Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict
| "Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Pink Floyd | |
| from the album Ummagumma | |
| Published | Lupus Music Ltd. |
| Released | 25 October 1969 (UK) 10 November 1969 (US) |
| Recorded | 2 May 1969 |
| Genre | |
| Length | 4:59 |
| Label | Harvest Records |
| Songwriter(s) | Roger Waters |
| Producer(s) | Norman Smith |
"Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict" is a track written and performed by Roger Waters from the 1969 Pink Floyd double album, Ummagumma.[3][4][5]
Sounds and recording
The track consists of several minutes of noises resembling rodents and birds simulated by Waters' voice and other techniques,[6] such as tapping the microphone played at different speeds, followed by Waters providing a few stanzas of spoken word in an exaggerated Scottish burr.[7][8]
The Picts were the indigenous people of what is now Scotland who merged with the Scots. There is a hidden message in the song at about 4:32. If played at half speed, Waters can be heard to say, "That was pretty avant-garde, wasn't it?"[9] Also, at the very end of the rant, Waters is heard to say, "Thank you."
A small sample of these effects can also be heard at about 4:48 on Waters' other track on Ummagumma, "Grantchester Meadows".
"It's not actually anything, it's a bit of concrete poetry. Those were sounds that I made, the voice and the hand slapping were all human generated – no musical instruments."
In popular culture
The title of the Man or Astro-man? song "Many Pieces of Large Fuzzy Mammals Gathered Together at a Rave and Schmoozing with a Brick" is based on this song.
A quotation in the Karl Edward Wagner novel Bloodstone (1975) pays tribute to the song: "several species of small furry animals gathered together in cave and grooving with a pict."
Personnel
- Roger Waters – vocalisations and tape effects
References
- ^ Guesdon, Jean-Michel; Margotin, Philippe (24 October 2017). Pink Floyd All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track. Running Press. p. 592. ISBN 978-0316439237.
The Floyd's right-hand man Ron Geesin was an influence on Roger Water's experimental track "Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict" on Ummagumma.
- ^ Stump, Paul (1997). "...a knockabout piece of studio-derived onomatopoeia, 'Several Species of Small Furry Creatures Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict '. It sounded uncannily literal, but Waters deflated the mystique of this oft-quoted piece of fascinating musique concrète: 'It's a very light- hearted and easy exercise . It's really just slowing down and speeding up tape.'". The Music's All that Matters: A History of Progressive Rock. London: Quartet Books. ISBN 9780704380363. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
- ^ Strong, Martin C. (2004). The Great Rock Discography (7th ed.). Edinburgh: Canongate Books. p. 1177. ISBN 1-84195-551-5.
- ^ Mabbett, Andy (1995). The Complete Guide to the Music of Pink Floyd. London: Omnibus Press. p. 28. ISBN 0-7119-4301-X.
- ^ "Pink Floyd's 10 most psychedelic songs". faroutmagazine.co.uk. 18 February 2022.
- ^ Manning, Toby (2006). "The Albums". The Rough Guide to Pink Floyd (1st ed.). London: Rough Guides. p. 161. ISBN 1-84353-575-0.
- ^ Blake, Mark: Pigs Might Fly - The Inside Story of Pink Floyd, p. 136, 2007, Aurum
- ^ Povey, Glen: The Complete Pink Floyd - The Ultimate Reference, p. 133, 2016, Carlton
- ^ From Abracadabra to Zombies, The Skeptic's Dictionary.
- ^ University of Regina Carillon Interview, Pink-Floyd.org.
