Astronomy Dominé Lyrics
“Moon in twelve thousand
… one … Scorpio … braving the skies …
Libra … Portalia … Mao … Lapintin … Roscoe Thomas …
Pluto was not discovered until 1930
… nine two three select …
Mars is in conjunction with a fixed star of
… reduce, execute now if possible …”
[Verse 1: Richard Wright & Syd Barrett]
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, and Titania
Neptune, Titan, stars can frighten
[Instrumental Break]
[Verse 2: Richard Wright & Syd Barrett]
Blinding signs flap
Flicker, flicker, flicker, blam
Pow, pow
Stairway scare Dan Dare, who’s there?
Lime and limpid green, the sound surrounds
The icy waters under—
Lime and limpid green, the sound surrounds
The icy waters underground
About
This song was written and composed by Pink Floyd’s original vocalist/guitarist Syd Barrett. It is the first track on their debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. Its working title was “Astronomy Dominé (An Astral Chant)”. ‘Dominé’ (the vocative of ‘Lord’ in Latin) is a word frequently quoted in Gregorian chants.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
In Chapter 24 (“Us and Them”) of Nicholas Schaffner’s 1991 book Saucerful of Secrets: The Pink Floyd Odyssey, Nick Mason talked about how certain songs didn’t feel right in 1987.
“I love ‘Astronomy Domine’. The trouble is, you’re right back into the I Ching and interstellar explanation. I think that’s something Dave would have some problem with as he reaches dignified middle age, shrieking out this information to the audience. It’s easier to talk about how hard life is and how depressed one gets.”
- 1.Astronomy Dominé
- 2.Lucifer Sam
- 4.Flaming
- 8.The Gnome
- 9.Chapter 24
- 10.The Scarecrow
- 11.Bike
