| "Let There Be More Light" | |||||
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| Single by Pink Floyd from the album A Saucerful of Secrets |
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| B-side | Remember a Day | ||||
| Released | June 29, 1968 (UK) July 27, 1968 (US) August 19, 1968 (US single) 1968 (Japanese single) |
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| Format | 7" | ||||
| Recorded | January, March, May 1968 Abbey Road Studios, London |
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| Genre | Space rock, psychedelic rock | ||||
| Length | 5:39 3:00 (US single) 5:27 (Japanese single) |
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| Label | Tower Records (US) | ||||
| Writer | Roger Waters | ||||
| Producer | Norman Smith | ||||
| Pink Floyd singles chronology | |||||
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| A Saucerful of Secrets track listing | |||||
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"Let There Be More Light" is the first song on Pink Floyd's second album, A Saucerful of Secrets and seems a sarcastic commentary on the more common perception of the '60s movement which spawned them, or a key figure in that movement. The reference to "the mighty ship" might be best understood by comparing the Jimi Hendrix song, "Up from the Skies", probably a metaphor for something else, not a spaceship, seeing as how the song later mentions "Lucy in the sky". The song was entirely written by Roger Waters. It begins with an iterative bass line before the vocals start. The first, gentler vocals are performed by Richard Wright with David Gilmour whispering, the following, harder refrain by Roger Waters. The last two minutes feature for the first time a guitar solo from Gilmour in a Pink Floyd album, featuring his style and "trade mark": he plays single notes and the sound of his guitar is treated through a chain of sound effects, such as distortion and echo. According to the Echoes FAQ, the songs lyrics were inspired by various Science Fiction sources and historic persons, including; The Rhull, Mildenhall, Hereward the Wake and Carter's father. At 2:36, Roger Waters (whispering support vocals) seems to forget the lyrics and begins to whisper the word "something" while Richard Wright (main vocals) says the word "waiting." Waters quickly catches himself and goes on singing the correct lyrics of the song. The line "was Lucy in the sky" is a direct reference to the song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" by The Beatles. The title "Let There Be More Light" seems to be directly derived from the biblical sentence "Let there be light" from the book of Genesis. A rare US single release (Tower 440) contains edited mono versions of both songs. This single was never released in the UK.
Personnel
- David Gilmour - Electric Guitars and Lead Vocals
- Richard Wright - Farfisa Organs and Lead Vocals
- Roger Waters - Bass, Whispering and Backing Vocals
- Nick Mason - Drums and Percussion
Cover Version
- A cover of Let There Be More Light by Brook Claman appears on 2003 Pink Floyd tribute album A Fair Forgery of Pink Floyd
Another cover can be found on the RPWL Album "999", dated 2007
