Travel Inspiration

Syd Barrett didn’t travel much in his life, but he inspired journeys to otherworldly realms.

Syd Barrett (1946-2006) co-founded the psychedelic band Pink Floyd. Before he went crazy from stardom and too much LSD, he penned beautiful Tolkien-esque songs about gnomes, scarecrows and bikes. Fame came too fast and Syd burned out, a good warning about the dangers of psychedelic drugs.

Syd Barrett’s real world travels may have been limited to one short tour of America he undertook before the other Pink Floyd members kicked him out out of the band. But Syd was gifted with an imagination that brought him and many listeners into otherworldly realms.

From Astronomy Domine on The Piper at the Gates of Dawn:
“Lime and limpid green a second scene a fight between the blue you once knew,
Floating down the sound resounds around the icy waters underground,
Jupiter and Saturn
Oberon, Miranda, Titania,
Neptune titan stars can frighten.”

Barrett’s collapse into catatonia and reclusion was another tragic downfall of a creative artist like Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys. Barrett would never recover. Many long-term travelers must face the same type of demons upon returning home from years on the road. For some there is no longer any home.

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