Syd is dead

Syd Barrett is dead at age 60. He will always hold a special place in my memories of High School and College. Bike, Effervescing Elephant and The Gnome are the songs I sang most often to my daughter when she was a baby. I am not sure why I got away from those songs with my son. Syd, you will be (and have been) sorely missed.

Still, it always strikes me as odd when a celebrity who hasn't been heard from in years dies and you still feel a sense of loss. I guess it is the memories which are dredged up and the finality that there never will be a comeback; no matter how bad an idea that would have been anyway.

In honor of Syd (compliments of oldielyrics.com):

An Effervescing Elephant
With tiny eyes and great big trunk
Once whispered to the tiny ear
The ear of one inferior
That by next June he'd die, oh yeah!
Because the tiger would roam.
The little one said: "Oh my goodness I must stay at home!
And every time I hear a growl
I'll know the tiger's on the prowl
And I'll be really safe, you know
The elephant he told me so."
Everyone was nervy, oh yeah!
And the message was spread
To zebra, mongoose, and the dirty hippopotamus
Who wallowed in the mud and chewed
His spicy hippo-plankton food
And tended to ignore the word
Preferring to survey a herd
Of stupid water bison, oh yeah!
And all the jungle took fright,
And ran around for all the day and the night
But all in vain, because, you see,
The tiger came and said: "Who me?!
You know, I wouldn't hurt not one of you.
I'd much prefer something to chew
And you're all to scant." oh yeah!
He ate the Elephant

Bye Syd!