| "Pow R. Toc H." | |||||
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| Song by Pink Floyd | |||||
| Album | The Piper at the Gates of Dawn | ||||
| Released | August 5 1967 | ||||
| Recorded | February – June 1967 | ||||
| Genre | Psychedelic rock | ||||
| Length | 4:26 | ||||
| Label | Columbia/EMI (UK) Capitol (US) | ||||
| Producer | Norman Smith | ||||
| The Piper at the Gates of Dawn track listing | |||||
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"Pow R. Toc H." is the fifth song on Pink Floyd's 1967 album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. It is located in between "Flaming" and "Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk". The song consists of a light piano composition coupled with strange sounds, described by some listeners as scary and "jungle-like". The title, by Roger, is meaningless, although fans sometimes adopt their own pronunciations. Toc H. was the army signallers code for TH - representing Talbot House - a club where officers and enlisted men were equals. It later became an Interdenominational Christian fellowship organization serving the community. Pow R. was added for no other reason than it sounded right, according to Waters. It's been said that Pow R. Toc H. was a conscious effort by the band to produce a sequel to "Interstellar Overdrive". Like "Interstellar Overdrive", it has no lyrics. It has also been suggested by fans that the song title is a veiled abbreviation for "power toke" or "power tokage", the process by which Syd Barrett would smoke a great amount of marijuana and then try to write songs.
Alternative and Live versions
Pow R. Toc H. was renamed "The Pink Jungle" in the 'Journey' part of The Man and the Journey.
Personnel
- Syd Barrett - Vocalisations and Guitar
- Richard Wright - Keyboards and Piano
- Roger Waters - Bass and Vocalisations
- Nick Mason - Drums and Percussion
