Terrapin (song)

"Terrapin"
Song by Syd Barrett from the album The Madcap Laughs
Published	Lupus Music Ltd
Released	3 January 1970
Recorded	11 & 26 April 1969
Genre	Folk rock, blues rock
Length	5:04
Label	Harvest/EMI (UK) Capitol Records (US)
Writer(s)	Syd Barrett
Producer(s)	Malcolm Jones
The Madcap Laughs track listing
13 tracks Side one "Terrapin" "No Good Trying" "Love You" "No Man's Land" "Dark Globe" "Here I Go" Side two "Octopus" "Golden Hair" "Long Gone" "She Took a Long Cold Look" "Feel" "If It's In You" "Late Night"
An Introduction to Syd Barrett track listing 18 tracks "Arnold Layne" "See Emily Play" "Apples and Oranges" "Matilda Mother" "Chapter 24" "Bike" "Terrapin" "Love You" "Dark Globe" "Here I Go" "Octopus" "She Took a Long Cool Look" "If It's In You" "Baby Lemonade" "Dominoes" "Gigolo Aunt" "Effervescing Elephant" "Bob Dylan Blues"

"Terrapin" is a song by Syd Barrett that appears as the first track off his first solo album The Madcap Laughs and is notably the sole representative from that album that appears on The Peel Session.^[1] The song's arrangement is sparse, like much of the album, and features only acoustic and electric guitar accompaniment to the vocals.^[2] This song, along with "Maisie" and "Bob Dylan Blues";^[3] reflected Barrett's early interest in the blues.^[3] Iggy the Eskimo, one of Barrett's acquaintances, had called the song "quite catchy".^[4]

The Syd Barrett Appreciation Society titled its official magazine Terrapin (published from 1972–1976), in tribute to the song. It was released on the multi-artist Harvest compilation, Picnic – A Breath of Fresh Air.

Recording

While recording Madcap, in April 1969, Barrett played back several tapes of songs recorded up to that point to producer Malcolm Jones,^[5] at Jones' request.^[6] After the play backs, Barrett performed on guitar several tracks to Jones, one of them being "Terrapin".^[6] "Terrapin" was recorded in just one take on 11 April,^[7] The lead guitar for it was overdubbed in the session on 26 April.^[8]

Covers

The song has been covered by The Smashing Pumpkins,^[9] Marc and the Mambas,^[10][11] The King Khan and BBQ Show, as well as David Gilmour, who featured the song on the live album David Gilmour in Concert.

Gilmour had also performed the song at 1996's "A Day for Tibet" and 2001's Meltdown events.^[12]

References

1. Mabbett, Andy. The complete guide to the music of Pink Floyd. Omnibus Press, 1995. ISBN 978-0-7119-4301-8.
2. Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
3. Manning, Toby (2006). "The Early Years". The Rough Guide to Pink Floyd (1st ed.). London: Rough Guides. p. 9. ISBN 1-84353-575-0.
4. Blake, Mark (21 January 2011). "EXCLUSIVE: The Strange Tale Of Iggy The Eskimo". p. 1. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
5. Jones, Malcolm (2003). "The Making of The Madcap Laughs" (21st Anniversary ed.). Brain Damage. pp. 4–5.
6. Jones, Malcolm (2003). "The Making of The Madcap Laughs" (21st Anniversary ed.). Brain Damage. p. 5.
7. Jones, Malcolm (2003). "The Making of The Madcap Laughs" (21st Anniversary ed.). Brain Damage. p. 7.
8. Jones, Malcolm (2003). "The Making of The Madcap Laughs" (21st Anniversary ed.). Brain Damage. p. 10.
9. Palacios, Julian (2010). "Home". Syd Barrett & Pink Floyd: Dark Globe (Rev. ed.). London: Plexus. p. 419. ISBN 0859654311.
10. Palacios, Julian (2010). "Home". Syd Barrett & Pink Floyd: Dark Globe (Rev. ed.). London: Plexus. p. 418. ISBN 0859654311.
11. Manning, Toby (2006). "Pink Floyd tributes". The Rough Guide to Pink Floyd (1st ed.). London: Rough Guides. p. 287. ISBN 1-84353-575-0.
12. Palacios, Julian (2010). "Home". Syd Barrett & Pink Floyd: Dark Globe (Rev. ed.). London: Plexus. p. 424. ISBN 0859654311.