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See Emily Play
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Syd Barrett

See Emily Play is the second single by Pink Floyd, written and sung by lead singer and guitarist Syd Barrett. The song was released in June 1967 and has the honor of being included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs That Shaped Rock And Roll. It's a masterpiece of the psychedelic era which features slide guitars, echoey vocals, and an instrumental interlude with a piano part that was recorded at a slow tempo and then speeded up to sound like a Baroque harpsichord piece on acid. It's a Syd Barrett classic, with a tip of the hat to classical music.

Barrett Meets Bach

Syd Barrett played a ukulele when he was a young boy. So you could say The Ukulele Scramble had a connection (though somewhat convoluted) to his music. In our version of See Emily Play we tried to channel the mystical feel of the song on our ukes. But it was Barrett's legendary piano instrumental where we were most inspired. Instead of speeding up our ukuleles, we instead turned to a real Baroque classic by playing the main theme of Bach's 1st Goldberg variation as our interludes. While originally written for keyboard, Bach's classic of two part counterpoint has become a popular piece for plucked instruments like guitar and mandolin. It also sits pretty well on the uke. And it was great fun to scramble up music by Barrett and Bach.

Read the review by New York Music Daily
Lyrics

Emily tries, but misunderstands
She's often inclined to borrow
Somebody's dreams 'till tomorrow

There is no other day
Let's try it another way
You'll lose your mind and play
Free games for May
See Emily play

Soon after dark, Emily cries
Gazing through trees in sorrow
Hardly a sound 'till tomorrow

There is no other day
Let's try it another way
You'll lose your mind and play
Free games for May
See Emily play

Put on a gown that touches the ground
Float on a river
for ever and ever
Emily

There is no other day
Let's try it another way
You'll lose your mind and play
Free games for May
See Emily play

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