Astronomy Domine

"Astronomy Domine" is a song by British psychedelic rock band Pink Floyd.^[1][2] The song, written and composed by original vocalist/guitarist Syd Barrett, was the first track featured on their debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967).^[1] The lead vocal was sung by Barrett and keyboard player Richard Wright.^[1] Its working title was "Astronomy Domine (An Astral Chant)". "Domine" (the vocative of "Lord" in Latin) is a word frequently quoted in Gregorian chants.

Sounds and references

The song opens with the voice of their manager at the time Peter Jenner reading the names of stars through a megaphone.^[1] The intention of this opening is to replicate the feeling of outer space, with Jenner's voice sounding like an astronaut's over an intercom. Barrett's Fender Esquire then seemingly emerges from the distance and grows louder. At 0:19 a rapid beeping sound appears, again reaffirming the feeling of distant space.^{[original research?]} At 0:26, Mason's distinctive drum fills emerge, followed closely by Barrett's bluesy, sinister-sounding guitar (perhaps reminiscent of Duane Eddy) in a figure suggestive of the brass motif from "Mars, the Bringer of War" in Holst's The Planets. Wright's Farfisa organ is mixed into the background. Barrett's incantatory lyrics about space again support the theme in the song, mentioning planets Jupiter, Saturn, and Neptune as well as Uranian moons Oberon, Miranda, and Titania, and Saturn's moon Titan. Barrett and Richard Wright provide lead vocals. Waters' repetitive bass line, Wright's Farfisa organ, and Barrett's kinetic slide guitar then dominate, followed by the voice of Jenner again through a megaphone.

Music progression

The song has an unusual chord progression (all in major): E, E-flat, G, A. The sound of this chord progression, in conjunction with the use of a Binson echo machine for the guitar, has a very distinctive psychedelic character.^{[original research?]} The track is the album's most "space rock" song, alongside "Interstellar Overdrive", "Pow R. Toc H." and "Lucifer Sam".^[3][4] The style of the song and its use of sound effects would influence the future work of Pink Floyd, and its influence can be felt on Ummagumma (1969) and even The Dark Side of the Moon (1973).^{[original research?]}

Alternative and live versions

It was a popular live piece, regularly included in the band's concerts.^[1] It appears as the first track on the live side of the album Ummagumma, released in 1969.^[1] This version reflects the band's now more progressive style. The song has been extended to include the first verse twice, and the instrumental in the middle included a very quiet organ solo before getting louder again back to the last verse. The lead vocals are shared between David Gilmour and Richard Wright, and is chanting the names of the planets at the beginning of the song. The Ummagumma version can also be found on the American release of A Nice Pair, a compilation album released in 1973.

It was dropped from the live sets in mid-1971,^[1] but eventually reappeared as the first song in some sets on the band's 1994 tour.^[1] A version from a concert in Miami appears as the B-side on the band's "Take It Back" single, and a version from one of the London concerts appears on the live album Pulse. Gilmour played the song at some of his appearances during his solo 2006 tour, again sharing the lead vocal with fellow Floyd member Richard Wright.

[' I hear you've dusted off "Astronomy Domine" for the shows. '] 'Yes, and it needed a bit of dusting, I can tell you! I don't think we'd played it since 1968.'

— David Gilmour, ^[5]

• Pink Floyd performed the song from 1967–1971 and 1994. The last time the song was ever performed with Roger Waters was on 20 June 1971 at the Palaeur, Rome, Italy.^[6]
• The track is also featured on the 2001 Floyd compilation album, Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd.
• The Pulse version reverts to the original 4-minute length, with Gilmour again taking lead vocals as in Ummagumma.
• The song was also played by David Gilmour and his solo band (which includes Richard Wright with Guy Pratt on bass and Steve DiStanislao on drums) at the Abbey Road Studios sessions, which has been released as part of a CD/DVD On an Island package. "Astronomy Domine" was performed during the last few dates of Gilmour's On an Island tour, and features on his Live in Gdańsk DVD.

Music video

In 1968, Pink Floyd travelled to Belgium where they filmed a lip-synched promotional film for "Astronomy Domine", as well as "See Emily Play", "The Scarecrow", "Apples and Oranges", "Paint Box", "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun", and "Corporal Clegg". Syd Barrett does not appear in these films, as he had been replaced by David Gilmour.

David Gilmour lip-synced Syd's voice in the "Astronomy Domine" video.

Cover versions

• Voivod covered this song in their 1989 album Nothingface.
• A cover of the song by the Mike Keneally Band is included on the 2003 tribute album, A Fair Forgery of Pink Floyd.
• A version by The Soft Boys appears on the live side of Two Halves for the Price of One (1981).
• Rockfour covers the song on their album For Fans Only!.
• Dredg covers the song on the Syd Barrett tribute album Like Black Holes in the Sky, The Tribute to Syd Barrett (2008).
• The Atomic Bitchwax included their interpretation on their 2008 album 4.
• Australian rock band You Am I occasionally covered the song live during their 2009 shows. While performing the song, frontman Tim Rogers would move his arms in the same manner as Syd Barrett does in the 1967 Look of the Week video.
• Mission Of Burma have been covering the song on their tours from 2004 onward, and included the song on a 2007 Rhapsody Originals EP.
• Bob Weir's Ratdog performed Astronomy Domine on 10-28-2003 in Geneva NY for the first time and twice more in 2005. On 3-29-2005 it was sandwiched between Terrapin Station (Garcia-Hunter) and At a Siding (Hunter-Hart).

Personnel

• Syd Barrett — guitar (Fender Esquire), lead vocals
• Richard Wright — organ (Farfisa), lead vocals
• Roger Waters — bass guitar (Rickenbacker 4001), backing vocals
• Nick Mason — drums and percussion
• Peter Jenner — intro vocalisations

References

External links

• AMG song review