"A Saucerful of Secrets"
Song by Pink Floyd
from the album A Saucerful of Secrets
Released	June 29, 1968 (UK) July 27, 1968 (US)
Recorded	April 1968 Abbey Road Studios, London
Genre	Psychedelic rock, Progressive Rock
Length	11:56
Writer(s)	Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Nick Mason, Richard Wright
A Saucerful of Secrets track listing
Corporal Clegg (4)	"A Saucerful of Secrets" (5)	See-Saw (6)

"A Saucerful of Secrets" is a multi-part instrumental by the rock band Pink Floyd from an album of the same name, released in 1968. The track lasts 11:56 and was composed by band members Roger Waters, Rick Wright, Nick Mason, and David Gilmour. It is very much an experimental, avant-garde piece featuring howling feedback, menacing percussion, and eerie wordless vocals. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (700x692, 104 KB)The album cover for the Pink Floyd album A Saucerful of Secrets. ... A song is a relatively short musical composition for the human voice (commonly accompanied by other musical instruments), which features words (lyrics). ... Pink Floyd are an English rock band noted for psychedelic rock music, philosophical lyrics, classical rock compositions, sonic experimentation, innovative cover art, and elaborate live shows. ... A Saucerful of Secrets is the second album by rock band Pink Floyd, and arguably one of the first progressive rock albums. ... June 29 is the 180th day of the year (181st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 185 days remaining. ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... July 27 is the 208th day (209th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 157 days remaining. ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... The legendary recording studio Abbey Road Studios, created in November of 1931 by EMI in London, England is best known as the legendary recording studio used by the rock artists: The Beatles, Cliff Richard, Pink Floyd and The Shadows. ... London (pronounced ) is the capital city of the United Kingdom and the largest city of England (strangely, England has no constitutional existence within the United Kingdom, and therefore cannot be said to have a capital). ... A music genre is a category (or genre) of pieces of music that share a certain style or basic musical language (van der Merwe 1989, p. ... Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music inspired by or attempting to replicate the mind-altering experiences brought on by drugs such as cannabis, psilocybin, mescaline, salvia divinorum, and especially LSD. There are also other forms of psychedelic music that started from the same roots and diverged from the... Progressive rock (sometimes shortened to prog, prog rock, or progrock) is a subgenre of rock music which arose in the late 1960s, reached the peak of its popularity in the 1970s, but continues as a musical form long afterward. ... A songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics to songs, the musical composition or melody to songs, or both. ... George Roger Waters (born September 6, 1943) is an English rock musician; singer, guitarist, bassist, songwriter, and composer. ... David Jon Gilmour CBE (born March 6, 1946) is a guitarist, singer, and songwriter best known as a member of the band Pink Floyd. ... Nicholas Berkeley (Nick) Mason (born January 27, 1944 in Birmingham, England) is a musician and the drummer for Pink Floyd. ... Richard William Rick Wright (born July 28, 1943 in Hatch End, London, England) is a self-taught pianist and keyboard player best known for his long career with Pink Floyd. ... A Saucerful of Secrets is the second album by rock band Pink Floyd, and arguably one of the first progressive rock albums. ... Corporal Clegg is a song by British psychedelic rock band Pink Floyd, and is featured on their second album, A Saucerful of Secrets (1968). ... See-Saw is a song from Pink Floyds 1968 album A Saucerful of Secrets. ... Rock is a form of popular music from the mid 20th century which typically features a vocal melody (often with vocal harmony) that is supported by accompaniment of electric guitars, a bass guitar, and drums, often with a strong back beat. ... Pink Floyd are an English rock band noted for psychedelic rock music, philosophical lyrics, classical rock compositions, sonic experimentation, innovative cover art, and elaborate live shows. ... A Saucerful of Secrets is the second album by rock band Pink Floyd, and arguably one of the first progressive rock albums. ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... George Roger Waters (born September 6, 1943) is an English rock musician; singer, guitarist, bassist, songwriter, and composer. ... Richard William Rick Wright (born July 28, 1943 in Hatch End, London, England) is a self-taught pianist and keyboard player best known for his long career with Pink Floyd. ... Nicholas Berkeley (Nick) Mason (born January 27, 1944 in Birmingham, England) is a musician and the drummer for Pink Floyd. ... David Jon Gilmour CBE (born March 6, 1946) is a guitarist, singer, and songwriter best known as a member of the band Pink Floyd. ... A work similar to Marcel Duchamps Fountain Avant garde (written avant-garde) is a French phrase, one of many French phrases used by English speakers. ...

"A Saucerful of Secrets" (originally known as "The Massed Gadgets of Hercules" in its earliest performances) became a Pink Floyd live staple from 1968 until 1972. A live version of the track is available on Pink Floyd's 1969 double album Ummagumma, and the version seen and heard in the film Live at Pompeii: Directors Cut is considered by many to be the definitive version. In 1969, it was incorporated into the live concept The Man and the Journey as "The End of the Beginning." Ummagumma is a progressive and psychedelic double album by Pink Floyd released in 1969. ... Live at Pompeii: The Directors Cut is a DVD rerelease of the 1973 Adrian Maben film Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii. ... The official program advertising The Man portion of the shows. ...

Roger Waters once stated in a Rolling Stone interview that this song was about a battle and the aftermath. "Something Else" represents the setup of the battle. "Syncopated Pandemonium" represents the actual battle. "Storm Signal" represents the view of the dead after the battle has ended, and "Celestial Voices" represents the mourning of the dead.

Live performances of the song differed significantly from the studio version. The closely miked cymbal sound that starts the piece was instead performed as a two note drone on the bass. For the "Syncopated Pandemonium" section, Rick Wright usually had to be content with playing his Farfisa organ instead of pounding a grand piano with his fists on the studio recording (the version on "Pompeii" being a notable exception). The "Celestial Voices" section started with just organ as per the studio version, but gradually added drums, bass, guitar and wordless vocals, provided by David Gilmour. This led to a strong climax of the song, that can be best appreciated by the enthusiastic applause at the end of the version on "Ummagumma".

Sections

Although the song is listed on all pressings of the album as "A Saucerful of Secrets", some pressings of Ummagumma break the piece into four different sections:

1. "Something Else" (slow closely miked cymbal fade-in and echoing organ)
2. "Syncopated Pandemonium" (drum tape loop, furious cymbals, screeching guitar)
3. "Storm Signal" (chimes and organ)
4. "Celestial Voices" (bass, organ, mellotron and wordless chorus)

Alternative and Live versions

• The version found on the Live at Pompeii: Directors Cut is seen by some as the definitive version of the song. Strangely in this version Nick Mason does not play the cymbal parts, with these instead being played by bassist Roger Waters; and David Gilmour does the vocalisations for only the last chord progression, instead of for the last two.
• The Ummagumma live version is only slightly longer than the studio version at 12:48.
• Some live performances of the song ran for nearly 20 minutes^{[citation needed]}.

Live at Pompeii: The Directors Cut is a DVD rerelease of the 1973 Adrian Maben film Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii. ... Nicholas Berkeley (Nick) Mason (born January 27, 1944 in Birmingham, England) is a musician and the drummer for Pink Floyd. ... Ummagumma is a progressive and psychedelic double album by Pink Floyd released in 1969. ...

Personnel

• David Gilmour - Guitar and Vocalisations
• Richard Wright - Keyboards and Vocalisations
• Roger Waters - Bass
• Nick Mason - Drums and Percussion

David Jon Gilmour CBE (born March 6, 1946) is a guitarist, singer, and songwriter best known as a member of the band Pink Floyd. ... Richard William Rick Wright (born July 28, 1943 in Hatch End, London, England) is a self-taught pianist and keyboard player best known for his long career with Pink Floyd. ... George Roger Waters (born September 6, 1943) is an English rock musician; singer, guitarist, bassist, songwriter, and composer. ... Nicholas Berkeley (Nick) Mason (born January 27, 1944 in Birmingham, England) is a musician and the drummer for Pink Floyd. ...

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