Paint Box (song)

"Paint Box" (or, "Paintbox" on later reissues) is a song by the psychedelic rock band Pink Floyd, written and sung by keyboardist Richard Wright.[3][4] It was first released in 1967 as the B-side to the single "Apples and Oranges".

"Paint Box"
Single by Pink Floyd
A-side"Apples and Oranges"
Released18 November 1967
RecordedOctober 1967 at De Lane Lea Studios, London
GenrePsychedelic pop[1][2]
Length3:33
LabelColumbia (EMI) (UK)
Songwriter(s)Richard Wright
Producer(s)Norman Smith
Pink Floyd singles chronology
"Flaming"
(1967)		 "Apples and Oranges" / "Paint Box"
(1967)		 "It Would Be So Nice"
(1968)
Relics track listing
11 tracks
Side one
  1. "Arnold Layne"
  2. "Interstellar Overdrive"
  3. "See Emily Play"
  4. "Remember a Day"
  5. "Paintbox"
  6. "Julia Dream"
Side two
  1. "Careful with That Axe, Eugene"
  2. "Cirrus Minor"
  3. "The Nile Song"
  4. "Biding My Time"
  5. "Bike"

Lyrics and music

Musical features of the song include its long drum fills by Nick Mason, and a piano solo by Wright, which is panned around the stereo spectrum. Wright also doubles on tack piano in addition to the ordinary acoustic piano.

The song's lyrics begin with "Last night I had too much to drink / Sitting in a club with so many fools", and feature an ambivalent chorus: "I open the door to an empty room / Then I forget".

The song is the first of many Pink Floyd songs to prominently feature an E minor added ninth chord.[5] This chord would become a signature aspect of their better-known material: It opens The Dark Side of the Moon with "Breathe".[6] It is prominent in "Welcome to the Machine" from Wish You Were Here, where it alternates with a C Major seventh chord for most of the song.[7] "Dogs" from Animals centers around the chord as played on down-tuned guitars, resulting in a concert pitch of D minor ninth.[8][9] It appeared again in "Hey You" and "Vera" from The Wall.[10] It would appear in no less than four songs from The Final Cut: "Your Possible Pasts"; "The Hero's Return"; "The Gunner's Dream"; and "The Fletcher Memorial Home".[11]

Release

"Paint Box" was originally issued in mono for the single. A stereo mix was later included on the Masters of Rock compilation, and on the compilation album Relics as "Paintbox", which was also the spelling used when the mono mix was issued on the third disc of the 40th Anniversary deluxe edition of The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. "Paintbox" was again reissued on the Cambridge St/ation and Cre/ation discs in the 2016-2017 Early Years box set.

Video

A promotional film for this song was shot for Belgian television on February 18 or 19, 1968, in which the band mimes to the song on a bridge in Brussels. Although Syd Barrett was still a member of the band when the song was recorded (October 1967) and at the time of the film shooting, the film features David Gilmour on guitar, in his first appearance on film with Pink Floyd.[12][13] The Atomium monument can be seen in the background as the band plays.

Personnel

References
  1. "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (3-CD Deluxe Edition)". AllMusic.
  2. Unterberger, Andrew (August 4, 2017). "The 50 Greatest Pink Floyd Songs: Critic's Picks". Billboard. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  3. Strong, Martin C. (2004). The Great Rock Discography (7th ed.). Edinburgh: Canongate Books. p. 1177. ISBN 1-84195-551-5.
  4. Mabbett, Andy (1995). The Complete Guide to the Music of Pink Floyd. London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-4301-X.
  5. Pink Floyd: Anthology (1980 Warner Bros. Publications, Inc., Secaucus N.J.)
  6. Pink Floyd: The Dark Side of the Moon (1973 Pink Floyd Music Publishers Ltd., London, England, ISBN 0-7119-1028-6 [USA ISBN 0-8256-1078-8])
  7. Pink Floyd: Wish You Were Here (1975 Pink Floyd Music Publishers Ltd., London, England, ISBN 0-7119-1029-4 [USA ISBN 0-8256-1079-6])
  8. Pink Floyd: Animals (1977 Pink Floyd Music Publishers Ltd., London, England, ISBN 0-7119-1030-8 [USA ISBN 0-8256-1077-X])
  9. Guitar World magazine, Volume 22, Number 11, November 2002.
  10. Pink Floyd: The Wall (1980 Pink Floyd Music Publishers Ltd., London, England, ISBN 0-7119-1031-6 [USA ISBN 0-8256-1076-1])
  11. Pink Floyd: The Final Cut (1983 Pink Floyd Music Publishers Ltd., London, England.)
  12. Pink Floyd Paint Box 1968 Belgian TV on YouTube.
  13. Pink Floyd: Belgian TV 1968 — 40th Anniversary Edition DVD, The Concert / Roio Database.
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