This song was written and composed by Pink Floyd’s original vocalist/guitarist Syd Barrett. It is the first track on their debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. Its working title was “Astronomy Dominé (An Astral Chant)”. ‘Dominé’ (the vocative of ‘Lord’ in Latin) is a word frequently quoted i...
[Intro: Peter Jenner]
“Moon in twelve thousand
… one … Scorpio … braving the skies …
Libra … Portalia … Mao … Lapintin … Roscoe Thomas …
Pluto was not discovered until 1930
… nine two three select …
Mars is in conjunction with a fixed star of
… reduce, execute now if possible …”
[Verse 1: Richard Wright & Syd Barrett]
Lime and limpid green, a second scene
A fight between the blue
You once knew
Floating down, the sound resounds
Around the icy waters underground
Jupiter and Saturn
Oberon, Miranda, and Titania
Neptune, Titan, stars can frighten
[Instrumental Break]
[Verse 2: Richard Wright & Syd Barrett]
Blinding signs flap
Flicker, flicker, flicker, blam
Pow, pow
Stairway scare Dan Dare, who’s there?
[Verse 3: Syd Barrett & Syd Barrett & Richard Wright]
Lime and limpid green, the sound surrounds
The icy waters under—
Lime and limpid green, the sound surrounds
The icy waters underground
Astronomy Dominé was written by Syd Barrett.
Astronomy Dominé was produced by Norman Smith.
Pink Floyd released Astronomy Dominé on Sat Aug 05 1967.
In Chapter 24 (“Us and Them”) of Nicholas Schaffner’s 1991 book Saucerful of Secrets: The Pink Floyd Odyssey, Nick Mason talked about how certain songs didn’t feel right in 1987.
“I love ‘Astronomy Domine’. The trouble is, you’re right back into the I Ching and interstellar explanation. I think...