Wolfpack

Description of society, government, people in general? Is he bitter about the fact that we are "waved into formation" as people to become a monstrous wolfpack? If he is, he has definitely left the pack at this point (which is a good thing)

i agree with thing in a way. When i listen to this song, it seems to me like Syd is talking about society in general, and how people are influenced by others and often act in the same way. People are not forced to act this way, but they usualy do. Maybe Syd thinks that people act like animals. Magnesium is an elemnt, something found in nature. A magnesium proverb might be writing or anything that apeals to human's base nature.

I Imagined Pink Floyd striding into a gig with magnesium flashlights from the press pack there and girls screaming

Syd was in the boys scouts, which usually have animal names. I think he compares his memories of being in the scouts with a real pack of wolves.

Diamonds and clubs, light misted fog, the dead

They play cards, fog sets in, scary ghost stories are told.

Waving us back in formation, The pack in formation Bowling they bat as a group And the leader is seen so early The pack on their backs, the fighters Through misty the waving the pack in formation

The leader wakes them up early, the group is still asleep. 'Waving us back in formation'. I see young boys being young boys and the leader occasionally trying to group them back in formation.

Far reaching waves On sight, shone right I lay as if in surround All enmeshing, hovering The milder I gaze All the animals laying trail Beyond the bough winds Mild the reflecting electricity eyes

Animal spotting. You need to lay away from the winds or the animals smell you. In the dark animal eyes reflect.

Tears, the life that was ours Grows sharper and stronger away and beyond

I find this the most touching line. This is why I think it's about a happy memory. That life is gone and the memory becomes more painful as it drifts further away from him.

Short wheeling fresh spring Gripped with blanched bones moaned Magnesium, proverbs and sobs

I'm not sure what this means. It reads as a stream of consciousness. Word association: the blanched bones are of animals they've found, short wheeling is riding a bike on the back wheel, which is what children do. It's spring again. Magnesium could be the stick they use to make the fire. Proverbs, could be a reference to the bible or the sayings they learn in boys scouts.

I hesitate to put a literal meaning to this powerful song because it takes away from the associative and poetic nature of the lyrics. I think it's best to just listen and feel whatever you feel.

This song is great in a really unique kind of way. The lyrics fit the mood of the music perfectly, and I feel like I understand fragments of it.

Does anyone else have any ideas about what the lyrics mean?

In my opinion this song is about how pink floyd was in the early days, and when it just started the formation appeared. The leader seen so early is Syd Barrett. An this is just a song about missing the old band and wishing that they could mabey get back together. those were my thoughts but it could be something totally different.

I've seen these interpretations also of the "and the leader is seen" section:

and the leader is seen So early/Swirling/Curling the pack on their backs the fighters/biters

To me this song is about war, comparing armies with magnesium bombs (used in WW2) to vicious animals leaving their dead behind them. The tightly metered rhythm sounds like a military anthem.

I hear the different words sung in the layered vocal tracks, reinforcing the analogy: So early = an army at dawn, Swirling/Curling = the movement of predatory wolves.

And/or the dangerous potential of conformity and groupthink.

Definitely a passionate, visceral, affecting composition.

Life in a mental hospital when people were still being treated like animals (though RD Laing helped change all of that). Diamonds and clubs: people in mental hospitals often pass the time playing cards. Mild the reflecting electricity eyes is the look of people after shock treatment Light misted fog: the fog of being heavily medicated or shocked and so on.

This song is about the paparazzi. Magnesium alloy for cameras. Reflecting electricity eyes are the flash bulbs. Syd loved music, but seemed to hate fame and the celebrity culture. Makes sense he'd see those who profit off of the mere status of the artist as wolves.