Jul 12, 200610:44 AMThe Life

Shine on, you crazy diamond

Pink Floyd legend Syd Barrett has left us, to play that great gig in the sky.

After masterminding the group's debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, Syd faded from the scene, a victim of mental illness. Some say it was the psychedelic drugs, some claim it was the demands of success.

Whatever the reason, he left a lasting impact on his bandmates. They later recorded an album (The Dark Side of the Moon) which deals largely with the effects of madness. Another project (Wish You Were Here) contains an elegy and tribute to Syd:

Remember when you were young, you shone like the sun?
Shine on, you crazy diamond.
Now there's a look in your eyes, like black holes in the sky.
Shine on, you crazy diamond.
You were caught on the crossfire of childhood and stardom,
blown on the steel breeze.
Come on, you target for faraway laughter,
come on, you stranger, you legend, you martyr, and shine!
You reached for the secret too soon, you cried for the moon.
Shine on, you crazy diamond.
Threatened by shadows at night, and exposed in the light.
Shine on, you crazy diamond.
Well, you wore out your welcome with random precision,
rode on the steel breeze.
Come on, you raver, you seer of visions,
come on, you painter, you piper, you prisoner, and shine!

Nobody knows where you are, how near or how far.
Shine on, you crazy diamond.
Pile on many more layers, and I'll be joining you there.
Shine on, you crazy diamond.
And we'll bask in the shadow of yesterday's triumph,
and sail on the steel breeze.
Come on you boy child, you winner and loser,
come on you miner for truth and delusion, and shine!