While not quite attaining hit parade nirvana, “See Emily Play” nonetheless reached number 6 in the United Kingdomon July 29, 1967 just behind other hymns of the “Summer of Love” such as The Beatles’ “All You Need Is Love” and Scott McKenzie’s “San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Some Flowers in Your Hair).” The song was to play an important role in the Floyd’s career by opening the doors of the radio and television stations, which had hitherto ignored them. Praised to the skies by the media, “See Emily Play” was championed by Radio London and Radio Caroline, and on July 6, 1967 Pink Floyd were invited to appear on the BBC show Top Of The Pops for the first time to perform the hit. Barrett’s composition has since been included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s list of five hundred songs that have shaped rock ’n’ roll.
On May 12, 1967, Pink Floyd played a concert at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London. Known as “Games for May” and billed as a moment of “space age relaxation for the climax of Spring — Electronic compositions, colour and image projections, girls, and the Pink Floyd”. “Games for May” marked a crucial stage in the group’s development. Not only did it enable the group to get itself known beyond underground circles (the Queen Elizabeth Hall having been the preserve of classical music up to then), it also allowed it to test out its new compositions using the quadraphonic sound system specially designed by EMI’s engineers (which was stolen after the concert).
On the set list for the Queen Elizabeth Hall show were ten or so songs plus a number of tape recordings. Syd Barrett composed a song especially for the event. This he named, naturally enough, “Games for May.” It was this song that contained the seeds of “See Emily Play.”
Who is the Emily being observed at play by the song’s narrator? It could be Emily Tacita Young, a famous sculptor in the making, who in 1966 never missed an evening at the London Free School or the UFO Club. It is also possible that this person who "tries but misunderstands", who is "often inclined to borrow somebody’s dreams" and who cries "soon after dark" was a product of Syd Barrett’s fertile imagination — a young woman who appeared to him among the trees during an acid trip. Jenny Spires, a former girlfriend, has revealed that Emily was Syd’s favorite first name, the name he would choose if he had a daughter one day. Finally, for Roger Waters, “Emily could be anyone. She’s just a hung-up chick, that’s all.” Although ignorant of Emily’s identity, Waters claims to “know which woods Syd’s talking about in ‘See Emily Play.’ We all used to go to these woods as kids. It’s a very specific area — one specific wood on the road to the Gog Magog Hills (southwest of Cambridge).”
While not quite attaining hit parade nirvana, “See Emily Play” nonetheless reached number 6 in the United Kingdomon July 29, 1967 just behind other hymns of the “Summer of Love” such as The Beatles’ “All You Need Is Love” and Scott McKenzie’s “San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Some Flowers in Your Hair).” The song was to play an important role in the Floyd’s career by opening the doors of the radio and television stations, which had hitherto ignored them. Praised to the skies by the media, “See Emily Play” was championed by Radio London and Radio Caroline, and on July 6, 1967 Pink Floyd were invited to appear on the BBC show Top Of The Pops for the first time to perform the hit. Barrett’s composition has since been included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s list of five hundred songs that have shaped rock ’n’ roll.
On May 12, 1967, Pink Floyd played a concert at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London. Known as “Games for May” and billed as a moment of “space age relaxation for the climax of Spring — Electronic compositions, colour and image projections, girls, and the Pink Floyd”. “Games for May” marked a crucial stage in the group’s development. Not only did it enable the group to get itself known beyond underground circles (the Queen Elizabeth Hall having been the preserve of classical music up to then), it also allowed it to test out its new compositions using the quadraphonic sound system specially designed by EMI’s engineers (which was stolen after the concert).
On the set list for the Queen Elizabeth Hall show were ten or so songs plus a number of tape recordings. Syd Barrett composed a song especially for the event. This he named, naturally enough, “Games for May.” It was this song that contained the seeds of “See Emily Play.”
Who is the Emily being observed at play by the song’s narrator? It could be Emily Tacita Young, a famous sculptor in the making, who in 1966 never missed an evening at the London Free School or the UFO Club. It is also possible that this person who "tries but misunderstands", who is "often inclined to borrow somebody’s dreams" and who cries "soon after dark" was a product of Syd Barrett’s fertile imagination — a young woman who appeared to him among the trees during an acid trip. Jenny Spires, a former girlfriend, has revealed that Emily was Syd’s favorite first name, the name he would choose if he had a daughter one day. Finally, for Roger Waters, “Emily could be anyone. She’s just a hung-up chick, that’s all.” Although ignorant of Emily’s identity, Waters claims to “know which woods Syd’s talking about in ‘See Emily Play.’ We all used to go to these woods as kids. It’s a very specific area — one specific wood on the road to the Gog Magog Hills (southwest of Cambridge).”
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