Matilda Mother

Played during concerts in 1966 and 1967. Recorded February 21/22, 1967. The lyrics were taken directly from a children's book written by Hillaire Belloc. Barrett was forced to rewrite the lyrics after the Belloc estate refused to grant permission.

eh, i dont know about all this deep meaning stuff for this song. Syd loved fairy tales and stories. I think this is just a song about his childhood, like perhaps his mother reading him a story.

Syd is remembering his mom reading him fairytales as a child. Childlike, charming tune. The whole album is excellent

On the whole it seems to be another childhood innocence song like Remember a Day - just looking back at the time when things were so much simpler, no adult problems.

Im pretty sure Its "Wondering and Dreaming." but I could very well be wrong.

Oh, I love this song so much! I love fairytales and I can relate to it. I'm always daydreaming about floating through the sky...

I think it's about fairytales and how much Syd loved his mom reading them to him when he was a little boy. I can hear a bunch of different Grimm's fairytales in this song. :)

any idea why Wright is singing most of the time instead of Barrett himself? i do love how Barrett comes in for the last verse right after the solo. as for the WWII allegory, i think Waters would be more likely to sing about such a serious topic than Barrett so i wouldn't agree.

"There was a king who ruled the land His majesty was in command With silver eyes the scarlet eagle Showered silver on the people Oh Mother, tell me more"

Wright sings of a childhood story from long ago.

"Why'd' you have to leave me there Hanging in my infant air Waiting You only have to read the lines They're scribbly black and everything shines"

Barrett is grown up but still nostalgically wishing his mother told more stories. i've seen "air" and "care" but i really can't hear "chair" at all.

"Across the stream with wooden shoes With bells to tell the king the news A thousand misty riders climb up Higher once upon a time"

Wright continues telling a childhood story especially noticeable by the phrase "once upon a time".

"Wandering and dreaming The words have different meaning Yes they did"

Now that he's grown up the story changes meaning to him as he has different problems and new situations to encounter. As if the words "wander and dream" in his mind.

"For all the time spent in that room The doll's house, darkness, old perfume And fairy stories held me high on Clouds of sunlight floating by Oh Mother, tell me more Tell me more Aaaaaaaah Aaaaaaaah Aaaaaaaah"

this time Barrett sings and he isn't telling another story. he's describing the way his childhood stories were being told in a dark room (nighttime bed story) and i'm guessing the "old perfume" was his mother's. he sings "tell me more twice" and proceeds to the "Aaaaah"s which i guess is him crying when a baby. since the mother stopped telling stories the baby began to cry wishing the mother wouldn't stop.

for a childhood song it doesn't sound as happy as "It Would Be So Nice" but then again that was written by Wright. the organ solo in the song doesn't sound too happy either. does anyone know what Wright is singing in a high pitch when Barrett starts the line "for all the time spent in that room" (guessing it's Wright)?

Take this song at face value. It's just a song about a guy remembering how magical, safe, and secure he felt as a child when his mother read him fairy tales. Syd did not write allegorical lyrics. His lyrical style was simple stream of consciousness and only rarely did he delve into symbolism and never allegory.

Syd wrote about whatever was on his mind at the moment in his lyrics. When Syd wrote while he was on acid you get gobbledegook lyrics like in the song Octopus. There is no deeper meaning to these songs other than the stream of consiousness Syd had at that particular point in time, its meaning probably lost even to Syd as the memory of the trip faded. Other more coherent songs like Matilda Mother and Lucifer Sam are what they are, a rememberance of childhood and a song about his cat.

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar folks.

i love this song it's so fabulous and childish, haven't heard an interpretation to this song. i think it's syd who tells 'bout a mother like figure in his childhood who i guess used to tell him stories.pretty reasonable explanation i think.

I’d like to think my interpretation can’t be much crazier than Syd was, but here is what it sounds like to me lol

This song is about Hitler (the king who ruled….) bombing England (showered silver) and America coming to Europe to help... (misty riders) The bells to tell the king the news…. that king is the king of England I suppose

When this all happened Syd was only a child. It has the feel of a fairy tale. The reason being that his mom didn't want to scare him, but she wanted to explain what was happening, so she told the story like a fairy tale. In the song, he gets upset that she doesn't continue the story, which I think is a cute line because she can't continue the story when she doesn't know how the story's going to end. Also, “clouds of sunlight floating by.” Maybe there was so much bomb smoke that it looked dark all day. So when the sun finally appeared, it was in small visible batches, sort of like clouds.

If you read the booklet that comes with the cd, it says “all the time spent in that ROOM” I think the room is the bomb shelter, and the old perfume is because once you’ve been in there long enough with mom wearing perfume it’ll probably smell. If I’m wrong about this whole thing, then I must be crazy like Syd. :)