Point Me At The Sky

Point Me At The Sky
Studio recording November 1968 
* Released on single 17 December 1968 
* Re-released on the Early Singles CD in the box set Shine On, 1992

Production
Written by Waters, Gilmour
Recorded at Abbey Road
Produced by Norman Smith

Releases
UK: Columbia DB 8511



Lyrics:
Hey, Eugene, this Henry McLean
And I've finished my beautiful flying machine
And I'm ringing to say
That I'm leaving and maybe
You'd like to fly with me
And hide with me, baby

Isn't it strange how little we change
Isn't it sad we're insane
Playing the games that we know end in tears
The games we've been playing for
Thousands and thousands and thousands...

Hopped into his cosmic glider
Pulled his plastic collar higher
'Light the fuse and stand well back,'
He cried, 'This is my last good-bye!'
Point me at the sky and let it fly (3x) 
Point me at the sky and let it fly (2x)

And if you survive till 2005
I hope you're exceedingly thin
For if you are stout
You will have to breathe out
While the people around you
Breathe in (4x)

People pressing on my sights
It's something that I hate and so
I'm sitting down to eat the ground
A little refuse on my brain
Point me at the sky and let it fly (3x) 
Point me at the sky and let it fly (2x)

And all we've got to say to you is good-bye 
Fly, fly, fly, fly, good-bye
Bring any dream, nobody scream, it's good-bye 
Fly, fly, fly, fly, good-bye
Bring it in hand, you got it in hand, it's good-bye 
Fly, fly, fly, fly, good-bye
Tell my mother I'll see her undercover, it's good-bye 
Fly, fly, fly, fly, good-bye
Hey, Eugene, look at the screen, it's good-bye 
Fly, fly, fly, fly, good-bye
Fly, fly, fly, fly, good-bye (8x)

Lead vocals: Dave Gilmour (verses 1, 2, 4, and chorus), Roger Waters (verses 3, 5, 6, except chorus)

Pink Floyd's fifth and last single (until 1979), Point Me at the Sky was probably recorded sometime in November, after Careful with that Axe, Eugene, but definite information is not forthcoming.

This song's characters and subject matter may have been indirectly inspired by a children's book, and the lyrics to the piece may have in turn inspired the usage of the name Eugene again on the B-side to the single. Point Me at the Sky is a song of escape from the mundanities of everyday life, and it also metaphorically comments on such issues as the shortage of natural resources in the future, and how such a shortage may force a more strict and equal method of sharing them out (in the fourth verse). It is said that one definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different result. This is touched upon in the second verse, lamenting the human race's tendency to play the same 'games' over and over, throughout thousands of years, despite the fact that history shows that they will not succeed. In the final verse, the lead vocals fade out first and are almost inaudible, so the last lyric lines are taken from a BBC radio recording.

Roger Waters: "A very good song."