Bike (song)

Infobox Song
Name = Bike


Artist = Pink Floyd
Album = The Piper at the Gates of Dawn
Released = August 5, 1967
track_no = 11
Recorded = May 21, 1967
Genre = Psychedelic rock,
Musique concrète
Length = 3:21
Writer = Syd Barrett
Label = Columbia/EMI (UK) Capitol (US)
Producer = Norman Smith
prev = The Scarecrow
prev_no = 10"Bike" is a song by British progressive rock band Pink Floyd, and is featured on their debut album, "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn" (1967). In the song, Syd Barrett's lyrical subject shows a girl his bike (which he borrowed), a cloak, a homeless mouse that he calls Gerald, and a clan of gingerbread men - because she "fits in with my world". Towards the end of the song, he offers to take her into a "room of musical tunes". The final verse is followed by an instrumental section that can be referred to as a piece of musique concrete: a noisy collage of oscillators, clocks, gongs, bells, a violin, and other sounds edited with tape techniques, apparently the "other room" spoken of in the song. The ending of the song fades out with the sound of somewhat ducklike maniacal laughing. The song was written for Barrett's then girlfriend, Jenny Spires. She is also mentioned in the song "Lucifer Sam", which is also on "The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn".

Alternative and Live versions

It also appears on two Floyd compilation albums: "Relics" (1971) and "" (2001). On both albums, it is the final track.

"Echoes" segue

On "Echoes" the song follows "High Hopes", which was the last song on "The Division Bell" and the last studio recording by the band. "High Hopes" is at least in part a tribute to Barrett, making its juxtaposition with "Bike" thematically appropriate. The segue between the two songs is achieved by jump-cutting from the sound effect of a distant church bell at the end of "High Hopes" to that of a bicycle bell and thence straight into "Bike". This creates a striking transition from the reflective melancholy of "High Hopes" to the upbeat psychedelic surrealism of "Bike".

Cover Version

*A cover version of "Bike" by Harvette appears on the 2003 Pink Floyd tribute album "A Fair Forgery of Pink Floyd"
*Japanese band P-Model made a cover of this song in their 1984 album "Another Game".
*A cover version of "Bike" by The Vindictives appears on their 1996 album "Party Time for A$$holes".

Personnel

*Syd Barrett - Guitar, Vocals
*Richard Wright - organ, piano, backing vocals
*Roger Waters - Bass
*Nick Mason - Drums