According to a newspaper story published in 1968 there are two versions of the original single with slightly different lyrics. The story goes that the first lyric had a passing reference to the British newspaper Evening Standard. This was said to be banned by the BBC because of a strict no-advertising policy which did not allow the mention of any product by name. The group was forced to spend additional time and expense to record a special version for the BBC which changed the lyric to "Daily Standard." This version is the only one that has been re-issued on LP and CD. It is unknown how many of the "Evening Standard" discs, if any, actually exist. Despite the added publicity the single got very little airplay and failed to chart.
In The Dark Side of the Moon: The Making of the Pink Floyd Masterpiece, John Harris writes about the song:
The first recorded work [Pink Floyd] released in the wake of Syd Barrett's exit was Rick Wright's almost unbearably whimsical 'It Would Be So Nice,' a single whose lightweight strain of pop-psychedelia--akin, perhaps, to the music of such faux-counterculturalists as the Hollies and the Monkees--rendered it a non-event that failed to trouble the British charts; as Roger Waters later recalled, 'No one ever heard it because it was such a lousy record.' Waters' own compositional efforts, however, were hardly more promising. 'Julia Dream', the single's B-side, crystallized much the same problem: though the band evidently wanted to maintain the Syd Barrett aesthetic, their attempts sounded hopelessly lightweight.
Nick Mason was even more vocal than Waters in his dislike for the song, referring to it as "fucking awful".
It Would Be So Nice
Pink Floyd Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It would be so nice
It would be so nice
To meet, sometime
Everybody wakes, and in the morning
Hot tea and can't stop yawning
Pass the butter please
Reading all about the plane that's landed
Upside down?
And no one knows what I did today
There can be no other way
But I would just like to say
It would be so nice
It would be so nice
It would be so nice
To meet sometime
It would be so nice
It would be so nice
It would be so nice
To meet sometime
Everybody cares about the weather
And everybody should know better
What a waste of time
Everybody lives beneath the ceiling
Living out a dream that sends them reeling
To a distant place
But no one knows what I did today
There can be no other way
But I would just like to say
It would be so nice
It would be so nice
It would be so nice
To meet sometime
It would be so nice
It would be so nice
It would be so nice
To meet sometime
It would be so nice
It would be so nice
It would be so nice
To meet sometime
The song "It Would Be So Nice" by Pink Floyd is a reflection of the monotony and isolation that can come with everyday life, with the repeated refrain expressing a longing for something more - to meet someone, to connect with others. The opening lines set the stage for this theme, with the singer finding themselves in a mundane daily routine, drinking tea and reading the news. The line "And no one knows what I did today, there can be no other way" highlights the isolation that can come with this routine - the singer feels almost invisible to the world around them, and their life has lost any excitement or meaning.
There are a few different layers to the metaphor of a "plane that's landed upside down" that appears early in the song. On one level, it's a reference to a news story - the singer is reading the Daily Standard and comes across this bizarre headline. But on another level, it can be seen as a symbol for the singer's own sense of disorientation and upendedness - their life feels like it's upside down, with nothing quite making sense. This is echoed later in the second verse, with the line "Living out a dream that sends them reeling to a distant place" - everyone around the singer seems to be going through the motions of life, but not really engaged or present with each other.
Line by Line Meaning
It would be so nice
The singer yearns for a particular experience.
It would be so nice
Reiteration of the singer's desire.
It would be so nice
The singer still desires the experience.
To meet, sometime
The desired experience is to meet someone, eventually.
Everybody wakes, and in the morning
Descriptive language of a typical event. In this case, people waking up in the morning.
Hot tea and can't stop yawning
Further description of the typical morning routine.
Pass the butter please
A banal request at the breakfast table.
Have you ever read the daily standard?
Small talk question regarding the daily news publication.
Reading all about the plane that's landed
Description of a news story about a plane landing somewhere.
Upside down?
Question in regard to the plane landing story, asking if it landed upside down.
And no one knows what I did today
A statement indicating the singer's secretive nature or that they did nothing noteworthy.
There can be no other way
A conclusive statement which could serve multiple interpretations, including emotional states or thought processes.
But I would just like to say
Introducing the singer's opinion about what will be nice.
Everybody cares about the weather
Statement regarding the pervasive nature of small talk discussions surrounding weather patterns.
And everybody should know better
Assumption that people should have more important things to discuss than the weather.
What a waste of time
A definitive statement regarding the triviality of discussing weather conditions with others.
Everybody lives beneath the ceiling
Statement about people's common living conditions, either physical or metaphorical.
Living out a dream that sends them reeling
Further description of people's common experiences and their reaction to them.
To a distant place
The common experiences of people lead them to a far-off mental or physical place.
Lyrics ยฉ O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: RICHARD JOHN WRIGHT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@sydbarrett8431
From Rome Goes Pop
BBC2 originally broadcast 21:55 - 1968-05-18
0:00 Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & The Trinity
1:00 Captain Beefheart "If You Got Ears"
3:09 - 4:29 Pink Floyd It Would Be So Nice
18:21 End
ROME INTERNATIONAL POP FESTIVAL 1968
May-4-6-68. Excellent quality. Festival excerpts. Live performance clips and travelogue interviews. Captain Beefheart, Donovan, the Association, Pink Floyd, Julie Driscoll & The Brian Auger Trinity, the Samurai, the Move. Songs include: Capt. Beefheart: "Sure 'Nuff 'n Yes I Do." Pink Floyd: "It Would Be So Nice." Donovan: "Lalena." The Association: "Enter the Young." Julie Driscoll & the Brian Auger Trinity: "Wheels On Fire."
@alice_the_madd
It's so weird to think that the band didn't actually like this song even though it's such an amazing whimsical song
@coldacre
Roger didnโt write or sing on it; so he was very quick to dismiss it in interviews
@rafchurchlawford4469
They would have LOVED it if it was as good as Wouldn't It Be Nice from 1966
@isoscelestriangle6935
rickโs vocals are like,, a whole new level of soothing ๐ฅบ๐
@Ratelzwatel
It would be so nice to find a complete version.
@mateogarcia2806
If it'd exist
@desperatemohammedantheworl5833
It would be so nice if Pink Floyd gave this and Point Me At the Sky proper affordable remastered CD and vinyl releases rather than squirreling them away on expensive boxed sets.
@RCAvhstape
@Desperate Mohammedan the World's Strongest Arab Add Embryo to that list, too.
@desperatemohammedantheworl5833
@Helium Road That can be found on a peculiar 1980's USA only compilation called Works that can be found pretty cheap. However yeah it certainly needs a modern remaster and re-release.
@AngiesResonance
@Desperate Mohammedan the World's Strongest Arab The Early Years set is not that expensive by now.