Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun

A Saucerful of Secrets

**"Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun"** is a song released by the English psychedelic rock band Pink Floyd, and is the third track of their second album, *A Saucerful of Secrets* (1969). The song is preformed by bassist Roger Waters. It is the only song recorded by Pink Floyd to feature material from all five band members, as there are several different guitar parts recorded by both David Gilmour and Syd Barrett. The song was one of Pink Floyd's most played live, and inculded on the live half of *Ummagumma* (1969), where it became exactly four longer by including the a build-up section after the section verse and bridge, and a eerie screeching section following, similar to "*Echoes*," where it then proceeds onto the last verse. The song was later included in the compilation album, *Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd* (2001), along with *Jugband Blues*.

## Lyrics

[Verse 1]

Little by little the night turns around

Counting the leaves which tremble at dawn

Lotuses lean on each other in yearning

Under the eaves the swallow is resting

[Hook]

Set the controls for the heart of the sun

[Verse 2]

Over the mountain watching the watcher

Breaking the darkness, waking the grapevine

One inch of love is one inch of shadow

Love is the shadow that ripens the wine

[Hook]

Set the controls for the heart of the sun

[Bridge]

The heart of the sun, the heart of the sun

The heart of the sun, the heart of the sun

The heart of the sun, the heart of the sun

The heart of the sun, the heart of the sun

The heart of the sun, the heart of the sun

The heart of the sun, the heart of the sun

The heart of the sun, the heart of the sun

[Verse 3]

Witness the man who raves at the wall

Making the shape of his question to Heaven

Whether the sun will fall in the evening

Will he remember the lesson of giving?

[Hook]

Set the controls for the heart of the sun

[Outro]

The heart of the sun, the heart of the sun

The heart of the sun, the heart of the sun

The heart of the sun, the heart of the sun

The heart of the sun, the heart of the sun

The heart of the sun, the heart of the sun

The heart of the sun, the heart of the sun

The heart of the sun, the heart of the sun

## Personnel

* Roger Waters – vocals, bass guitar, gong
* Richard Wright – Farfisa organ, vibraphone, celesta
* Nick Mason – drums (played with timpani mallets)
* Syd Barrett – electric guitar
* David Gilmour – electric guitar

## Info

* The song was started in August of 1967, with overdubs recorded in October of that year and in January and April of 1968, when David Gilmour was present. According to an interview with Guitar World magazine in 1993, Gilmour said that former frontman Syd Barrett played on "a tiny bit" of the song, making it the only Pink Floyd song that features all 5 members playing at once.
* In the book Pink Floyd - through the eyes of... by Bruno McDonald, Roger Waters admitted to "borrowing" the lyrics from a book of Chinese poetry from the Tang Dynasty period (which was later identified as the book Poems of the late T'ang, translated by A.C. Graham).
* Some of the "borrowed" lines were written by Li He, whose poem Don't go out the door contains the line "witness the man who raged at the wall as he wrote his question to heaven", and Li Shangyin, whose poetry contained the lines, "watch little by little the night turn around", "countless the twigs which tremble in dawn," and, "one inch of love is an inch of ashes."
* Additionally, the main riff resembles a phrase played by Jimmy Garrison in his introductory solo prior to "My Favorite Things" on the John Coltrane album Live At The Village Vanguard Again!, although this is most likely coincidental. The main riff is played by David Gilmour on the guitar by using extreme low registers almost sounding as a bass. The riff E E F E D E... is in the phrygian mode. Its "indian" character was very fashionable for pop music at that time.
* This song as well as others by Pink Floyd influenced author Douglas Adams in the creation of the fictional band "Disaster Area" in his book "Restaurant at the End of the Universe." Disaster Area is known to be the loudest band in the universe. Similar to Pink Floyd their set is one with many visual effects and ends by crashing a spaceship into the nearest sun.
* The song has appeared in Waters' 2006 tour and the "In the Flesh" tour, featuring stills from the videos of "Arnold Layne" and "Scarecrow" respectively.

## References

1. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A\_Saucerful\_of\_Secrets
2. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink\_Floyd\_discography
3. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echoes:\_The\_Best\_of\_Pink\_Floyd
4. ↑ https://genius.com/Pink-floyd-set-the-controls-for-the-heart-of-the-sun-lyrics
5. ↑ https://psychedelicsight.com/set-controls-heart-of-the-sun-song/
6. ↑ https://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/tab/pink-floyd/set-the-controls-for-the-heart-of-the-sun-chords-43456
7. ↑ https://www.songsterr.com/a/wsa/pink-floyd-set-the-controls-for-the-heart-of-the-sun-tab-s50502
8. ↑ https://www.songfacts.com/facts/pink-floyd/set-the-controls-for-the-heart-of-the-sun