Driftwood 10


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page 57  Well, the line from Shakespeare has definitely brought us out of our shipwrecking context. Sorry, at least we haven't been distracted by seeing that "out of context" photo of Syd. Perhaps it isn't good to follow these paths, and it's better to use a good piece of driftwood on the sea of speculation. It's an ocean with many routes across it: for example, to Palacios those lines of "She Took A Long Cold Look" did not recall that Shakespeare play, but Thomas Hardy's "The Colonel's Soliloquy" ("I'm apt at change of wind to feel a twitch, or at a change of clime").

So be careful to not turn interpretation into pure speculation, as entertaining as it is meaningless if we really want to get inside Opel. One way is to only consider interpretations which are coherent with the whole song.

On the other hand, though it's nothing new in songwriting techniques, it may be helpful to mention that Syd said he liked to give his songs more than one possible interpretation.

 [How important are lyrics to you?] Very important. I think it's good if a song has more than one meaning. Maybe that kind of song can reach far more people, that's nice. On the other hand I like songs that are simple, I liked "Arnold Layne" because to me it was a very clear song. &mdash;  Syd Barrett , 1971

 sources → Dadomo, Giovanni. "The Madcap Speaks... ." Terrapin: Magazine of the Syd Barrett Appreciation Society 10 (1974): 3. Print. http://www.sydbarrett.net/subpages/articles/madcap_speaks_terrapin.htm