My Top 1000 Songs #930: Jugband Blues

[I've been writing up my Top 1000 songs on a daily basis--you can see them all in descending order by hitting the All My Favorite Songs tag.]

Is it possible to appreciate this song without understanding the context of Syd Barrett's mental illness and departure from Pink Floyd? I'm guessing not. I mean, it's a cool song, starting out as a pretty ballad with a skewed time signature, then shifting into a cacophonous marching band, then shifting once again into all-out deep-space chaos a la the debut album's "Interstellar Overdrive," before finally ending with a quietly devastating coda. Cool, sure, but what to make of it?

Yet here, more than in most songs, context is everything. After forming the band and leading it through some fun singles and a groundbreaking debut, Barrett--whether due to mental illness, LSD overindulgence, or both--went off the deep end. Way off. The band was forced to bring on guitarist David Gilmour, initially playing a few gigs as a 5-piece before simply leaving Syd at home and gradually becoming the version of Pink Floyd that ultimately achieved massive success.

Hence, while ostensibly still a member of the band, 1968's sophomore LP A Saucerful of Secrets is mostly Syd-free. (Although it's fun to create an alternate-universe Saucerful which is more Syd-heavy.) The exception is the album-closing "Jugband Blues," essentially Barrett's lone contribution to the record, which sounds, both lyrically and musically, like the last gasp of a man falling apart. The opening couplet lays out the scenario quite clearly: "It's awfully considerate of you to think of me here. And I'm most obliged to you for making it clear that I'm not here." And then he leaves us with a couple questions. "And what exactly is a dream? And what exactly is a joke?" And that was it for poor Syd.

Sure, he managed a couple solo albums, helped out by a few members of the band--both records magical in their own way--before quietly retiring from society. But "Jugband" feels like a proper farewell.

Fun animated video:

And another fun animated video:

Here's an interesting re-working of the song by Opal (David Roback, post-Rain Parade and pre-Mazzy Star), who took their band name from a Barrett solo track:

Cool cover I found on YouTube: