Published Lupus Music Co. Ltd Length 4:49 | Recorded March 1969 | |
Released 13 June 1969 (UK)9 August 1969 (US) Label EMI Columbia (UK)Tower (US) |
"Cymbaline" is a Pink Floyd song from the album Soundtrack from the Film More.
Contents
Lyrics
Its lyrics vividly tell the tale of a "nightmare", which was the title of the song when it was first introduced in Floyd's The Man and The Journey Tour shows. The lyrics include a reference to the character Doctor Strange, who was popular at the time due to the psychedelic nature of his adventures.
Recording
The recording of "Cymbaline" on the album is different from the one in the film (the latter version is heard on a record player in a bedroom). The vocals are a different take, though both versions are sung by David Gilmour. The lyrics are also different in one place. One notable feature of the lyrics is the question posed at the end of the first verse, "Will the final couplet rhyme". Not coincidentally, the final couplet in the song is the only one that does not rhyme.
The song features a sparse arrangement of nylon-string guitar, bass, piano, drumset, bongos, and Farfisa organ entering when Gilmour does a scat solo. Pink Floyd played "Cymbaline" from early 1969 until their last show of 1971, and it was the longest-surviving More piece in the band's live shows. It was dropped from their act along with "Fat Old Sun" and "The Embryo" when they began performing early versions of The Dark Side of the Moon.
Live performances
When the band performed the song live, they made the following changes to the song:
Personnel
Covers
The song has been covered by fellow English space rock band Hawkwind. The 1996 CD reissue version of their eponymous debut album (1970) includes "Cymbaline" as track 13, in the bonus tracks section.