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Astronomy Domine
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Wikipedia article
{{Infobox song
| name = Astronomy Domine
| cover =
| alt =
| type =
| artist = Pink Floyd
| album = The Piper at the Gates of Dawn
| EP =
| written =
| published = Magdalene Music / Essex Music
| released = 5 August 1967
| format =
| recorded = 1113 April 1967
| studio =
| venue =
| genre =
* Space rock
* psychedelic rock
* proto-prog
| length = *4:12 ('The Piper at the Gates of Dawn' version)
*8:32 ('Ummagumma' live version)
*4:20 ('Pulse' live version)
| label = *EMI Columbia (UK)
*Tower (US)
| writer = Syd Barrett
| composer =
| lyricist =
| producer = Norman Smith
| prev_title =
| prev_year =
| title =
| next_title =
| next_year =
| misc =
}}
"'Astronomy Domine'" (alternative "'Astronomy Domin'") is a song by the English rock band Pink Floyd. The song, written and composed by the original vocalist/guitarist Syd Barrett, is the opening track on their debut album, 'The Piper at the Gates of Dawn' (1967). The lead vocal was sung by Barrett and the keyboard player Richard Wright. Its working title was "Astronomy Domin (An Astral Chant)". "Domine" (the vocative of "Lord" in Latin) is a word frequently used in Gregorian chants.
Music
Sounds and references
The song was seen as Pink Floyd's first foray into space rock (along with "Interstellar Overdrive"), although band members later disparaged this term. The song opens with the voice of one of their managers at the time, Peter Jenner, reading the names of planets, stars and galaxies through a megaphone. A barely audible line, "Pluto was not discovered till 1930", can be heard in the megaphonic mix. Barrett's Fender Esquire emerges and grows louder. At 0:19, a rapid beeping sound is heard. At 0:26, Nick Mason's drum fills begin and Barrett plays the introductory figure. Keyboard player Richard Wright's Farfisa organ is mixed into the background. Barrett's lyrics about space support the theme in the song, mentioning the planets Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune as well as Uranian moons Oberon, Miranda and Titania, and Saturn's moon Titan. Barrett and Wright provide lead vocals. Roger Waters' bass guitar line, Wright's Farfisa organ and Barrett's slide guitar then dominate, with Jenner's megaphone recitation re-emerging from the mix for a time.Music progression
The verse has an unusual chord progression, all in major chords: E, E, G and A. The chorus is entirely chromatic, descending directly from A to D on guitar, bass guitar and falsetto singing, down one semitone every three beats. In the introduction, Barrett takes an ordinary open E major chord and moves the fretted notes down one semitone, resulting in an E major chord superimposed onto an open E minor chord, fretting E and B notes along with the open E, G, B and high-E strings of the guitar; the G functions both as major third to the E chord and minor third to the E chord. In the live version heard on 'Ummagumma' (1969), the post-Barrett band, with David Gilmour on guitar, normalised the introduction into straight E and E major chords, also normalising the timing of the introduction,'Pink Floyd: Anthology' (1980 Warner Bros. Publications, Inc., Secaucus N.J.) Transcribes "Astronomy Domin" as heard on 'Ummagumma' but, in 1994, Gilmour began performing a version closer to the original (as heard on 'Pulse') that he carried into his solo career.Barrett's Fender Esquire is played through a Binson echo machine, creating psychedelic delay effects. The track is the band's only overt "space rock" song, though a group-composed, abstract instrumental was titled "Interstellar Overdrive".Robbins, Ira A. (1991). 'The Trouser Press Record Guide'. Collier Books.
- Schaffner, Nicholas (1992). 'Saucerful of Secrets: The Pink Floyd Odyssey'. Dell. , p.66. Waters, in an interview with Nick Sedgewick, described "Astronomy Domin" as "the sum total" of Barrett's writing about space, "yet there's this whole fucking mystique about how he was the father of it all".Sedgewick, Nick, "A Rambling Conversation with Roger Waters, Concerning All This and That", 'Wish You Were Here' songbook, [USA ]
Alternative and live versions
"Astronomy Domine" was a popular live piece, regularly included in the band's concerts. It is the first track on the live side of the album 'Ummagumma', released in 1969. This version reflects the band's more progressive style of that era. The song is extended by including the first verse twice, and the instrumental middle section, before becoming louder again by the last verse. The lead vocals are shared between Gilmour and Wright. While Wright sang the higher harmony in the studio version, Gilmour sang the higher harmony live. The 'Ummagumma' live version can also be found replacing the studio version on the American release of 'A Nice Pair', a 1973 double album compiling the band's first two albums.
It was dropped from the live sets in mid-1971, but reappeared as the first song in some sets on the band's 1994 tour. The last time the song was performed with Waters was on 20 June 1971 at the Palaeur in Rome, Italy. A version from a concert in Miami appears as the B-side on the band's "Take It Back" single, and a version from one of the London concerts appears on the live album 'Pulse'. Gilmour played the song at some of his appearances during his solo 2006 tour, again sharing the lead vocal with fellow Floyd member Wright. He said of playing the song live for the first time in over 20 years:
The track is also on the 2001 Pink Floyd compilation album, 'Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd'.
The 'Pulse' version reverts to the original 4-minute length, with Gilmour and Wright taking lead vocals as in 'Ummagumma'. This was the only song on the 1994 tour with Gilmour, Mason and Wright performing without backing musicians, with only Guy Pratt adding bass guitar and vocals.
The song was also played by Gilmour and his solo band (which included Wright with Pratt on bass guitar and Steve DiStanislao on drums) at the Abbey Road Studios sessions, which has been released as part of a CD/DVD 'On an Island' package. "Astronomy Domin" was performed during the last few dates of Gilmour's 'On an Island' tour, and is on his 'Remember That Night' and 'Live in Gdask' DVDs.
Gilmour has inserted the song in the setlist of his last solo 'Rattle That Lock' world tour.
The song was played by Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets in 2018.
Music video
In 1968, Pink Floyd travelled to Belgium and appeared on Tienerklanken where they filmed a lip-synched promotional film for "Astronomy Domin", as well as "See Emily Play", "The Scarecrow", "Apples and Oranges", "Paint Box", "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" and "Corporal Clegg". Barrett does not appear in these films, as he had been replaced by Gilmour who lip-synced Barrett's voice in the "Astronomy Domin" video.
Personnel
'The Piper at the Gates of Dawn' version
*Syd Barrett lead and slide guitar (Fender Esquire), low vocals
*Richard Wright Farfisa organ, high vocals
*Roger Waters bass guitar (Rickenbacker 4001)
*Nick Mason drums
*Peter Jenner intro vocalisations
'Ummagumma' live version
*David Gilmour guitar, high vocals
*Richard Wright Farfisa organ, low vocals
*Roger Waters bass guitar, backing vocals
*Nick Mason drums
'Pulse' live version
*David Gilmour guitar, vocals
*Richard Wright keyboards, vocals
*Nick Mason drums
with:
*Guy Pratt bass guitar, vocals
'Live in Gdask' live version
*David Gilmour guitar, vocals
*Richard Wright keyboards, vocals
*Jon Carin keyboards, vocals
*Steve DiStanislao drums
*Phil Manzanera guitar
*Guy Pratt bass guitar, vocals
Legacy
*The Canadian heavy metal band Voivod covered "Astronomy Domin" on their 1989 album 'Nothingface'.
* The song was covered by The Claypool Lennon Delirium on their EP 'Lime and Limpid Green'.
* The Brazilian band Violeta de Outono covered the song on their live album 'Seventh Brings Return: A Tribute to Syd Barrett'.
Notes
References
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