Pink Floyd’s 1975 album Wish You Were Here is the subject of a new poem by British poet laureate Simon Armitage.
Entitled “Dear Pink Floyd,” the piece – which can be heard in the video below – will appear in the 50th anniversary edition of the album, arriving on Dec. 12.
It’s a personal piece from lifelong fan Armitage, commissioned by the band. He was appointed poet laureate, a position that dates back to 1616, by Queen Elizabeth II in 2019.
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His words include the definition of the album as “a time-capsule treasure chest message in a bottle, tied to a life buoy, thrown on a life raft from a ghost ship.”
“I was thinking about the album and their noise, and what effect that has had on people right across the globe,” he said in a statement. “I didn’t know whether I could put into words what that music sounded like. I only get involved with projects if I think I can’t do them, so this was a natural invitation.”
He continued: “I wanted to write something that was album-shaped, that would fit onto the side of an LP and bleed right to the margins of a square.”
Armitage, 62, recalled being a member of the generation that “caught the tail-end of punk,” saying it was “a sort of a musical resetting of the clock for me. That’s how I wanted everything at that time.
Pink Floyd Album Still Gives Simon Armitage Shivers
“Then eventually you get to 17, 18, and you want something more introspective. That came in the form of Pink Floyd.
“It was so profound, so thought-provoking. There aren’t many artistic experiences in the form of noise that send shivers up my spine and make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. But when I put Wish You Were Here on as a record, and it begins, I get that feeling every single time.”
‘Dear Pink Floyd’ by Simon Armitage
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Gallery Credit: Nick DeRiso
