Golden Hair by Syd Barrett: Issa's Sunday Service, #72

Syd Barrett, the creative force behind the first, classic iteration of Pink Floyd and whose long shadow is still cast over the band's legacy to this day, made some excellent solo recordings.  They are, well, odd, as you might expect, as Syd was on a slippery slope downwards for quite sometime.  Yet his later songs are, occasionally, brilliant, as you also might expect, and this week's selection fits the bill.  Set to the words of James Joyce's 5th poem in his collection Chamber Music, "Golden Hair" is at once totally unexpected and very welcome.

   Golden Hair - James Joyce

    Lean out of the window,
    Goldenhair,
    I heard 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 the window,
    Goldenhair.

Here's a lengthy video in 2 parts, with some remarkable early footage of Floyd in performance, plus an interstellar ride through the times as they were:



Interstellar Overdrive, Part 1

Interstellar Overdrive, Part 2

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If you haven't seen the video of the entire new album Le Noise by Neil Young with Daniel Lanois producing, check it out below.  I would imagine it will only be up for so long.  If you don't have the time or inclination to watch the whole thing, at the 11:40 mark is a great acoustic song about war, titled "Love and War," that should not be missed (just discovered, though embedding is disabled, you can watch and listen to it separately on YouTube here:

Said a lot of things
That I can't take back
Don't really know if I wanna
Been songs about love
I sang songs about war
Since the backstreets of Toronto
I sang for justice
And I hit a bad chord
But I still try to sing
About love and war.

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This week's feature poem comes from Lilliput Review, #107, January 2000.  Enjoy.

December Dawn

The sun comes up

reining a bleak wind.

Love is never enough.

Love is all there is.

Jeanne Shannon

first winter rain--
the world fills up
with haiku

Issa
translated by David G. Lanoue 

best,
Don

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Go to the LitRock web site for a list of all 72 songs
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