"Terrapin" is the opening song on

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 ...

's first solo album ''

The Madcap Laughs ''The Madcap Laughs'' is the debut solo album by the English singer-songwriter Syd Barrett. It was recorded after Barrett had left Pink Floyd in April 1968. The album had a chequered recording history, with work beginning in mid-1968, but the b ...

''. Its arrangement is sparse, like much of the album, and features only acoustic and electric guitar accompaniment to the vocals. This song, along with "Maisie" and "

Bob Dylan Blues "Bob Dylan Blues" is a song written in 1965 by Syd Barrett, the founder of Pink Floyd. Recorded during sessions for '' Barrett'', it was unreleased until it turned up in 2001. The song was included in '' The Best of Syd Barrett''. Writing a ...

"; reflected Barrett's early interest in the blues.

Iggy the Eskimo ''The Madcap Laughs'' is the debut solo album by the English singer-songwriter Syd Barrett. It was recorded after Barrett had left Pink Floyd in April 1968. The album had a chequered recording history, with work beginning in mid-1968, but the ...

, one of Barrett's acquaintances, had called the song "quite catchy". The song reappeared on the

Harvest Records Harvest Records is a British-American record label belonging to Capitol Music Group, originally created by EMI in 1969. History Harvest Records was created by EMI in 1969 to market progressive rock music, and to compete with Philips' Vertigo ...

compilation ''

Picnic – A Breath of Fresh Air ''Picnic – A Breath of Fresh Air'' is a sampler issued by the Harvest Records label, originally released in 1970 and notable for including the previously unreleased Pink Floyd song, "Embryo". The similarly-entitled ''A Breath of Fresh Air – ...

'' and is ''The Madcap Laughs sole representative on '' The Peel Session''. The Syd Barrett Appreciation Society titled its official magazine ''Terrapin'' (published 1972–1976), in tribute to the song.

Recording

Preparing ''Madcap'', in April 1969, Barrett played demo tapes of songs to producer Malcolm Jones, at the latter's request. After the playbacks, Barrett performed, on guitar, several tracks for Jones, one being "Terrapin". The album version was recorded in just one take on 11 April. The lead guitar was overdubbed on 26 April.

Personnel

–

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

, acoustic and

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...

s *Malcolm Jones – producer

Covers

The song has been covered by

The Smashing Pumpkins The Smashing Pumpkins (also referred to as simply Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band from Chicago. Formed in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, bassist D'arcy Wretzky, guitarist James Iha and drummer Jimmy Chamb ...

Marc and the Mambas Marc and the Mambas were a new wave group, formed by Marc Almond in 1982 as an offshoot project from Soft Cell. The band's line-up changed frequently, and included Matt Johnson from and Annie Hogan, with whom Almond worked later in his solo ...

The King Khan and BBQ Show The King Khan & BBQ Show is a Canadian garage rock duo from Montreal, Quebec, Canada, who mix doo-wop and punk. The band is composed of former Spaceshits bandmates Mark Sultan and Blacksnake, alias King Khan. Mark Sultan, under the pseudonym ...

Phish Phish is an American rock band formed in Burlington, Vermont, in 1983. The band is known for musical improvisation, extended jams, blending of genres, and a dedicated fan base. The band consists of guitarist Trey Anastasio, bassist Mike Gordon ...

, and

David Gilmour David Jon Gilmour ( ; born 6 March 1946) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and member of the rock band Pink Floyd. He joined as guitarist and co-lead vocalist in 1967, shortly before the departure of founding member Syd Barrett. P ...

, who featured the song on the DVD ''

David Gilmour in Concert ''David Gilmour in Concert'' is a DVD of Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour's solo concert that took place at the Royal Festival Hall, London in June 2001, as part of the Robert Wyatt-curated Meltdown festival. It also features footage filmed du ...

''. Gilmour performed the song at 1996's "A Day for Tibet" and 2001's

Meltdown Meltdown may refer to: Science and technology * Nuclear meltdown, a severe nuclear reactor accident * Meltdown (security vulnerability), affecting computer processors * Mutational meltdown, in population genetics Arts and entertainment Music * Me ...

events. "Many of his songs are just too personal…" Gilmour observed. "Or too incomprehensible in some ways. With some of them it's hard to feel confident about inhabiting the song. I'm pretty sure I know where 'Terrapin' is coming from. It's that underwater vibe. Although it is slightly off-the-wall lyrically."Fielder, Hugh: "Sinking the pink"; ''

Classic Rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, primar ...

'' #48, Christmas 2002, p58

References

{{Syd Barrett 1970 songs Syd Barrett songs Songs written by Syd Barrett