- Malcolm Jones
No Good Trying
Syd Barrett Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Where I can't see because I understand
That you're different from me
Yes I can tell
That you can't be what you pretend
And you're rocking me backwards
And you're rocking towards the
Red and yellow mane of a stallion horse.
It's no good trying to hold your love
Where I can't see because I understand
That you're different from me
Yes I can tell
That you can't be what you pretend
The caterpillar hood won't cover the head of you
Know you should be home in bed.
It's no good holding your sequin fan
Where I can't see because I understand
That you're different from me
Yes I can tell
That you can't be what you pretend
Yes you're spinning around and around in a car
With electric lights flashing very fast...
In Syd Barrett's song "No Good Trying", the lyrics convey the message that the person he is addressing is trying to hide things from him, but he is not fooled. The first verse talks about the person trying to place their hand where Syd can't see, but he understands their true nature and intentions. They may be pretending to be something they are not, but he can see right through them. The metaphor of the "Red and yellow mane of a stallion horse" implies a sense of danger, unpredictability and chaos that follows this person wherever they go.
The second verse talks about the person's love being held back, as Syd can't see it. Once again, he understands that they are not being truthful with him and sees through their facade. The "caterpillar hood" might represent a cocoon of deception and false reality that this person is trying to create for themselves. He goes on to suggest that this person should be at home, in bed, implying that their behavior is not healthy or appropriate.
Lastly, the third verse refers to a sequin fan being held back from Syd's view, once again, implying deception and a hidden motive behind this person's actions. They are spinning around in a car with electric lights flashing very fast, suggesting a chaotic, dizzying and artificial world that they are living in. The lyrics, overall, convey a sense of mistrust and an inability to connect with this person, as they are constantly trying to hide their true nature from Syd.
Line by Line Meaning
It's no good trying to place your hand
Don't bother trying to hide anything from me by covering it up.
Where I can't see because I understand
I can see through your facade.
That you're different from me
We're not the same and that's okay.
Yes I can tell
I have a sense of who you really are.
That you can't be what you pretend
You can't fake your true identity.
And you're rocking me backwards
You're jolting me out of my comfort zone.
And you're rocking towards the
Heading towards something potentially dangerous.
Red and yellow mane of a stallion horse.
A wild, uncontrollable force that could harm us.
It's no good trying to hold your love
You can't hide your true emotions from me.
The caterpillar hood won't cover the head of you
You can't hide who you are with a flimsy disguise.
Know you should be home in bed.
You need to take care of yourself and rest.
It's no good holding your sequin fan
Attempting to obscure the truth won't work.
Yes you're spinning around and around in a car
You're caught up in a dizzying cycle of self-deception.
With electric lights flashing very fast...
Distracting, flashy illusions that hide the truth.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: SYD BARRETT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@toyaquiyvoyaya
Robert Wyatt also said: This is an extract from an interview of Robert Wyatt, drummer with The Soft Machine, talking about working with Syd. The interview is by Ritchie Unterberger, taken from the book: Unknown legends of Rock'n'Roll.
Q: I wanted to ask a question about someone else in the book who I won't be able to interview. You drummed on some of Syd Barrett's solo records.
Wyatt: I didn't see them (the Pink Floyd) perform very much. I liked him. He was shy, he was thoughtful, and he was definitely onto something.
Q: Did you find him difficult to work with?
Wyatt: Absolutely not, no. Very easy. Almost too easy. He was very, very easygoing. So easygoing that you didn't necessarily know what he wanted, or whether he was pleased with it or not, because he seemed quite pleased with what you did. I think possibly he may have suffered as well from moving into the world of commercial culture, as they did. I think it might have been very confusing for him. Being an artist, working in an attic, to us - this may be a silly illusion, it's just a silly romantic dream, just like being a pop star. But I don't his romantic dreams were anything to do with the responsibilities of commercial pop stardom.
It's not a snobbishness, this thing about commercial stuff. It's just the fact that it seems to have a momentum all its own, and there seems to be demands made on it. You know how it is with, for example, Hollywood films--they're really accountant-led. Being big and famous doesn't get you more freedom, it gets you less, you know what I mean? It happens in the music itself as well. All the machinery that starts to come into gear, from management and touring and the whole way it's done, the musician becomes a fairly small cog in a machine where all these sort of semi-comatose people in the industry certainly come alive, and they certainly know how to act. And suddenly, your whole life is being run by lawyers and accountants. And you're meant to be very pleased, because you've made it and so on. But in fact, you're just getting carried along in a flow where your own personal thing can get completely lost.
As I say, it's not a question of snobbery. Some wonderful stuff comes out of that. But if you did have your own little thing, maybe it can't survive being put through that kind of process. I have no idea, but I imagine that could easily have been what happened to Syd. That the actual success of the band just completely threw him off-balance, I can imagine.
Q: Is there truth to the stories that the musicians on his solo albums weren't told what key the song was in, or that they just had to settle on whatever takes were completed?
Wyatt: That's true, but I mean, that's not very... I was brought up, musically, in the '50s. If you want eccentricity, and that kind of non-verbal world and those kind of weird signals that you have to pick up, you can't beat jazz musicians, you know (laughs). I'm just reading the stories, as I say, about working with Mingus and all those people. Working with Syd Barrett's a piece of cake, I think. I found him courteous and friendly. I can't think of anything wrong with him. I really liked his songs. I liked them musically, I liked them lyrically, and I liked the way he sang them. I can't fault him, really. I don't think he did anything wrong that I know of. I just think that not everybody fits into the business. I know from personal experience, it's not that easy
@toyaquiyvoyaya
Robert Wyatt about the wonderful experience of working with Syd Barrett. this is an extract from an interview of Robert Wyatt, drummer with The Soft Machine, talking about working with Syd. The interview is by Ritchie Unterberger, taken from the book: Unknown legends of Rock'n'Roll.
Q: I wanted to ask a question about someone else in the book who I won't be able to interview. You drummed on some of Syd Barrett's solo records.
Wyatt: I didn't see them (the Pink Floyd) perform very much. I liked him. He was shy, he was thoughtful, and he was definitely onto something.
Q: Did you find him difficult to work with?
Wyatt: Absolutely not, no. Very easy. Almost too easy. He was very, very easygoing. So easygoing that you didn't necessarily know what he wanted, or whether he was pleased with it or not, because he seemed quite pleased with what you did. I think possibly he may have suffered as well from moving into the world of commercial culture, as they did. I think it might have been very confusing for him. Being an artist, working in an attic, to us - this may be a silly illusion, it's just a silly romantic dream, just like being a pop star. But I don't his romantic dreams were anything to do with the responsibilities of commercial pop stardom.
It's not a snobbishness, this thing about commercial stuff. It's just the fact that it seems to have a momentum all its own, and there seems to be demands made on it. You know how it is with, for example, Hollywood films--they're really accountant-led. Being big and famous doesn't get you more freedom, it gets you less, you know what I mean? It happens in the music itself as well. All the machinery that starts to come into gear, from management and touring and the whole way it's done, the musician becomes a fairly small cog in a machine where all these sort of semi-comatose people in the industry certainly come alive, and they certainly know how to act. And suddenly, your whole life is being run by lawyers and accountants. And you're meant to be very pleased, because you've made it and so on. But in fact, you're just getting carried along in a flow where your own personal thing can get completely lost.
As I say, it's not a question of snobbery. Some wonderful stuff comes out of that. But if you did have your own little thing, maybe it can't survive being put through that kind of process. I have no idea, but I imagine that could easily have been what happened to Syd. That the actual success of the band just completely threw him off-balance, I can imagine.
Q: Is there truth to the stories that the musicians on his solo albums weren't told what key the song was in, or that they just had to settle on whatever takes were completed?
Wyatt: That's true, but I mean, that's not very... I was brought up, musically, in the '50s. If you want eccentricity, and that kind of non-verbal world and those kind of weird signals that you have to pick up, you can't beat jazz musicians, you know (laughs). I'm just reading the stories, as I say, about working with Mingus and all those people. Working with Syd Barrett's a piece of cake, I think. I found him courteous and friendly. I can't think of anything wrong with him. I really liked his songs. I liked them musically, I liked them lyrically, and I liked the way he sang them. I can't fault him, really. I don't think he did anything wrong that I know of. I just think that not everybody fits into the business. I know from personal experience, it's not that easy
@HidastaaAmCz
It's no good trying to place your hand
Where I can't see, because I understand
That you're different from me
Yes, I can tell that you can't be what you pretend
And you're rocking me backwards and you're rocking towards
The red and yellow mane of a stallion horse
It's no good trying to hold your love
Where I can't see, because I understand
That you're different from me
Yes, I can tell that you can't be what you pretend
The caterpillar hood won't cover the head of you
Know you should be home in bed
It's no good holding your sequin fan
Where I can't see, because I understand
That you're different from me
Yes, I can tell that you can't be what you pretend
Yes, you're spinning around and around in a car
With electric lights flashing very fast
@Jhensy2012
Drummer Robert Wyatt said that the musicians would ask "What key is that in, Syd?", to which Barrett would simply reply "Yeah".
@toyaquiyvoyaya
Robert Wyatt also said: This is an extract from an interview of Robert Wyatt, drummer with The Soft Machine, talking about working with Syd. The interview is by Ritchie Unterberger, taken from the book: Unknown legends of Rock'n'Roll.
Q: I wanted to ask a question about someone else in the book who I won't be able to interview. You drummed on some of Syd Barrett's solo records.
Wyatt: I didn't see them (the Pink Floyd) perform very much. I liked him. He was shy, he was thoughtful, and he was definitely onto something.
Q: Did you find him difficult to work with?
Wyatt: Absolutely not, no. Very easy. Almost too easy. He was very, very easygoing. So easygoing that you didn't necessarily know what he wanted, or whether he was pleased with it or not, because he seemed quite pleased with what you did. I think possibly he may have suffered as well from moving into the world of commercial culture, as they did. I think it might have been very confusing for him. Being an artist, working in an attic, to us - this may be a silly illusion, it's just a silly romantic dream, just like being a pop star. But I don't his romantic dreams were anything to do with the responsibilities of commercial pop stardom.
It's not a snobbishness, this thing about commercial stuff. It's just the fact that it seems to have a momentum all its own, and there seems to be demands made on it. You know how it is with, for example, Hollywood films--they're really accountant-led. Being big and famous doesn't get you more freedom, it gets you less, you know what I mean? It happens in the music itself as well. All the machinery that starts to come into gear, from management and touring and the whole way it's done, the musician becomes a fairly small cog in a machine where all these sort of semi-comatose people in the industry certainly come alive, and they certainly know how to act. And suddenly, your whole life is being run by lawyers and accountants. And you're meant to be very pleased, because you've made it and so on. But in fact, you're just getting carried along in a flow where your own personal thing can get completely lost.
As I say, it's not a question of snobbery. Some wonderful stuff comes out of that. But if you did have your own little thing, maybe it can't survive being put through that kind of process. I have no idea, but I imagine that could easily have been what happened to Syd. That the actual success of the band just completely threw him off-balance, I can imagine.
Q: Is there truth to the stories that the musicians on his solo albums weren't told what key the song was in, or that they just had to settle on whatever takes were completed?
Wyatt: That's true, but I mean, that's not very... I was brought up, musically, in the '50s. If you want eccentricity, and that kind of non-verbal world and those kind of weird signals that you have to pick up, you can't beat jazz musicians, you know (laughs). I'm just reading the stories, as I say, about working with Mingus and all those people. Working with Syd Barrett's a piece of cake, I think. I found him courteous and friendly. I can't think of anything wrong with him. I really liked his songs. I liked them musically, I liked them lyrically, and I liked the way he sang them. I can't fault him, really. I don't think he did anything wrong that I know of. I just think that not everybody fits into the business. I know from personal experience, it's not that easy
@LuisRuiz-dn4sl
Sheriff Lophophora Wow the best reflexion I'd read about Barrett's crisis!
@stepheneddy8441
Thank you for sharing.
@neilmorrow9756
😂
@Mors_Ontologica
@@toyaquiyvoyayaxD that's like saying I need to know what color an oil slick is. Is it mostly green, red, blue? Its mostly black right?
@CrazyDiamond003
Happy 70th Birthday to a timeless genius, a visionary, the true original that was Syd Barrett. You are still thought of, down here :)
@Garrysullivanjones
Cheers from Syd’s spirit
@grocerewe1935
@@Garrysullivanjones lol what even
@moonbeanification
Such surreal imagery ... "you're rocking me backwards and you're rocking towards the red and yellow mane of a stallion horse"