Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict
| "Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Pink Floyd from the album Ummagumma | |
| Published | Lupus Music Ltd. |
| Released |
25 October 1969 (UK) 10 November 1969 (US) |
| Recorded | 2 May 1969 |
| Genre | Musique concrète, avant-garde |
| Length | 4:59 |
| Label | Harvest Records |
| Writer(s) | Roger Waters |
| Producer(s) | Norman Smith |
"Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict" is a track written and performed by Roger Waters from the two-part 1969 Pink Floyd album, Ummagumma.[1][2]
Sounds and recording
The track consists of several minutes of noises resembling rodents and birds simulated by Waters' voice and other techniques,[3] such as tapping the microphone played at different speeds, followed by Ron Geesin providing a few stanzas of spoken word in an exaggerated Scottish burr.[4]
The Picts were the indigenous people of what is now Scotland who merged with the Scots.
There is a hidden message in the song at about 4:32. If played at half speed, Waters can be heard to say, "That was pretty avant-garde, wasn't it?"[5] (
sample ). Also, at the very end of the rant, Waters is heard to say, "Thank you."
A small sample of these effects can also be heard at about 4:48 on Waters' other track on Ummagumma, "Grantchester Meadows".
"It's not actually anything, it's a bit of concrete poetry. Those were sounds that I made, the voice and the hand slapping were all human generated - no musical instruments."— Roger Waters, University of Regina Carillon Interview, October 1970[6]
In popular culture
 |
Extract from the song
 The bulk of the song consists of a variety of tape loops stuck together in different speeds and directions. |
| Problems playing this file? See media help. | |
The title of the Man or Astro-man? song "Many Pieces of Large Fuzzy Mammals Gathered Together at a Rave and Schmoozing with a Brick" is based on this song.
Personnel
- Roger Waters — vocalisations and tape effects
- Ron Geesin — additional vocals
References
- ↑ Strong, Martin C. (2004). The Great Rock Discography (7th ed.). Edinburgh: Canongate Books. p. 1177. ISBN 1-84195-551-5.
- ↑ Mabbett, Andy (1995). The Complete Guide to the Music of Pink Floyd. London: Omnibus Press. p. 28. ISBN 0-7119-4301-X.
- ↑ Manning, Toby (2006). "The Albums". The Rough Guide to Pink Floyd (1st ed.). London: Rough Guides. p. 161. ISBN 1-84353-575-0.
- ↑ Mason, Stewart. "Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict – Pink Floyd". Rovi Corporation. Allmusic. Retrieved 2013-06-12.
- ↑ From Abracadabra to Zombies, The Skeptic's Dictionary.
- ↑ University of Regina Carillon Interview, Pink-Floyd.org.
