Matilda Mother: Difference between revisions

"Matilda Mother"
"Matilda Mother"
Song by Pink Floyd
from the album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn
Released	5 August 1967
Recorded	21 February 1967
Genre	Psychedelic rock; baroque pop;
Length	3:08
Label	EMI Columbia (UK); Tower (US);
Songwriter(s)	Syd Barrett
Producer(s)	Norman Smith

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"Matilda Mother" is a song by the English rock band Pink Floyd, featured on their 1967 debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn.^[2]^[3] Written by Syd Barrett, it is sung mostly by Richard Wright with Barrett joining in on choruses and singing the whole last verse. It was the first song recorded for the album.

Lyrics and music

The lyrics quote fragments of fairy tales as read from a book to the singer by his mother ("read(ing) the scribbly black", referring to writing in a book as a child sees it), and in the chorus he implores her to "tell me more".^[4] "Matilda Mother" represents a common theme in Barrett's work: his nostalgia for childhood and awareness that it could not be regained.^[5]

The song begins with a bass and organ introduction in which Roger Waters repeatedly plays the B on the 16th fret of the G-string by varying the lower note from D to F# on the D string. Unlike many older beat and pop songs, the guitar rarely plays chords, and most unusually for Western music, Wright provides an organ solo in the F# Phrygian dominant scale with a natural sixth instead of its typical flatted counterpart. The song ends with a simple E mixolydian-based waltz with wordless vocal harmonies of Wright and Barrett. ^{[citation needed]}

Barrett originally wrote the song around verses from Hilaire Belloc's Cautionary Tales,^[6] in which a series of naughty children, including Matilda, receive their (often gruesome) comeuppance. He was forced to rewrite^[7] and re-record the track when Belloc's estate unexpectedly denied permission to use these lyrics.^[8]

Later release

On the Masters of Rock compilation album, the song was misspelled "Mathilda Mother".

Personnel

Syd Barrett – electric guitars, double-tracked lead vocals (choruses, bridge and final verse)
Richard Wright – Hammond organ, Farfisa organ, double-tracked lead vocals (first two verses and choruses)
Roger Waters – bass guitar
Nick Mason – drums

Alternative versions

A previously unreleased alternative version was released in a 40th anniversary reissue of The Piper at the Gates of Dawn; parts of this version's lyrics are also from Belloc's Cautionary Tales, i.e. Jim and Henry King, whereas the chorus is the same as in the standard version.

A different, stereo remix of the same alternative version was also released on the Barrett compilation, An Introduction to Syd Barrett in 2010.^[9] An extended version of this 2010 mix appeared in the Pink Floyd compilation box set The Early Years 1965–1972, which also contains two live recordings of the song.

References

^ Robert Dimery; Michael Lydon (23 March 2010). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. ISBN 978-0-7893-2074-2.
^ Strong, Martin C. (2004). The Great Rock Discography (7th ed.). Edinburgh: Canongate Books. p. 1177. ISBN 1-84195-551-5.
^ Mabbett, Andy (1995). The Complete Guide to the Music of Pink Floyd. London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-4301-X.
^ Reisch, George A. Pink Floyd and Philosophy: Careful With that Axiom, Eugene!. Chicago: Open Court, 2007, ISBN 978-0-8126-9636-3, p. 234.
^ Palacios, Julian. Syd Barrett & Pink Floyd: Dark Globe. London: Plexus, 2010, ISBN 978-0-85965-431-9, p. 236
^ Chapman, Rob (2010). "Distorted View – See Through Baby Blue". Syd Barrett: A Very Irregular Head (Paperback ed.). London: Faber. p. 149. ISBN 978-0-571-23855-2.
^ Chapman, Rob (2010). "Distorted View – See Through Baby Blue". Syd Barrett: A Very Irregular Head (Paperback ed.). London: Faber. p. 150. ISBN 978-0-571-23855-2.
^ "Syd's Fractured Fairy Tales". Retrieved 2008-03-18.
^ "An Introduction to Syd Barrett - Syd Barrett | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 25 July 2017.

[Dimery_2010-1] Robert Dimery; Michael Lydon (23 March 2010). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. ISBN 978-0-7893-2074-2.

[2] Strong, Martin C. (2004). The Great Rock Discography (7th ed.). Edinburgh: Canongate Books. p. 1177. ISBN 1-84195-551-5.

[3] Mabbett, Andy (1995). The Complete Guide to the Music of Pink Floyd. London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-4301-X.

[4] Reisch, George A. Pink Floyd and Philosophy: Careful With that Axiom, Eugene!. Chicago: Open Court, 2007, ISBN 978-0-8126-9636-3, p. 234.

[5] Palacios, Julian. Syd Barrett & Pink Floyd: Dark Globe. London: Plexus, 2010, ISBN 978-0-85965-431-9, p. 236

[Irgh149-6] Chapman, Rob (2010). "Distorted View – See Through Baby Blue". Syd Barrett: A Very Irregular Head (Paperback ed.). London: Faber. p. 149. ISBN 978-0-571-23855-2.

[Irgh150-7] Chapman, Rob (2010). "Distorted View – See Through Baby Blue". Syd Barrett: A Very Irregular Head (Paperback ed.). London: Faber. p. 150. ISBN 978-0-571-23855-2.

[8] "Syd's Fractured Fairy Tales". Retrieved 2008-03-18.

[9] "An Introduction to Syd Barrett - Syd Barrett | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 25 July 2017.

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@@ Line 3: / Line 3: @@
 | cover      =
 | alt        =
-| type       =
+| type       = song
 | artist     = [[Pink Floyd]]
 | album      = [[The Piper at the Gates of Dawn]]
-| EP         =
 | written    =
-| published  = Magdalene Music/Essex Music
+| published  =
 | released   = 5 August 1967
-| format     =
 | recorded   = 21 February 1967
 | studio     =
-| venue      =
+| genre      =
+* [[Psychedelic rock]]
-| genre      =
+* [[baroque pop]]<ref name= "Dimery 2010">{{cite book|author1=Robert Dimery|author2=Michael Lydon|title=1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition|date=23 March 2010|publisher=Universe|isbn=978-0-7893-2074-2}}</ref>
 | length     = 3:08
-| label      = [[EMI Columbia Records|EMI Columbia]] (UK)<br />[[Tower Records (record label)|Tower]] (US)
+| label      =
+* [[EMI Columbia Records|EMI Columbia]] (UK)
+* [[Tower Records (record label)|Tower]] (US)
 | writer     = [[Syd Barrett]]
-| composer   =
-| lyricist   =
 | producer   = [[Norman Smith (record producer)|Norman Smith]]
-| prev_title =
+| misc       =
-| prev_year  =
-| title      =
-| next_title =
-| next_year  =
 }}
-"'''Matilda Mother'''" is a song by [[United Kingdom|British]] band [[Pink Floyd]], featured on their 1967 debut album, ''[[The Piper at the Gates of Dawn]]''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Strong |first=Martin C. |title=The Great Rock Discography |publisher=[[Canongate Books]] |location=Edinburgh |isbn=1-84195-551-5 |page=1177 |date=2004 |edition=7th}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Mabbett |first=Andy |title=The Complete Guide to the Music of Pink Floyd |publisher=[[Omnibus Press]] |location=London |isbn=0-7119-4301-X |date=1995}}</ref> Written by [[Syd Barrett]], it is sung mostly by [[Richard Wright (musician)|Richard Wright]] with Barrett joining in on choruses and singing the whole last verse. It was the first song recorded for the album.
+"'''Matilda Mother'''" is a song by the English [[Rock music|rock]] band [[Pink Floyd]], featured on their 1967 debut album, ''[[The Piper at the Gates of Dawn]]''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Strong |first=Martin C. |title=The Great Rock Discography |publisher=[[Canongate Books]] |location=Edinburgh |isbn=1-84195-551-5 |page=1177 |date=2004 |edition=7th}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Mabbett |first=Andy |title=The Complete Guide to the Music of Pink Floyd |publisher=[[Omnibus Press]] |location=London |isbn=0-7119-4301-X |date=1995}}</ref> Written by [[Syd Barrett]], it is sung mostly by [[Richard Wright (musician)|Richard Wright]] with Barrett joining in on choruses and singing the whole last verse. It was the first song recorded for the album.
 ==Lyrics and music==
 The lyrics quote fragments of fairy tales as read from a book to the singer by his mother ("read(ing) the scribbly black", referring to writing in a book as a child sees it), and in the chorus he implores her to "tell me more".<ref>Reisch, George A. [https://books.google.com/books?id=qxlBF7G5tjcC&pg=PA234 ''Pink Floyd and Philosophy: Careful With that Axiom, Eugene!'']. Chicago: Open Court, 2007, {{ISBN|978-0-8126-9636-3}}, p. 234.</ref> "Matilda Mother" represents a common theme in Barrett's work: his [[nostalgia]] for childhood and awareness that it could not be regained.<ref>Palacios, Julian. ''Syd Barrett & Pink Floyd: Dark Globe''. London: Plexus, 2010, {{ISBN|978-0-85965-431-9}}, p. 236</ref>
-The song begins with an unusual bass and organ interlude. [[Roger Waters]] repeatedly plays the B on the 16th fret of the G-string by varying the lower note from D to F# on the D string. Unlike many older beat and pop songs, the guitar rarely plays chords, and most unusually for Western music, Wright provides an organ solo in the F# [[Phrygian dominant scale]] with a natural sixth instead of its typical flatted counterpart. The song ends with a simple E [[Mixolydian Mode |''mixolydian'']]-based waltz with wordless vocal harmonies of Wright and Barrett. {{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
+The song begins with a bass and organ introduction in which [[Roger Waters]] repeatedly plays the B on the 16th fret of the G-string by varying the lower note from D to F# on the D string. Unlike many older beat and pop songs, the guitar rarely plays chords, and most unusually for Western music, Wright provides an organ solo in the F# [[Phrygian dominant scale]] with a natural sixth instead of its typical flatted counterpart. The song ends with a simple E [[mixolydian mode|mixolydian]]-based waltz with wordless vocal harmonies of Wright and Barrett. {{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
 Barrett originally wrote the song around verses from [[Hilaire Belloc]]'s [[Cautionary Tales for Children|''Cautionary Tales'']],<ref name=Irgh149>{{cite book |last=Chapman |first=Rob |title=Syd Barrett: A Very Irregular Head |url=https://archive.org/details/sydbarrettveryir00chap |url-access=registration |year=2010 |publisher=Faber |location=London |isbn=978-0-571-23855-2 |edition=Paperback |page=[https://archive.org/details/sydbarrettveryir00chap/page/149 149] |chapter=Distorted View – See Through Baby Blue}}</ref> in which a series of naughty children, including Matilda, receive their (often gruesome) comeuppance. He was forced to rewrite<ref name=Irgh150>{{cite book |last=Chapman |first=Rob |title=Syd Barrett: A Very Irregular Head |url=https://archive.org/details/sydbarrettveryir00chap |url-access=registration |year=2010 |publisher=Faber |location=London |isbn=978-0-571-23855-2 |edition=Paperback |page=[https://archive.org/details/sydbarrettveryir00chap/page/150 150] |chapter=Distorted View – See Through Baby Blue}}</ref> and re-record the track when Belloc's estate unexpectedly denied permission to use these lyrics.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://sparebricks.fika.org/sbzine16/books.html |title=Syd's Fractured Fairy Tales |accessdate=2008-03-18}}</ref>
@@ Line 48: / Line 43: @@
 A previously unreleased alternative version was released in a 40th anniversary reissue of ''The Piper at the Gates of Dawn''; parts of this version's lyrics are also from Belloc's ''Cautionary Tales'', i.e. [[s:Cautionary Tales for Children#Jim|''Jim'']] and [[s:Cautionary Tales for Children#Henry King|''Henry King'']], whereas the chorus is the same as in the standard version.
-A different, stereo remix of the same alternative version was also released on the Barrett compilation, ''[[An Introduction to Syd Barrett]]'' in 2010<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/an-introduction-to-syd-barrett-mw0002038535|title=An Introduction to Syd Barrett - Syd Barrett {{!}} Songs, Reviews, Credits {{!}} AllMusic|website=AllMusic|access-date=25 July 2017}}</ref>. An extended version of this 2010 mix appeared in the Pink Floyd compilation [[box set]] [[The Early Years 1965–1972]].
+A different, stereo remix of the same alternative version was also released on the Barrett compilation, ''[[An Introduction to Syd Barrett]]'' in 2010.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/an-introduction-to-syd-barrett-mw0002038535|title=An Introduction to Syd Barrett - Syd Barrett {{!}} Songs, Reviews, Credits {{!}} AllMusic|website=AllMusic|access-date=25 July 2017}}</ref> An extended version of this 2010 mix appeared in the Pink Floyd compilation [[box set]] [[The Early Years 1965–1972]], which also contains two live recordings of the song.
 ==References==
 {{Reflist|30em}}
-==External links==
-* {{MetroLyrics song|pink-floyd|matilda-mother}}<!-- Licensed lyrics provider -->
 {{The Piper at the Gates of Dawn}}
 {{Pink Floyd}}
+{{authority control}}
 [[Category:Pink Floyd songs]]