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"Astronomy Domine" (alternative "Astronomy Dominé") is a song by the English rock band
Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philosophical lyrics an ...
. The song, written and composed by the original vocalist/guitarist
Syd Barrett Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett (6 January 1946 – 7 July 2006) was an English singer, songwriter, and musician who co-founded the rock band Pink Floyd in 1965. Barrett was their original frontman and primary songwriter, becoming known for his ...
, is the opening track on their debut album, '' The Piper at the Gates of Dawn'' (1967). The lead vocal was sung by Barrett and the keyboard player Richard Wright. Its working title was "Astronomy Dominé (An Astral Chant)". "Domine" (the
vocative In grammar, the vocative case ( abbreviated ) is a grammatical case which is used for a noun that identifies a person (animal, object, etc.) being addressed, or occasionally for the noun modifiers ( determiners, adjectives, participles, and num ...
of "Lord" in Latin) is a word frequently used in
Gregorian chant Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song in Latin (and occasionally Greek) of the Roman Catholic Church. Gregorian chant developed mainly in western and central Europe dur ...
s.


Music


Sounds and references

The song was seen as Pink Floyd's first foray into
space rock Space rock is a music genre characterized by loose and lengthy song structures centered on instrumental textures that typically produce a hypnotic, otherworldly sound. It may feature distorted and reverberation-laden guitars, minimal drumming ...
(along with " Interstellar Overdrive"), although band members later disparaged this term. The song opens with the voice of one of their managers at the time, Peter Jenner, reading the names of planets, stars and galaxies through a megaphone. A barely audible line, "Pluto was not discovered till 1930", can be heard in the megaphonic mix. Barrett's Fender Esquire emerges and grows louder. At 0:19, a rapid beeping sound is heard. At 0:26,
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 is the only member to feature on every Pink Floyd album, and the only constant member since its formation in ...
's drum fills begin and Barrett plays the introductory figure. Keyboard player Richard Wright's
Farfisa organ Farfisa (Fabbriche Riunite di Fisarmoniche) is a manufacturer of electronics based in Osimo, Italy, founded in 1946. The company manufactured a series of compact electronic organs in the 1960s and 1970s, including the Compact, FAST, Professiona ...
is mixed into the background. Barrett's lyrics about space support the theme in the song, mentioning the planets
Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but slightly less than one-thousandt ...
,
Saturn Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second-largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant with an average radius of about nine and a half times that of Earth. It has only one-eighth the average density of Earth; ...
and
Neptune Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun and the farthest known planet in the Solar System. It is the fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 time ...
as well as Uranian moons
Oberon Oberon () is a king of the fairies in medieval and Renaissance literature. He is best known as a character in William Shakespeare's play ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', in which he is King of the Fairies and spouse of Titania, Queen of the Fair ...
, Miranda and Titania, and
Saturn Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second-largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant with an average radius of about nine and a half times that of Earth. It has only one-eighth the average density of Earth; ...
's moon
Titan Titan most often refers to: * Titan (moon), the largest moon of Saturn * Titans, a race of deities in Greek mythology Titan or Titans may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional entities Fictional locations * Titan in fiction, fictiona ...
. Barrett and Wright provide lead vocals.
Roger Waters George Roger Waters (born 6 September 1943) is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. In 1965, he co-founded the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. Waters initially served as the bassist, but following the departure of singer-so ...
' bass guitar line, Wright's Farfisa organ and Barrett's slide guitar then dominate, with Jenner's megaphone recitation re-emerging from the mix for a time.


Music progression

The verse has an unusual chord progression, all in major chords: E, E♭, G and A. The chorus is entirely
chromatic Diatonic and chromatic are terms in music theory that are most often used to characterize scales, and are also applied to musical instruments, intervals, chords, notes, musical styles, and kinds of harmony. They are very often used as a ...
, descending directly from A to D on guitar, bass guitar and
falsetto ''Falsetto'' (, ; Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentou ...
singing, down one
semitone A semitone, also called a half step or a half tone, is the smallest musical interval commonly used in Western tonal music, and it is considered the most dissonant when sounded harmonically. It is defined as the interval between two adjacent no ...
every three beats. In the introduction, Barrett takes an ordinary open E major chord and moves the fretted notes down one semitone, resulting in an E♭ major chord superimposed onto an open
E minor E minor is a minor scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative major is G major and its parallel major is E major. The E natural minor scale is: : Changes nee ...
chord, fretting E♭ and B♭ notes along with the open E, G, B and high-E strings of the guitar; the G functions both as
major third In classical music, a third is a musical interval encompassing three staff positions (see Interval number for more details), and the major third () is a third spanning four semitones. Forte, Allen (1979). ''Tonal Harmony in Concept and P ...
to the E♭ chord and
minor third In music theory, a minor third is a musical interval that encompasses three half steps, or semitones. Staff notation represents the minor third as encompassing three staff positions (see: interval number). The minor third is one of two com ...
to the E chord. In the live version heard on ''
Ummagumma ''Ummagumma'' is the fourth album by English rock band Pink Floyd. It is a double album and it was released on 7 November 1969 by Harvest Records. The first disc consists of live recordings from concerts at Mothers Club in Birmingham and the ...
'' (1969), the post-Barrett band, with David Gilmour on guitar, normalised the introduction into straight E and E♭ major chords, also normalising the timing of the introduction, but, in 1994, Gilmour began performing a version closer to the original (as heard on ''Pulse'') that he carried into his solo career. Barrett's Fender Esquire is played through a Binson echo machine, creating psychedelic delay effects. The track is the band's only overt "space rock" song, though a group-composed, abstract instrumental was titled "Interstellar Overdrive". Waters, in an interview with Nick Sedgewick, described "Astronomy Dominé" as "the sum total" of Barrett's writing about space, "yet there's this whole fucking mystique about how he was the father of it all".


Alternative and live versions

"Astronomy Domine" was a popular live piece, regularly included in the band's concerts. It is the first track on the live side of the album ''Ummagumma'', released in 1969. This version reflects the band's more progressive style of that era. The song is extended by including the first verse twice, and the instrumental middle section, before becoming louder again by the last verse. The lead vocals are shared between Gilmour and Wright. While Wright sang the higher harmony in the studio version, Gilmour sang the higher harmony live. The ''Ummagumma'' live version can also be found replacing the studio version on the American release of '' A Nice Pair'', a 1973 double album compiling the band's first two albums. It was dropped from the live sets in mid-1971, but reappeared as the first song in some sets on the band's 1994 tour. The last time the song was performed with Waters was on 20 June 1971 at the
Palaeur PalaLottomatica, formerly known as Palazzo dello Sport or PalaEUR, is a multi-purpose sports and entertainment arena in Rome, Italy. It is located in the heart of the well known modern EUR complex. The arena hosted the 1960 Olympic basketball t ...
in
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
,
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
. A version from a concert in
Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at th ...
appears as the B-side on the band's " Take It Back" single, and a version from one of the London concerts appears on the live album ''
Pulse In medicine, a pulse represents the tactile arterial palpation of the cardiac cycle (heartbeat) by trained fingertips. The pulse may be palpated in any place that allows an artery to be compressed near the surface of the body, such as at the ...
''. Gilmour played the song at some of his appearances during his solo 2006 tour, again sharing the lead vocal with fellow Floyd member Wright. He said of playing the song live for the first time in over 20 years: The track is also on the 2001 Pink Floyd compilation album, '' Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd''. The ''
Pulse In medicine, a pulse represents the tactile arterial palpation of the cardiac cycle (heartbeat) by trained fingertips. The pulse may be palpated in any place that allows an artery to be compressed near the surface of the body, such as at the ...
'' version reverts to the original 4-minute length, with Gilmour and Wright taking lead vocals as in ''Ummagumma''. This was the only song on the 1994 tour with Gilmour, Mason and Wright performing without backing musicians, with only
Guy Pratt Guy Adam Pratt (born 3 January 1962) is a British musician. He is best known for his prolific work as a session bass player, working with artists including Pink Floyd (also David Gilmour and Nick Mason), Roxy Music (also Bryan Ferry), Gary M ...
adding bass guitar and vocals. The song was also played by Gilmour and his solo band (which included Wright with Pratt on bass guitar and
Steve DiStanislao Steve DiStanislao is an American drummer. David Gilmour DiStanislao toured and recorded with Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour, promoting his solo album ''On an Island''. The touring band featured Pink Floyd keyboardist Richard Wright and occa ...
on drums) at the Abbey Road Studios sessions, which has been released as part of a CD/DVD '' On an Island'' package. "Astronomy Dominé" was performed during the last few dates of Gilmour's ''On an Island'' tour, and is on his ''
Remember That Night ''Remember That Night'' is a live concert recording of Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour's solo concerts at the Royal Albert Hall on 29, 30 & 31 May 2006 as part of his On an Island Tour. The title is taken from a line in the song " On an Islan ...
'' and ''
Live in Gdańsk ''Live in Gdańsk'' is a live album by David Gilmour. It is a part of his ''On an Island'' project which includes an album, tour, DVD, and live album. It was released on 22 September 2008. A David Gilmour Signature Series Fender Stratocaster w ...
'' DVDs. Gilmour has inserted the song in the setlist of his last solo ''Rattle That Lock'' world tour. The song was played by Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets in 2018.


Music video

In 1968, Pink Floyd travelled to Belgium and appeared on
Tienerklanken ''Tienerklanken'' (English: ''Teen Sounds'') was a Belgian Dutch language pop music television programme. It was broadcast from 1963 to 1973, running on the Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroeporganisatie Belgian television network. It showcased Eur ...
where they filmed a lip-synched promotional film for "Astronomy Dominé", as well as " See Emily Play", "
The Scarecrow A scarecrow is a decoy used to discourage birds from disturbing crops. Scarecrow(s) or The Scarecrow(s) may also refer to: Comics * Scarecrow (DC Comics), a supervillain in the Batman series * Scarecrow (Marvel Comics), a supervillain * Straw Ma ...
", "
Apples and Oranges A comparison of apples and oranges occurs when two items or groups of items are compared that cannot be practically compared, typically because of inherent, fundamental and/or qualitative differences between the items. The idiom, ''comparing ...
", " Paint Box", "
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 " Corporal Clegg". Barrett does not appear in these films, as he had been replaced by Gilmour who lip-synced Barrett's voice in the "Astronomy Dominé" video.


Personnel

''The Piper at the Gates of Dawn'' version *
Syd Barrett Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett (6 January 1946 – 7 July 2006) was an English singer, songwriter, and musician who co-founded the rock band Pink Floyd in 1965. Barrett was their original frontman and primary songwriter, becoming known for his ...
lead Lead is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metals, heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale of mineral hardness#Intermediate ...
and
slide Slide or Slides may refer to: Places *Slide, California, former name of Fortuna, California Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums * ''Slide'' (Lisa Germano album), 1998 * ''Slide'' (George Clanton album), 2018 *''Slide'', by Patrick Glees ...
guitar ( Fender Esquire), low vocals * Richard Wright
Farfisa organ Farfisa (Fabbriche Riunite di Fisarmoniche) is a manufacturer of electronics based in Osimo, Italy, founded in 1946. The company manufactured a series of compact electronic organs in the 1960s and 1970s, including the Compact, FAST, Professiona ...
, high vocals *
Roger Waters George Roger Waters (born 6 September 1943) is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. In 1965, he co-founded the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. Waters initially served as the bassist, but following the departure of singer-so ...
– bass guitar ( Rickenbacker 4001) *
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 is the only member to feature on every Pink Floyd album, and the only constant member since its formation in ...
– drums * Peter Jenner – intro vocalisations ''Ummagumma'' live version * David Gilmour – guitar, high vocals * Richard Wright – Farfisa organ, low vocals *
Roger Waters George Roger Waters (born 6 September 1943) is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. In 1965, he co-founded the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. Waters initially served as the bassist, but following the departure of singer-so ...
– bass guitar, backing vocals *
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 is the only member to feature on every Pink Floyd album, and the only constant member since its formation in ...
– drums ''
Pulse In medicine, a pulse represents the tactile arterial palpation of the cardiac cycle (heartbeat) by trained fingertips. The pulse may be palpated in any place that allows an artery to be compressed near the surface of the body, such as at the ...
'' live version *David Gilmour – guitar, vocals *Richard Wright – keyboards, vocals *Nick Mason – drums with: *
Guy Pratt Guy Adam Pratt (born 3 January 1962) is a British musician. He is best known for his prolific work as a session bass player, working with artists including Pink Floyd (also David Gilmour and Nick Mason), Roxy Music (also Bryan Ferry), Gary M ...
– bass guitar, vocals ''
Live in Gdańsk ''Live in Gdańsk'' is a live album by David Gilmour. It is a part of his ''On an Island'' project which includes an album, tour, DVD, and live album. It was released on 22 September 2008. A David Gilmour Signature Series Fender Stratocaster w ...
'' live version *David Gilmour – guitar, vocals *Richard Wright – keyboards, vocals *Jon Carin – keyboards, vocals *
Steve DiStanislao Steve DiStanislao is an American drummer. David Gilmour DiStanislao toured and recorded with Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour, promoting his solo album ''On an Island''. The touring band featured Pink Floyd keyboardist Richard Wright and occa ...
– drums *
Phil Manzanera Phillip Geoffrey Targett-Adams (born 31 January 1951), known professionally as Phil Manzanera, is an English guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He is the lead guitarist with Roxy Music, and was the lead guitarist with 801, and Quiet Su ...
– guitar *Guy Pratt – bass guitar, vocals


Legacy

*The Canadian heavy metal band Voivod covered "Astronomy Dominé" on their 1989 album '' Nothingface''. * The song was covered by The Claypool Lennon Delirium on their EP '' Lime and Limpid Green''. * The Brazilian band Violeta de Outono covered the song on their live album '' Seventh Brings Return: A Tribute to Syd Barrett''.


Notes


References


External links


1970 performance
from
KQED KQED may refer to: * KQED (TV), a PBS member station in San Francisco * KQED-FM KQED-FM (88.5 MHz) is a NPR-member radio station in San Francisco, California. Its parent organization is KQED Inc., which also owns its television partners, both ...
* AMG song review {{authority control Pink Floyd songs 1967 songs Songs written by Syd Barrett Songs about outer space