Cirrus Minor

Cirrus Minor 5:12
     (written by Roger Waters)

Lyrics:
. . . two, three, four

In a churchyard, by a river
Lazing in the haze of midday
Laughing in the grasses and the grains
Yellow bird, you are not long in singing and in flying on
In laughing and in leaving

Willow weeping in the water
Waving to the river daughters
Swaying in the ripples and the reeds
On a trip to Cirrus Minor, saw a crater in the sun
A thousand miles of moonlight later

The sound of birdsong at the beginning conjures the image of a tranquil summer idyll. Dave's acoustic guitar and gentle voice (double-tracked) round out the image, which then metamorphoses into psychedelia when heavy echo is applied to Dave's voice and Rick's 'trippy' organ comes in. Rick uses both a Hammond and a Farfisa organ, overdubbed. The lyrics effectively remind the listener of those warm and peaceful days when one forgets about cares and sorrows, before 'flying on.' The piece closes with birdsong again, taken from the 'Dawn Chorus' tape in EMI's tape library (which would also appear on the next couple of albums).

About halfway through the film, less than a minute of this song appears in a scene where the main character, Stefan, is tripping out of his mind on marijuana and heroin, to which he is rapidly becoming addicted. Unfortunately, flying on and leaving are exactly what he doesn't do, and his inability to move on costs him dearly later in the film.

This song was re-released on the Relics compilation in 1971.

TRACK LISTING
Cirrus Minor
Nile Song, The
Crying Song
Up the Khyber
Green is the Colour
Cymbaline
Party Sequence
Main Theme
Ibiza Bar
More Blues
Quicksilver
Spanish Piece, A
Dramatic Theme