The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.
Trip to heave and ho, up down, to and fro
You have no word
Trip, trip to a dream dragon
Hide your wings in a ghost tower
Sails crackling at every plate we break
Cracked by scattered needles
Little minute gong
Coughs and clears his throat
Madam you see before you stand
Hey ho, never be still
The old original favorite grand
Grasshoppers green Herbarian band
And the tune they play in us confide
So trip to heave and ho, up down, to and fro'
You have no word
Please leave us here
Close our eyes to the octopus ride
Isn't it good to be lost in the wood
Isn't it bad so quiet there, in the wood
Meant even less to me than I thought
With a honey plough of yellow prickly seeds
Clover honey pots and mystic shining feed
Well, the madcap laughed at the man on the border
Hey ho, huff the Talbot
Cheetah he cried shouted kangaroo
So through their tree they cried
Please leave us here
Close our eyes to the octopus ride
The madcap laughed at the man on the border
Hey ho, huff the Talbot
The winds they blew and the leaves did wag
And they'll never put me in their bag
The seas will reach and always see
So high you go, so low you creep
The winds it blows in tropical heat
The drones they throng on mossy seats
The squeaking door will always creep
Two up, two down we'll never meet
So merrily trip for good my side
Please leave us here
Close our eyes to the octopus ride
You have no word
Trip, trip to a dream dragon
Hide your wings in a ghost tower
Sails crackling at every plate we break
Cracked by scattered needles
Little minute gong
Coughs and clears his throat
Madam you see before you stand
Hey ho, never be still
The old original favorite grand
Grasshoppers green Herbarian band
And the tune they play in us confide
So trip to heave and ho, up down, to and fro'
You have no word
Please leave us here
Close our eyes to the octopus ride
Isn't it good to be lost in the wood
Isn't it bad so quiet there, in the wood
Meant even less to me than I thought
With a honey plough of yellow prickly seeds
Clover honey pots and mystic shining feed
Well, the madcap laughed at the man on the border
Hey ho, huff the Talbot
Cheetah he cried shouted kangaroo
So through their tree they cried
Please leave us here
Close our eyes to the octopus ride
The madcap laughed at the man on the border
Hey ho, huff the Talbot
The winds they blew and the leaves did wag
And they'll never put me in their bag
The seas will reach and always see
So high you go, so low you creep
The winds it blows in tropical heat
The drones they throng on mossy seats
The squeaking door will always creep
Two up, two down we'll never meet
So merrily trip for good my side
Please leave us here
Close our eyes to the octopus ride
Lyrics submitted by Shoot_Me, edited by StanHuff, andywitmyer, JosephEx
Octopus Lyrics as written by Syd Barrett
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Before I even comment on the song, I submitted this change to the lyrics that will probably never happen, but they should probably read a little closer to this:
OCTOPUS
Trip to heave and ho, up down, to and fro' You have no word! Trip, trip to a dream dragon Hide your wings in a ghost tower Sails crackling at every plate we break! Was cracked by scattered needles
Little minute gong Coughs and clears his throat:
Madam, you see, before you stand Hey-ho, never be still The old original favoritism grand Grasshopper's Green Herbarian Band And the tune they play is, "In Us Confide!"
So trip to heave and ho, up down, to and fro' You have no word!
Please leave us here Close our eyes to the octopus ride!
Isn't it good to be lost in the wood? Isn't it bad so quiet there - in the wood? It meant even less to me than I'd thought With a honey plough and yellow, prickly seeds Clover, honey pots of mystic shining feed!
Well, the Madcap laughed at the man on the border Hey-ho, huffed the Talbot "Cheat!" he cried, shouted Kangaroo So true in their tree they cried.
Please leave us here Close our eyes to the octopus ride!
The Madcap laughed at the man on the border Hey ho, huffed the Talbot The winds they blew and the leaves did wag They'll never put me in their bag The seas will reach and always seep So high you go, so low you creep The winds it blows in tropical heat The drones they throng on mossy seats The squeaking door will always creak Two up, two down we'll never be meet So merrily trip, forgo my side...
Please leave us here Close our eyes to the octopus ride!
And while I agree with THEOTHR1 that the actual lyric was probably meant to be "Madcat", it still sounds like "Madcap" to me, and it was the that misheard lyric that earned the album its title. If Syd had any problems with that, he probably would have put his foot down - so I think "Madcap" it is.