.

Echos at Pompeii is a trip.

The overall Theme of the album is " A Little Evil Goes A Long Way" i.e. "Everything Under The Sun is in Tune, but, The Sun is Eclipsed By The Moon"

If it’s melodic bass it’s Gilmour playing it . It’s taken me 30 years plus to understand this . Waters left the music to Dave Gilmour

Did you catch that guitar riff at 5:05 from the song "Jungle Boogie" at all? It was a classic at the time and did you miss the significance of the lyrics at 11:51 "you raise the blade, you make the change, you re-arrange me til I'm sane" that was a description of a lobotomy that Syd Barrett got in the mental institution

You’re spot on. I always thought this album and Wish You Were Here were literally about Syd but you correctly pointed out that it could be about themselves and how they changed or any person for that matter.

What you need to do now, is sit down in a comfy chair in a darkened room with a glass of something interesting, headphones on an just listen to the whole album start to finish and simply absorb the music!! Enjoy!!😁😁🇬🇧

Having listened to this album for over 30 years now, I've come to see the lines " folded faces" and "every day the paperboy brings more" as from the perspective of one who's succumb to Madness. It might be horrifying. Some back story to help contextualize Syd a bit: The madness didn't come on all at once. It started with things like dragging his zippo lighter across the neck of his guitar instead of playing chords. Deciding not to sing live at shows anymore. Then onto stories like Syd laying in bed rationalizing to the band that he was at his full potential there in bed and the physical act of getting up and writing music would limit his potential. And finally with the heartbreaking story of him showing up hairless while the band was tracking the album "Wish You Were Here." Pink Floyd's big 3 albums, I'm convinced after experiencing such things in life myself, is what you get when people who truly experience some traumatic experiences pursue expressing their grief through music. It's beautiful. I can't hear this song without my eyes watering. I lost my grandmother this week after a long battle with dementia. This song always hit, it's never hit harder for me than now. Just beautiful stuff.

They called LSD Papers in the 70th.because there was a drop of LSD on little crazy coloured papers.....

Amsterdaaaam!

Note no psychologist ever diagnosed Barrett with anything. Some suggest Syd may have had synesthesia. His symptoms seem to align more with that then schizophrenia or LSD damage.

There is this legend, I'm not quite sure if its true, that says Syd had episodes in which he just olayed a single note without noticing as the band was playing a whole song, and for me that makes the line "the band your in starts playing different tunes" have more sense

If want to do a Syd Barrett Floyd song, “See Emily Play” is probably their best single and It was a hit.

Every guy in the 1970s had an 8 track of Dark side of the Moon, considered The Make-up Album. Too funny now. Never gets old listening to Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin and Steely Dan album Aja.

You will be surprised to know there is a dude called Rick Wright involved in this album as well BTW.

Its time for floyd's greatest track..."Shine On You Crazy Diamond". Trust Me.

I think the album "Wish you were here" has more to do with Syd then this album.

10th like with 89 views and 3.4K subs

David Gilmour said he plays 40% of the bass of Pink Floyd

Roger Waters had/has some guilt to what happened with Syd. His lyrics were almost a personal interpretation of his own life experiences but if they happened through Syd’s life experiences. Waters lost his father in WWII. It was as if Waters wrote songs from his life, but going through what Syd was going through from 1966 to 1968. It’s not about Syd, but a hybrid of Syd and himself.

Would love to see you listening to Meddle.

IMHO, The 'dark side of the moon' is the band's construct of a metaphor for mental illness. Dark as opposed to light, moon in it's association with lunacy. The entire album is the band's treatise on mental illness based on what they witnessed as their friend Syd Barret went mad. In deed the line "and if your band starts playing different tunes" refers to a Pink Floyd performance at San Francisco's Fillmore in which Syd started banging out random chords on his guitar rather than playing his part of the song. Waters said that in Syd's mind, it was the rest of the band dad departed from the arrangement. Also their tune "On the Run" was created as a fair representation of the sounds schizophrenics hear in their heads.

The title "Any Colour you like", came from market traders selling things like sets dinner services, they would shout "any colour you like" naturally everything was just one colour. The "choice" was an illusion. Like so many choices we "think" we have ...only then to follow the single option along with everyone else.

Do you have a Patreon? I'd love to hear your reactions to other music as well, interesting insights!

If you like the sound of this album, you should check out some music by the engineer of this album, Alan Parsons. He made several albums as The Alan Parsons Project. They are great.

Sometimes a song's lyrics can have more than one meaning, or let's say multiple levels of meaning/message. If you watch one of the live versions back in the day with the full lightshow and movie screen behind the stage you see a montage of images the band feels appropriate to their main message: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/q7aen71zm77NfWw.html (Pink Floyd - Brain Damage (PULSE Restored & Re-Edited)) Yes there is reference to Syd's plight, but also as "stratfanstl" says below - it's also about the induced madness from the barrage of lunatics in the "news". (in the hall, their folded faces to the floor being newspapers, etc) and how we get brainwashed into believing nonsense by this barrage of information. And as you failed to couple BrainDamage with Eclipse, you miss their point about what is on the dark side of the moon.... (it's not Syd's insanity - it's quite uplifting in fact)

Roger waters wrote the best bass lines especially for his skills at playing, a lot of the bass you hear was not played by him when recorded though but they are Rogers Bass Lines 👍

Try listening to Echoes live at pompeii from 1972.

You mention Roger's amazing bass playing but David Gilmour actually played some of the more complex bass music in some albums as l believe Roger wasn't quite confident.

HI JUST LETTING A LOT OF YOU PINK FLOYDIANS THAT YOU MAY NOT KNOW THIS BUT Sir David Gilmour is an excellent bass guitarist as well as a lead guitarist and half of the time David actually played bass guitar on many of the Pink Floyd records because he tended to do it quicker then Roger and that needs to be pointed out. Not sure if a lot of you floydians know this but David not only plays lead guitar, lap steel and bass guitar but also keyboards, drums, saxophone, banjo, mandolin and harmonica. HERE'S A FACT DID YOU KNOW THAT DAVID GILMOUR PLAYED BASS ON PIGS AND SHEEP ON ANIMALS. AND ROGER PLAYED DOGS AS WELL DAVID PLAYED HALF OF THE BASS ON ONE OF THESE DAYS AS WELL AS LOT OF THE BASS ON THE PINK FLOYD ALBUMS. IRONICALLY WINNING ROGER A BASS PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARD POLL IN A BRITISH ROCK PAPER. ROGER WOULD HAVE NOT PULLED OFF HALF THE STUFF HE WAS CREDITED WITH, WITHOUT DAVID GILMOUR AND BOB EZRIN THERE TO ACTUALLY EXECUTE THE IDEAS I know that you keep banging on about Roger Waters on bass guitar, but you need to know these facts and there are a lot more this is only a few of the facts. Don't take my word for it, do your own research and look it up for yourself and you will be surprised what your going learn. 🎸🎸🎷🎹🎶🎼

I don’t think Roger Waters is underrated or overrated. He gets the respect he deserves for what he’s done, mainly The Wall, but also he’s kind of a d-bag. No one can get along with him.

You should react to entire Dark Side of The Moon on PULSE remasterized 2019 (pulse is from 1994)

I think it represents politicians

BTW listen to the song "Have a cigar" from Wish. It can be taken as a autonomic single song. But you will love those lyrics. And a secret even true Floyd fans may not know:: only song sung by a non member. Hard to tell, but that's Roy Harper singing.

great reactions but this album is a lot less about syd than you think, pink floyds albums are not always about syd, and on the albums with music about syd, not all the songs are about him, for some songs about syd the next album, wish you were here is a great album, but with the syd songs there are songs about record companies

Hello creator, I want to give you some insight on this album. All you need to do is watch the “Dark Side of The Moon Concert Video” from the 1994 Tour “Pulse” & you will get a Crystal clear insight of what this album is about. TBH your analysis is way off, not even close to be honest but that’s a good thing when it comes to Pink Floyd, Your journey has just begun my friend & you will soon realize that very little of Pink Floyd is about Drugs & Syd Barrett. Enjoy this Rabbit hole & if you ever find the exit please let us all know👍 Happy listening & your Pink Floyd experience will be your own 😏

Correct me if I am wrong, but wasn't Gilmour playing through a Leslie on some parts of Any Colour?

if you have not listened to the who, you may enjoy" love reign o're me" or:" Babba O'riley"

Not the story of Syd at all though 😂 But I like your approach 👍

did you split brain damage/ eclipse on to two separate episodes? that's a fail

There comes a point where analyzing this album gets a bit too literal. Many good points you raised but there is much more to it than that. Every person has to decide what it means to them. This album is about more than just Syd Barrett. I guess for reactions, I've never been crazy about people analyzing what the song means because it is subjective. That aside, I enjoyed these reactions and thank you for doing them.