Syd Barrett Wrote and Recorded This Slightly Cynical Ode to Bob Dylan in 1970 That David Gilmour Saved for 30 Years

In 1964, Syd Barrett and his then-girlfriend Libby Gausden saw Bob Dylan perform in London, and the performance left an indelible mark on the young musician, a year before he co-founded Pink Floyd. (Reports are conflicting, and Barrett could have possibly seen Dylan as early as 1963 with future Pink Floyd bandmate David Gilmour.) Nevertheless, Barrett was blown away at the reception the then-24-year-old Dylan had received and penned an acoustic-blues ode to him shortly after seeing him live.

His “Bob Dylan Blues”—a play on the previously released “Bob Dylan’s Blues” from Dylan’s 1963 album, The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan—was initially intended for inclusion on Barrett’s second and final album, Barrett, and a demo of the song was recorded at Studio 2 at Abbey Road Studios on February 27, 1970, and never made it onto the album.

During the recordings, Barrett’s mental health had deteriorated, leading to more erratic behavior, while producers, then-former Pink Floyd bandmates Gilmour and Richard Wright, who also played on the album, helped steer it toward completion.

Barrett’s “Bob Dylan Blues” is the gentle mockery of a young musician with messy hair who couldn’t care less and references Dylan’s 1962 “Blowin’ in the Wind”—And the wind, you can blow it. Barrett’s Dylan is writing what’s right and what’s wrong and about god and my girl. He’s a poet, the king, and free as a bird. And within Barrett’s verses, he could have easily been speaking about himself instead of Dylan.

Got the Bob Dylan blues
And the Bob Dylan shoes
And my clothes and my hair’s in a mess
But you know I just couldn’t care less

Goin’ to write me a song
‘Bout what’s right and what’s wrong
‘Bout god and my girl and all that
Quiet while I make like a cat

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Cause I’m a poet, don’t ya know it
And the wind, you can blow it
Cause I’m Mr. Dylan, the king
And I’m free as a bird on the wing

Roam from town to town
Guess I get people down
But I don’t care too much about that
‘Cause my gut and my wallet are fat

The master tape of Barrett’s “Bob Dylan Blues” remained in Gilmour’s private collection for three decades before it was finally released on the 2001 compilation The Best of Syd Barrett: Wouldn’t You Miss Me? The album also featured Barrett’s 1970 performance on John Peel’s Top Gear radio show, more tracks from The Madcap Laughs and Barrett sessions, and Opel outtakes.

Cause I’m a poet, don’t ya know it / And the wind, you can blow it

“Bob Dylan Blues”

There was knowledge that the song existed during the production of the 1993 Crazy Diamond box set, but project coordinator Tim Chacksfield said there was “plenty of other material, so there was no pressure for us to find it.” Eventually, when work started on the 2001 compilation, they asked Gilmour to dig up Barrett’s ballad.

“The fact that Dave was happy to let it out says a lot,” said David Parker, author of 2001book Random Precision, Recording the Music of Syd Barrett 1965-1974.

Longtime Pink Floyd music publisher Peter Barnes added, “It’s one of Syd’s very earliest songs, written before he even had a publishing deal.”

Photo: Chris Walter/WireImage