LONDON — Pink Floyd’s 1975 album “Wish You Were Here” is the subject of a new poem by British Poet Laureate Simon Armitage.
Titled “Dear Pink Floyd,” the poem will appear in the 50th anniversary edition of the album, which will be released Dec. 12. The piece, commissioned by the band, can be heard in a video accompanying the announcement.
Armitage, 62, a lifelong Pink Floyd fan, was appointed poet laureate by Queen Elizabeth II in 2019. The position dates back to 1616.
In the poem, Armitage describes the album as “a time-capsule treasure chest message in a bottle, tied to a life buoy, thrown on a life raft from a ghost ship.”
“I was thinking about the album and their noise, and what effect that has had on people right across the globe,” Armitage said in a statement. “I didn’t know whether I could put into words what that music sounded like. I only get involved with projects if I think I can’t do them, so this was a natural invitation.”
He added: “I wanted to write something that was album-shaped, that would fit onto the side of an LP and bleed right to the margins of a square.”
Armitage reflected on his musical upbringing, describing himself as part of a generation that “caught the tail-end of punk.” He said, “It was a sort of a musical resetting of the clock for me. That’s how I wanted everything at that time.”
“Then eventually you get to 17, 18, and you want something more introspective. That came in the form of Pink Floyd,” Armitage said. “It was so profound, so thought-provoking. There aren’t many artistic experiences in the form of noise that send shivers up my spine and make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. But when I put ‘Wish You Were Here’ on as a record, and it begins, I get that feeling every single time.”
