"Let There Be More Light" is a song by 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 ...

and the opening track on their second album, ''

A Saucerful of Secrets ''A Saucerful of Secrets'' is the second studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 28 June 1968 by Columbia Graphophone Company, EMI Columbia in the UK and in the US by Tower Records (record label), Tower Records. The menta ...

''. It was also released in edited form as the fourth American single by the group.

Writing and recording

The song is written by

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 ...

. It begins with an iterative bass line before the vocals start. The first, gentler vocals are performed by Rick Wright with Waters whispering, and the following, harder refrain is sung by

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 ...

. The last two minutes of the song mark the first appearance of a

guitar solo A guitar solo is a melody, melodic passage, instrumental section (music), section, or entire piece of music, pre-written (or improvised) to be played on a classical guitar, classical, electric guitar, electric, or acoustic guitar. In 20th and ...

by Gilmour on a Pink Floyd album, though it has been disputed to be former guitarist

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, ...

by Andrew King, their manager at the time.

Lyrical themes

"Let There Be More Light" describes the imagined descent of a fantastical spacecraft at

RAF Mildenhall Royal Air Force Mildenhall, or more simply RAF Mildenhall , is a Royal Air Force List of Royal Air Force stations, station located near Mildenhall, Suffolk, Mildenhall in Suffolk, England. Despite its status as a List of Royal Air Force stations, ...

, north-east of Waters' hometown of

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

. From 1950, RAF Mildenhall primarily supported US Air Force operations, including the

Strategic Air Command Strategic Air Command (SAC) was a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile compon ...

. The song shares the theme of benevolent extraterrestrial intervention in human affairs with the 1951 film ''

The Day the Earth Stood Still ''The Day the Earth Stood Still'' is a 1951 American science fiction film from 20th Century Fox, produced by Julian Blaustein and directed by Robert Wise. It stars Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Hugh Marlowe, Sam Jaffe, Billy Gray, F ...

'' and Arthur C. Clarke's 1953 novel '' Childhood's End.'' Along with "

Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" is a song by the English rock band Pink Floyd, appearing on their second album, ''A Saucerful of Secrets'' (1968). It was written by Roger Waters, taking lyrics from a Chinese poetry book, and features ...

" and 1969's " Cirrus Minor", it is one of only three Waters-penned lyrics to feature science fiction themes prior to his 1992 solo album ''

Amused to Death ''Amused to Death'' is the third studio album by English musician Roger Waters, released 7 September 1992 on Columbia. Produced by Waters and Patrick Leonard, it was mixed in QSound to enhance its spatial feel. The album features Jeff Beck o ...

''. "Let There Be More Light" includes cryptic references to science fiction stories, the 11th century rebel

Hereward the Wake Hereward the Wake (Old English pronunciation /ˈhɛ.rɛ.ward/ , modern English pronunciation / ) (also known as Hereward the Outlaw or Hereward the Exile) was an Anglo-Saxon nobleman and a leader of local resistance to the Norman Conquest of E ...

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

' song " Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" and one of Pink Floyd's early light show operators. While the oblique lyrics contrast with the more direct style that Waters would later adopt, the historical and popular culture references tentatively pre-figure the overt political sentiments of later Pink Floyd and Waters solo releases. The first verse relates the realisation of an apparent prophecy that "something will be done" when a "mighty ship / Descending on a point of flame / Made contact with the human race at Mildenhall". The second verse opens with the repeated refrain "Now ... is the time to be aware", before referring to "Carter's father". While some fans have speculated that Waters is describing

John Carter of Mars John Carter of Mars is a fictional Virginian soldier who acts as the initial protagonist of the Barsoom stories by Edgar Rice Burroughs. A veteran of the American Civil War, he is transported to the planet Mars, called Barsoom by its inhabit ...

, a character appearing in science fiction novels of

Edgar Rice Burroughs Edgar Rice Burroughs (September 1, 1875 – March 19, 1950) was an American writer, best known for his prolific output in the adventure, science fiction, and fantasy genres. Best known for creating the characters Tarzan (who appeared in ...

, according to

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 ...

the lyric refers to Cambridge local, band associate and sometime lighting operator, Ian 'Pip' Carter. Carter's father, seeing the spacecraft, "knew the Rull revealed to him / The living soul of

", a phrase which appears to reference both science fiction writer A. E. van Vogt's 1948 short story "The Rull" (which tells of psychological battle of wits between a human and a hostile alien with hypnotic powers) and a legendary 11th century leader of resistance to the Norman invasion of England who is believed to have roamed

The Fens The Fens or Fenlands in eastern England are a naturally marshy region supporting a rich ecology and numerous species. Most of the fens were drained centuries ago, resulting in a flat, dry, low-lying agricultural region supported by a system o ...

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfor ...

. In the third verse, the "outer lock" of the spacecraft opens to reveal "in flowing robes ... Lucy In The Sky", causing the servicemen to sigh in wonder. The fourth and final verse begins with the question "Did ... you ever know ... / Never, ever will they ascend?" before Lucy In The Sky, toes glowing, summons "his cosmic powers" and lets the "psychic emanations" flow.

Release and live

A rare US single release (Tower 440) contains edited mono versions of this song and " Remember a Day". The single was also released in Japan. The single did not chart. Pink Floyd performed the song live from 1968–69, often as an encore. The song was played by

Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets are an English rock band formed in 2018 to perform the early music of Pink Floyd. The band comprises the Pink Floyd drummer and co-founder Nick Mason, the bassist Guy Pratt, the guitarists Gary Kemp and Lee Harri ...

in 2018 and 2019. ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

'' said that "weird meter and mood changes could be the factors to bring this record home."

Planned B-side

This song was planned as a B-side to an edit of one of Pink Floyd's later songs, "

Money Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money are: m ...

", for 7 December 1981, but for unknown reasons, the release was cancelled by

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

Personnel

* Richard Wright – Farfisa organ,

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 ...

, piano, lead vocals (verse sections) *

– electric guitars, lead vocals (chorus sections) *

– bass guitar, whispered vocals (verse sections) *

– drums, percussion

References

{{authority control 1968 songs 1968 singles Pink Floyd songs Songs written by Roger Waters Songs about extraterrestrial life