Lucifer Sam, Siam cat
Always sitting by your side
Always by your side
That cat’s something I can’t explain
Jennifer Gentle you’re a witch
You’re the left side
He’s the right side, oh no!
That cat’s something I can’t explain…
I was wondering when I was gonna get around to Pink Floyd’s Lucifer Sam.
It feels like, except among Floyd fans who go deeper than just the big 70s albums, there’s not much conversation about how deliciously weird early Pink Floyd actually was. And not “lasers, pyramids, and Roger Waters’s an overly-litigious douchebag” weird. I mean the kind of weird where you can’t tell if you’re listening to a children’s story or an occult transmission from another dimension.
That’s Lucifer Sam, from Floyd’s 1967 debut The Piper at the Gates of Dawn — a slinky, mischievous little tune about a cat.
Yes, a cat. Probably. Maybe.
What smacks me first about Luficer Sam is the music. This thing sounds like spy music, an espionage theme for a 60s kitty serving Her Majesty’s Secret Service. The guitars echo like they’ve been bounced off Mars and returned so much cooler. And then there’s Syd Barrett’s voice comes creeping through with all the calm assurance of someone who definitely knows more than you do.
But isn’t about to explain any of it.
Lucifer Sam is described as a Siamese cat, one that’s always watching, always knowing. There’s devotion there, but also something eerie, like the cat is more familiar than pet. You can almost see its eyes gleaming in the dark, unblinking, cosmic, and faintly judgmental.
And this is one feline who will never reveal who or what he really is, or what he’s thinking. Or if he’s regarding you at all.
Barrett’s lyrics dance between nonsense and prophecy the way only he could. Is Sam an ordinary cat? A witch’s familiar? The embodiment of temptation? A psychedelic riddle wrapped in feline indifference? The more you listen, the less you’re sure. And therein lies the magic.
And in that late-60s haze where English whimsy met interdimensional dread, Lucifer Sam gave us one of rock’s first truly supernatural companions.
Lucifer, go to sea
Be a hip cat, be a ship’s cat
Somewhere, anywhere
That cat’s something I can’t explain
At night prowling sifting sand
Hiding around on the ground
He’ll be found when you’re around
That cat’s something I can’t explain…
I keep meaning to post a comment every Halloween but…I love this band, I love this song, I love this review (‘The guitars echo like they’ve bounced off Mars’, brilliant!) and I love this blog series. Keep up the good work my friend!
Good to hear from you, old friend. And thanks! Took some time away but missed the writing.
And you old friend, I was really pleased to see your posts on my blogroll timeline. You’ve still got it too, your descriptive words were always the best! I hope you manage to write more despite, you know, the end of western civilisation as we know it going on all around us!