"Flaming" is a song by the English rock band

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...

, featured on their 1967 debut album, ''

The Piper at the Gates of Dawn ''The Piper at the Gates of Dawn'' is the debut studio album by English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 4 August 1967 by EMI Columbia. It is the only Pink Floyd album made under the leadership of founder member Syd Barrett (lead vocals, ...

''. Written and sung by

Syd Barrett Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett (6 January 1946 – 7 July 2006) was an English singer, guitarist and songwriter who co-founded the rock band Pink Floyd in 1965. Until his departure in 1968, he was Pink Floyd's frontman and primary songwriter, ...

, the song remained in their set until late 1968;

David Gilmour David Jon Gilmour ( ; born 6 March 1946) is an English guitarist, singer and songwriter who is a member of the rock band Pink Floyd. He joined in 1967, shortly before the departure of the founder member Syd Barrett. By the early 1980s, Pink F ...

sang the lead vocal after Barrett's departure.

Writing

The song was originally titled "Snowing". Barrett's lyrics describe a childlike game with fantastical imagery, including a line "here we go, ever so high".

Single

"Flaming" was also the third US Pink Floyd single (Tower 378) and was released by

Tower Records Tower Records is an international retail franchising, franchise and online music store that was formerly based in Sacramento, California, United States. From 1960 until 2006, Tower operated retail stores in the United States, which closed when ...

, but it did not chart. The mono US single mix of "Flaming" is slightly edited from other stereo or mono versions of the recording. This US single was released in place of the UK single, "

Apples and Oranges A comparison of apples and oranges occurs when two items or groups of items are compared that cannot be practically compared, typically because of inherent or fundamental differences between the objects. The idiom, ''comparing apples and oran ...

" (backed with " Paint Box"), which had then just failed to break into the UK charts. It was the first of two US Pink Floyd singles released on Tower that were not released on a single in the UK. The other US single that was not released in the UK was "

Let There Be More Light "Let There Be More Light" is a song by English rock band Pink Floyd and the opening track on their second album, ''A Saucerful of Secrets''. It was also released in edited form as the fourth American single by the group. Writing and recording T ...

" b/w "

Remember a Day "Remember a Day" is a song by the English rock band Pink Floyd, written and sung by their keyboardist Richard Wright, appearing on their second album, ''A Saucerful of Secrets'' (1968). It was performed by Pink Floyd only once, as an encore in ...

" (Tower 440).

Live performances

A live version of "Flaming" (at that time known as "Snowing") was played in London's All Saints Hall in 1966. The song remained a live staple until the end of 1968, with

singing the lead vocal after Barrett left the band early in the year. A version performed at the Paradiso, Amsterdam on 31 May was broadcast on NTS, while a performance in L'Antene du Chapiteau du Kremlin-Bicêtre, Paris, on 31 October was broadcast on ORTF.

Personnel

– lead vocals, electric guitar,

12-string acoustic guitar A twelve-string guitar (or 12-string guitar) is a steel-string guitar with 12 strings in six courses, which produces a thicker, more ringing tone than a standard six-string guitar. Typically, the strings of the lower four courses are tuned in oc ...

, vocal percussion,

wind-up toy A wind-up toy is an automaton toy powered by a clockwork motor. Background Automata built for the sake of art, amusement, and simulation have been described since antiquity, in cases such as Heron of Alexandria designing clockwork birds duri ...

s *

Rick Wright Richard Wright may refer to: Arts * Richard Wright (author) (1908–1960), African-American novelist * Richard B. Wright (1937–2017), Canadian novelist * Richard Wright (painter) (1735–1775), marine painter * Richard Wright (artist) (born 1 ...

–

Farfisa organ Farfisa () is a manufacturer of electronics based in Osimo, Italy, founded in 1946. The company manufactured a series of compact electronic organs in the 1960s and 1970s, including the Compact, FAST, Professional and VIP ranges, and later, a s ...

tack piano A tack piano (also known as a harpsipiano, jangle piano, and junk piano) is an altered version of an ordinary piano, in which objects such as thumbtacks or nails are placed on the felt-padded hammers of the instrument at the point where the ha ...

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...

Lowrey organ The Lowrey organ is an electronic organ, named after its developer, Frederick C. Lowrey (1871–1955), a Chicago-based industrialist and entrepreneur. Lowrey's first commercially successful full-sized electronic organ, the Model S Spinet or ...

, backing vocals, vocal percussion, wind-up toys *

Roger Waters George Roger Waters (born 6 September 1943) is an English musician and singer-songwriter. In 1965, he co-founded the rock band Pink Floyd as the bassist. Following the departure of the group's main songwriter Syd Barrett in 1968, Waters became ...

– bass guitar,

slide whistle A slide whistle (variously known as a swanee or swannee whistle, lotus flute, piston flute, or jazz flute) is a wind instrument consisting of a fipple like a recorder's and a tube with a piston in it. Thus it has an air reed like some woodwi ...

, backing vocals, vocal percussion, wind-up toys *

Nick Mason Nicholas Berkeley Mason (born 27 January 1944) is an English drummer and a founder member of the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. He has been the only constant member since the band's formation in 1965, and the only member to appear on every ...

– drums,

finger cymbals Zills, zils, or sagat, also known as finger cymbals, are small metallic cymbals used in belly dance, belly dancing and similar performances. They are similar to Tibetan tingsha bells. In Western music, several pairs can be set in a frame to make ...

, wind-up toys

References

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Flaming (Pink Floyd Song) 1967 singles Pink Floyd songs Psychedelic pop songs Songs written by Syd Barrett 1967 songs