The madcap laughed. But when did the laughter find no escape? The old parable about burning out before fading away found Syd Barrett with a foot in both camps. The legend lived on, ever brighter; but the man himself diminished. What could have been going through his mind? Bitterness at being pushed out of one of the biggest bands in the world? Or relief at becoming only a footnote?
We're all on thin ice, indeed.
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!