The song is a pastiche of poems from one of Barrett's favorite anthologies. He borrowed lines here and there, twisting and changing them, and adding his own bits in. Most significantly, "isn't it good to be lost in the wood? Isn't it bad, too quiet there... in the wood. It meant even less to me than I thought..." which is a reflection of his withdrawal into himself. The Octopus ride is an old fairground ride, of course, and reveals a surrender to childlike fantasy ("please leave us here") and a bewilderment of surroundings ("close our eyes"). It's the kind of bittersweet recollection of times past that are prominent in his solo records.
I agree with the commentators who say that the line is actually "The mad CAT laughed at the man on the border." It is clear in the recording, and animals are the most prominent motif on the solo records. A cheetah and kangaroo pop up in the next line, for instance. I think Waters and Gilmour got a little carried away packaging and presenting his first solo record as the work of a lunatic, and Barrett was too shy and checked out to advocate for himself. It's anyone's guess what the line means, but I have always thought that Barrett is not the cat, but the "man on the border" hunting with the Talbot, and getting lost in the woods.
The song is a pastiche of poems from one of Barrett's favorite anthologies. He borrowed lines here and there, twisting and changing them, and adding his own bits in. Most significantly, "isn't it good to be lost in the wood? Isn't it bad, too quiet there... in the wood. It meant even less to me than I thought..." which is a reflection of his withdrawal into himself. The Octopus ride is an old fairground ride, of course, and reveals a surrender to childlike fantasy ("please leave us here") and a bewilderment of surroundings ("close our eyes"). It's the kind of bittersweet recollection of times past that are prominent in his solo records.
I agree with the commentators who say that the line is actually "The mad CAT laughed at the man on the border." It is clear in the recording, and animals are the most prominent motif on the solo records. A cheetah and kangaroo pop up in the next line, for instance. I think Waters and Gilmour got a little carried away packaging and presenting his first solo record as the work of a lunatic, and Barrett was too shy and checked out to advocate for himself. It's anyone's guess what the line means, but I have always thought that Barrett is not the cat, but the "man on the border" hunting with the Talbot, and getting lost in the woods.