Pink Floyd

Songwriter: Richard Wright Roger Waters Nick Mason David Gilmour

He made his way to the border
In the shadow, under the trees
Down by a stream, in a hollow
Turn your head, feel the breeze

And the Red Queen was waiting for the news
For the White King to move
And the balance hung upon the head of one who tried
To stay within the shadows
And keep his undercover secret tight

They let him in by a backway
Into a chamber reserved for the Queen
She took the note that he gave her
Opened it slowly and started to read

Run to the treasury and bring me back some gold
Give it to the pawn who came, she cried
He says the White King thinks the game of chess is wrong
And all the courtiers crowded her
And this is what she told the gathered round

Go to the store by the dungeon
Take all the red paint, take all the white
Make up a newborn colour
Cover your neighbor, we'll be alright

There will be no game today, she cried across the board
Every day will be a holiday
And all the pieces cheered as tidings spread abroad
And the Pink Queen sat
And smiled at the cat, who smiled back

Pink Floyd was a British rock band who managed to carve a path for progressive and psychedelic music in a way that was uniquely fascinating at the time and has remained equally momentous in the modern age. The name “Pink Floyd” came from two blues musicians that founding member Syd Barrett idolized—Pink Anderson and Floyd Council.

The band was formed in 1965 London by Barrett (guitars, vocals), Nick Mason (drums), Roger Waters (bass), and Richard Wright (keyboards). Sometime after releasing their debut album, 1967’s The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, the group saw the addition of a second singer-guitarist, David Gilmour. This acted largely as a means of replacing Barrett, who was forced to leave in 1968 for mental health reasons, resulting in Waters taking over as the main vocalist.

The band broke into the mainstream with 1973’s Dark Side of the Moon, an album that became one of the best-selling and most influential records in music history. Their follow-up efforts, 1975’s Wish You Were Here and 1977’s Animals, also sold well. However, the band started to see some in-fighting while making their next album, a rock opera about how Waters felt frustrated and detached from his audience. Waters seemingly became extremely controlling, firing Wright over disputes about touring and his contributions to the album. The result, 1979’s The Wall, became the best-selling double album of all time. It spawned iconic songs such as the #1 hit, “Another Brick in the Wall, Pt. 2,” and the melodic “Comfortably Numb.”

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Zabriskie Point

From the album

Zabriskie Point (1970)

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Zabriskie Point