golden hair

in the colourful histories of musicians, there is as much information and discussion about those who have fallen by the wayside as there is about those who have reason to stardom. somehow falling makes them more human or in some way their vulnerability makes them less worthy of veneration. some dismiss those

who don’t achieve and maintain fame as weak or selfish or thoughtless.

its's intriguing to me that little consideration is given to the terrible torments so many of them experienced after having been offered the key to the door of success, or talents beyond those of the ordinary only to find that the extraordinary cost of acquiring that key is beyond the abilities of most human beings to bear.

one such musician was syd barrett. before i started researching this entry, syd was a name i knew only through association with the beginnings of a band who made three albums that i admire. the band - pink floyd. the albums - meddle, the dark side of the moon, and wish you were here.

here’s syd barrett . . .

and here’s pink floyd in 1968 with syd (second from left) . . .

syd released two solo albums, one of which is entitled "the madcap laughs"

which contains a beautiful version of a james joyce poem entitled “lean out of the window”

which syd reworked as “golden hair”.

here’s james joyce’s original poem . . .

lean out of the window

lean out of the window,

goldenhair,

i hear you singing

a merry air.

my book was closed,

i read no more,

watching the fire dance

on the floor.

i have left my book,

i have left my room,

for i heard you singing

through the gloom.

singing and singing

a merry air,

lean out of the window,

goldenhair.

and here is syd barretts reworking of “lean out of the window” - “golden hair”.