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SET
THE CONTROLS FOR THE HEART OF THE SUN
Peter
Jenner: 'Set the Controls...' was the first song that Roger
wrote that stood up against Syd's
songs, which was significant at that time. Roger
Waters: 'Set the Controls...' is about an unknown person who, while piloting
a mighty flying saucer, is overcome with solar suicidal tendencies and sets
the controls for the heart of the sun.
David Gilmour: Even in those days, recording tended to be a few people playing,
and then dropping in overdubbing afterwards. There are tracks on 'Saucerful
of Secrets' that Syd played on and I played on later. 'Set the Control...',
I think I played a bit on. Roger
Waters: I managed to get hold of a book of chinese poetry from the late
T'ang period - and i just ripped it off. Except for the title. I've no idea
where that came from. It came from...within me. Comment:
Some of the lyrics to this song is based from a poem by chinese poet Li
Ho (791-817) called 'Don't Go Out Of The Door', which includes the line
'Witness the man who raved at the wall as he wrote his questions to heaven'. Comment:
Other lyrics from this song is based from poetry by chinese poet
Li Shang-Yin (812-58) which includes lines like 'Watch little by little
the night turns around', 'Countless the twigs which tremble in the dawn',and
'One inch of love is an inch of ashes' . Comment:
Roger Waters based some of the lyrics from another Chinese poet, Tu Mu (803-52)
The poem which is called "In Ch'i-an, on a Chance Theme, includes the line
"So many green lotus-stalks lean on each other in yearning." Comment:
The title to this song is quote from William
S Burroughs. Comment:
Pink Floyd performed this song for
their first BBC session in October '67, obviously with Syd
on guitar. He is known to have been involved in recording an early version
for 'Saucerful of Secrets', although David
Gilmour also recalls being asked to overdub some guitar, so it is
possible that this is the only recording by the five-man Floyd.
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