Death and Duende on The Dark Side of the Moon

In this essay I write about how the band, Pink Floyd, plays music that relates to Federico Garcia Lorca’s definition of duende. By highlighting themes such as death, darkness, and insanity, Pink Floyd harnesses the power of duende and channels it into the soul of the listener. Drawing on both lyrics and music from “The Dark Side of the Moon,” I argue that duende can be felt and experienced by those who play and hear the album. Focusing on a member of Pink Floyd who left the band due to drug-related reasons, I will relate the effect of this departure on the band’s music and suggest how their passion about this topic shines through in their music.

One of the best-selling albums of all time can also be considered one of the darkest albums of all time. Pink Floyd’s “The Dark Side of the Moon” has sold over 45 million copies and continues to sell successfully today. Why is an album with overall themes of death, darkness, and insanity so appealing? What is the particular passion that connects people to this music?  The emotion that can be conveyed through music is described as duende, which is “a power and not a behavior, it is a struggle and not a concept” (Lorca 92). Because an explanation of duende is rather difficult to verbalize due to its complexity, music is capable of explaining it in a way that no other form of communication can.

Focusing on a member of Pink Floyd who left the band due to drug-related reasons, I will relate the effect of this departure on the band’s music and how their passion about this topic shows in their music, particularly on the album “The Dark Side of the Moon.” Duende can be heard, felt, and experienced in Pink Floyd’s lyrics and dark tones which allow the audience to question their own views on death and insanity.

Early Pink Floyd sounded much different than the band we know today. First known as the “The Pink Floyd Sound” the band broke into the London Underground scene in 1965. Roger Barrett, nicknamed “Syd,” was the main influence on the band’s music. He not only performed as singer and lead guitarist in this early stage of the band, but also “wrote their songs, gave them their style,” and, “made them a force in the British music scene” (Gilmore). Soon enough Pink Floyd gained a reputation for their signature sound of psychedelic-based verses with poppy choruses and extended periods of improvisation. At the time, the British Underground scene was popular for experimenting with psychedelic drugs including LSD, and Pink Floyd‘s music was the perfect fit.

With rising fame after their first album in 1967, Syd Barrett began to lose control. Excess ingestion of LSD was beginning to affect the band’s lead figure. His commitment to the band was failing and his performance on stage began to consist of standing still and playing very little or nothing for long periods of time. Later, the drummer of Pink Floyd would comment on how Syd’s use of drugs, “was not a world the rest of us frequented” (Gilmore).  Syd soon fell apart and was kicked out of the band. A combination of drug use and overwhelming fame contributed to a type of schizophrenia in Syd that would later develop as a disorder called psychosis. Barrett began to lose contact with reality and began to isolate himself from the band and other people in his life. Watching their friend and bandmate descend into madness had a great effect on Pink Floyd and would be material for the music that they wrote for years to come.

Insanity is a subject that can be considered both scary and fascinating at the same time. The fascination lies with how madness takes over a mind and what is experienced within that mind. The fear lies in being out of touch with reality and being so mentally unstable that you are unfit to live in society. One major theme in Pink Floyd’s, “The Dark Side of the Moon,” is breaking the void between sanity and insanity. This theme, directly linked to the band’s first-hand experience with Syd Barrett, is prominent throughout the record. Pink Floyd’s fascination and fear with the idea of insanity is shown in the record with immense duende. Termed by Federico Garcia Lorca, duende is a dark passion that, “surges up from the soles of the feet,” and can be released in forms of music that are pure, raw, and haunting (Lorca 192). Duende can be heard in Pink Floyd’s music, especially in relation to how insanity relates to darkness. The title of the album is itself a metaphor for insanity because the dark side of the moon is a place that is unknown, dark, and mysterious to the world, much like insanity.  The dark side of the moon is referred to in the song, “Brain Damage” (Pink Floyd).  With such lyrics as “And if the dam breaks open many years too soon/ And if there is no room upon the hill/ And if your head explodes with dark forebodings too/ I’ll see you on the dark side of the moon,” explain that if you were to break the barrier between sanity and insanity that you would exist on the figurative dark side of the moon. This direct reference to Syd Barrett shows how his psychosis forced him into an abnormal reality that was dark and unfamiliar to the rest of the band. The song portrays an interesting progression from sanity to insanity as the narrator watches others go insane, “the lunatic is on the grass,” then finally becomes insane themselves, “the lunatic is in my head.” This dark transition into insanity, with inspiration from Syd Barrett, reflects the spirit of duende and can be seen as a “mode of poetic dissociation and of disturbed meanings” and how, “The poet speaks in tongues, multiply, troubling: Freed from reality” (Mackey 199). This duende expressed in poetry and song, comes from within the members of Pink Floyd and is released as music that is “troubling” and full of “disturbed meanings.” These lyrics hold raw emotion that describe the insanity that took their friend away. By directly explaining what happens when insanity takes over, the band is able to relate to Syd Barrett and have an emotional connection to the music that they are playing.

Duende is not only illustrated in the lyrics of “Brain Damage,” but also in the tones released throughout the song. It begins with a mellow verse that flows slowly and simply. As a creepy guitar riff repeats itself, a high-hat keeps time. The listener feels as if they are going insane with eerie high-pitched guitar notes and hysterical laughing in the background. Lyrics about lunacy brilliantly weave their way through a casual bass line, which holds everything together. The distant sound of guitar instills a loss of reality within the listener and creates a sense of looming insanity. Suddenly as organ music begins to build, a powerful drum fill leads the song into a vibrant chorus that explodes as if the listener is breaking through the barrier of insanity. With beautiful background vocals the song shifts from calm to energetic and then optimistic as if going insane is accepted by the members of Pink Floyd. The music causes the listener to directly experience the feeling of duende and is a beautiful example of how duende not only affects the musician, but also the audience.

Pink Floyd powerfully connects their music to the mental deterioration of Syd Barrett, which shows their struggle with duende. This struggle with accepting insanity and death is shown in the song, “Us and Them” (Pink Floyd).  The softest and most soothing song on the album also holds the most duende. Ironically, the sorrow in this song can ultimately be seen as blissful and content because although it is dark, the song seems to have a rather optimistic tone.  An easy sounding organ holds the foundation as the song creates a euphoric feeling with the help from an uplifting guitar riff.  In perfect unison with a drum beat of gentle tapping, a smooth sounding saxophone breaks through the calm, as if weeping in delight.  Accompanied by the delicate sound of a classical piano, the lyrics come in, “Us and them/ And after all, we’re only ordinary men/ Me and you/ God only know it’s not what we would choose to do.” The lyrics, which focus on opposing ideas, explain how the sane and insane are, in the end, all human and that, in death, we are all equal. The struggle is continued with such lyrics as, “Black and blue/ And who knows which is which and who is who?/ Up and down/ And in the end it’s only round and round.” By drawing attention to opposites, Pink Floyd shows a struggle between conflicting ideas and then presents the argument as being futile because death is inevitable. By accepting the struggle rather than fearing it, Pink Floyd is able to show how they harness the power of duende in their music. The duende portrayed through the music, “is the passion at the heart of the individual struggle that most matters to it” (Hirsch 16). This illustrates how Pink Floyd was affected by the internal struggle of Syd Barrett enough to make music that explained their own struggle with ideas of insanity. Furthermore, because of the influence of Syd Barrett, they are able to focus their emotion into song and have it mean “something far beyond language, and yet still far from song” (Mackey 207). Pink Floyd may be conveying the idea that we are all insane and that the difference lies in fearing one’s insanity or accepting it.  Fascination with insanity was a tool that Pink Floyd used to express their fear of death and allowed them to have a close relationship with duende in their music.

“The Dark Side of the Moon” is an album of darkness. The music is sorrowful and ambiguous just like the dark. In Lorca’s explanation of duende he explains, “All that has dark sounds has duende,” and that, “these ‘dark sounds’ are the mystery, the roots thrusting into fertile loam of all of us…from which we get what is real in art” (92). The dark sounds, like the ominous flow of “Speak to Me/ Breathe” (Pink Floyd) or the droning vocals of “Us and Them” (Pink Floyd), are points where darkness is expressed as a deeper understanding and fascination with death. Pink Floyd’s interest in death is shown many times throughout the album. In the intro and outro of the record, there is a distant sound of a heartbeat fading in and out, representing the fragility of life. As Nathaniel Mackey explains, “duende…among other things…is a conversation with the dead, intimacy with death and the dead” and that “duende does not come at all unless [one] sees that death is possible,” (197).  This is because in order to get in touch with an emotion as strong as duende, one must consider death and accept it for what it is. Unlike most people, Pink Floyd exerts power over death because they are, “not frightened of dying.”  This power over death allows them to have a closer relationship with death than others and allows them to illustrate duende within their music.

Duende is said to be unexplainable but understood when heard through music. The most obvious form of duende lies in the instrumental piece, “The Great Gig in the Sky” (Pink Floyd). The name itself speaks of death as a reference to heaven or some greater place and the song conveys just that idea.  Peaceful piano begins the song with a progression that voices someone longing for something; maybe freedom from pain, maybe death. There is sorrow in the bass tone that carries the emotional weight of the piano melody and the two combine with a slide guitar to create a drowsy and comfortable mood. All of a sudden, a simple, but powerful drum beat kicks in accompanied by ecstatic organ chords to create a booming display of emotion. A woman breaks into song with a dynamic voice screaming passion through pain. The woman seems to portray the feeling of death as it washes over her, almost too much for her to bear. Her suffering fluctuates behind a backdrop of music eventually descending into a slow and controlled series of moans. Similarly, Mackey explains how “One of the reasons the music so often goes over in no-speech, moaning, humming, shouts, nonsense lyrics…is to say…that the realm of conventionally articulate speech is not sufficient for what needs to be said” (206).  The duende in this song is so immense, that the only way to express it in human form is through song. Words have lost their power in the struggle against duende so only screams and moans can be expressed. At first, the woman screams at the top of her lungs, her voice full of fear and suffering as if she is coming in contact with death. The cacophony rips through the excited music in the background as if she reaches her tolerance level of pain and the climax of death. Expressed here as a, “tearing of the voice,” and “a crippling of the voice,” (Mackey 205) the woman screams as if there is fire escaping through her throat. Finally, she comes to peace with death and accepts it in her voice. She sings softly now, almost as if she sees death for what it is and is comforted by its presence. Faintly behind the music, the phrase, “if you can hear this whispering you are dying,” is spoken. The woman continues to moan ever so gently like she is being reborn and seeing death as a beautiful aspect of life. She seems to be experiencing a new form of pleasure that is similar to a woman crying out during orgasm. Moreover, the duende expressed in the song is, “the wind that breathes over the empty arches of the heads of the dead,” and is, “a joy that burns and a suffering that scalds, like hot ice; it is a cry that rises out of the human body to annunciate the constant baptism of newly created things” (Hirsch 21). Although still in suffering from death, this new feeling is joyous and creates a rebirth for the woman. Using her body for transportation, she is able to transcend the emotion she is feeling and finally reach duende. The soul that is heard and felt in the song contributes to how duende is released in her troubled voice. Pink Floyd successfully achieves duende because of the close relationship with death that they portray in their music. This relationship is a fascination with death and can be seen as empowering, if only it is accepted and not feared.

Another song on the album, “Time” (Pink Floyd), can also be seen as an example of how Pink Floyd embodies the concept of death in their music. The song begins with a clash of clocks ringing simultaneously in a cluster of loud noise. A muffled bass line becomes coherent as it ticks and tocks in a swift and defined manner. Representing time itself, the bass line repeats as if the listener is hearing the moments pass by. In comes the haunting thud of guitar and keyboard on the first count of every two measures. This dark tone is offset by intricate high-pitched drumming that conveys the idea that time cannot only be frightening but also enlightening. The eerie music is stretched out until a thunderous sound of guitar, drums, bass, and keyboard break into a funky transition of music and vocals. The lyrics explain how time is, “Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day,” and how we “Fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way,” which translates to how time is often taken for granted and wasted on so many occasions. This wasting of time only brings us, “Shorter of breath and one day closer to death.” The chorus erupts into an empathetic feeling of time as a magnificent aspect of life and death. With wailing guitars, squishy keyboard progressions, and harmonious background vocals, the music “suggests a continuum, a complimentary, between human voice, an interchange between speech and song, verbal articulation, and nonverbal articulation“ (Mackey 208). The duende within the performers are expressed not only in their lyrics but also through their instruments which allows emotion to be transported so beautifully into something beyond words. The screaming guitar cries out in pain as if time has left it with nothing but death. Pink Floyd explains time as potentially being a best friend or a worst enemy and leaves the audience in mystery as to how to make the best of it. Time works to call, “the faithful to their knees,” and allows them to, “hear the softly spoken magic spells.” Pink Floyd creates this close relationship with death and provides their audience with insight into how to cherish time and embrace it as fleeting. The duende played in their music shows this connection between death and time and brings out their most raw form of soul.

With surrounding themes of insanity, darkness, and death, “The Dark Side of the Moon” continues to be one of the most-loved albums of all time. The mystery that lies within the music forces the audience to be drawn in and truly appreciate what is being said throughout the record. A beautiful combination of lyrics and music in ‘The Dark Side of the Moon” successfully transform the ones who play it, and the ones who hear it, creating a mutual sense of duende. The duende expressed in Pink Floyd’s groundbreaking album still holds a power that continues to influence music today. At the close of the album, the phrase, “There is no dark side of the moon really, matter of fact, it’s all dark,” is said quietly. What this concluding comment reveals is up to you.

            References 

“The Dark Side of the Moon.” Internet. http://www.pink-floyd-lyrics.com/html/dark-side  moon-lyrics.html. 12 February 2011.

Gilmore, Mikal. “The Madness & Majesty of Pink Floyd.” Rolling Stone. 5 April 2007:    54-79.

Hirsch, Edward. “The Duende.” American Poetry Review. July/August 1999: 13-21.

Lorca, Federico Garcia. “Theory and Function of the Duende.” The New American Poetry. New York: Grove Press, 1960.

Mackey, Nathaniel. “Cante Moro.” Sound States. North Carolina: The University of North Carolina Press, 1997.

Pink Floyd. The Dark Side of the Moon. Capitol, 1973. MP3.