Relics

Emily

See Emily Play

Syd claimed to have fallen asleep in the wood and woken up to see a girl, that girl was Emily. I was sleeping in the woods on night after a gig we'd played somewhere, when I saw this girl appear before me. That girl is Emily. -- Syd Barrett, quoted by Nick Kent, New Musical Express, April 13, 1974 Games for may, was a "happening" held at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on May 12, 1967 and Syd was commissioned to write a theme song for the event. Jenner and King felt certain that the result had 'hit' written all over it and suggested Syd rework it for the charts. Needing a new lyrical theme to fill the now redundant chorus line of "Free games for May" Syd looked around him for inspiration and found The Honourable Emily Young, a 16-year-old raver that the UFO crowd had nicknamed "the psychedelic schoolgirl" and looked down upon. Syd echoed this in the opening line: "Emily tries but misunderstands." -- Jones, "Wish You Were Here". ...'See Emily Play'.... was initially entitled 'Games For May' in honour of the event \[a happening\] the Floyd had undertaken at the South Bank Queen Elizabeth Hall. "(They) intended this concert to be a musical and visual exploration - not only for themselves but for the audience too," proclaimed the attendant press release and the show did mark a watershed in their career. -- Brian Hogg, 1993, Crazy Diamond Box Set Booklet ....The tour of America was rife with stories of Syd's eccentric behaviour. The band played on 'American Bandstand' and Syd refused to lip sync the words to 'See Emily Play'. He stood facing the camera, lips impassively shut. -- "Beyond the Wildwood with Brother Syd", Gian Palacios, originally published in Jakarta Program Magazine (September, 1994). [Read more on Last.fm](http://www.last.fm/music/Pink+Floyd/_/See+Emily+Play). User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.

See Emily Play is de tweede single van de Britse rockband Pink Floyd uit 1967 en is geschreven door zanger Syd Barrett. Het nummer verscheen op de Amerikaanse editie van hun debuutalbum The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. Het nummer is opgenomen in de "500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll" van de Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. == Achtergrond == "See Emily Play" is ook bekend als "Games for May", vernoemd naar een gratis concert waar Pink Floyd optrad. Het nummer gaat naar verluidt over een meisje genaamd Emily, dat Barrett zogezegd heeft gezien terwijl hij in het bos sliep nadat hij een psychedelische drug had genomen. Later zei hij dat dit verhaal nep was "...voor de publiciteit". De Emily in het lied is vermoedelijk Emily Young, dochter van de tweede baron van Kennet, Wayland Young. Er is gesuggereerd dat het slidegitaar-effect werd gemaakt door Barrett die een Zippo-aansteker gebruikte, maar andere berichten melden dat hij een plastic liniaal gebruikte. De trein op de cover van de single werd getekend door Barrett. Hoewel opgenomen op een 4-sporen recorder is het nummer - net als hun eerste single Arnold Layne - nooit in echt stereo gemixt.

Syd claimed to have fallen asleep in the wood and woken up to see a girl, that girl was Emily. I was sleeping in the woods on night after a gig we'd played somewhere, when I saw this girl appear before me. That girl is Emily. -- Syd Barrett, quoted by Nick Kent, New Musical Express, April 13, 1974 Games for may, was a "happening" held at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on May 12, 1967 and Syd was commissioned to write a theme song for the event. [Read more on Last.fm](http://www.last.fm/music/Pink+Floyd/_/See+Emily+Play).