Scream Thy Last Scream Lyrics
I don't understand that no one understood that obviously this song is about Syd's own mom and one of his sisters. Syd's dad had died just before he was 16 years old and this must have had a devastating impact on him as this came very suddenly. Syd then left his, now quite old, mom and his younger sister Rosemary alone, for London, (although Rosemary went to study nursing in London some time after); his older siblings had already left the house. Now, the most speculative part and yet, terribly attractive, is that during his infamous weekend breakdown, after which this song was written, he realised, or started to be convinced that his mom killed his dad. This would not only explain the song, but indeed the entire meltdown that ensued and the very deep depresssion Syd went into, to the point where he imagined killing his mom shouting "Scream Thy Last Scream"
[Edit: typo]
This is one hell of a masterpiece....
It's hard to interpret or disect a lot of Syd's late work with the Floyd. Scream Thy Last Scream was the last attempt at a single in the 1st (and best in my opinion) incarnation of Pink Floyd. For me, Scream Thy Last Scream seems like a last gasp for Syd. It's almost a premonition of Syd's departure and it's time for one last confusing scream. The mad old woman with the casket could be a disguise for Syd and his declining mental condition at the time. Regardless, it's certainly one of the more obscure of all the early Floyd tunes. I quite like Jugband Blues better than this one... more evidence of a schizophrenic creative mind.
Why did Pink Floyd never put this song on an album?
because the band thought it was to dark. http://www.earcandymag.com/rrcase-3.htm click that link, and read. its somewhere in there. i read it earlier.
because the band thought it was to dark. http://www.earcandymag.com/rrcase-3.htm click that link, and read. its somewhere in there. i read it earlier.
what doesn't make sense about "Blam blam your pointers point your pointers" its fun as hell to say! its a fantastic song. I actually think its Syd giving a message to the band just asking them to kick him out. and I also sometimes think it could be something that goes through his head during live shows (thus the audience at the end). Not sure either way still great as hell
Reminds me of war.
Scream thy last scream, well seems like a scream of anguish from the old woman because maybe a husband, brother died in the war. I really only got this because of Blam blam your pointers point your pointers which sounds like pointing guns.
Scrubbing bubbles on all fours is washing the floor, flap top houses would be a doll house which could have been a toy of the mentioned daughter?
I'm not sure it seems like a story to me.
I don't think the lyrics ever made sense. Syd's genius has always been in part his child-like rhymes and this is a perfect example. But the true genius here is the chipmunk voice. It's awesome and gives the whole thing a cool spooky vibe, much like a cute doll or a clown in a horror movie.
This is Nick Mason singing not Syd, the squeeky singing is Syds singing sped up.
But the normal singing is not Syd it is drummer Nick Mason.
It doesn't have to mean anything in particular. All we really know is that Syd wrote some words. Given his state at the time, I would guess that he wrote the lyrics after seeing a cleaning lady scrubbing the floors at the study. It really might be that simple.
The "genius" here is the shocking weirdness and dark horror merged with childhood whimsy and toddler rhymes. Some of those lyrics were sung because he liked the cadence and flow of those words together. There's probably no inherent meaning other than an image of childhood strangeness, a fleeting memory of a toy, a book, or whatever. Floyd took this to a whole other dimension after Syd was out of the band. You hear the fright and terror in songs they did post-Syd like Careful With That Axe, Eugene and One Of These Days. It crops up in songs like Sheep and several places on The Wall too.