Pink Floyd: See Emily Play Meaning

Song Released: 1967

See Emily Play Lyrics

Emily tries but misunderstands, ah ooh
She often inclined to borrow somebody's dreams till tomorrow
There is no other day
Let's try it another way
You'll lose your mind and play
Free games for may
See Emily play
Soon after dark Emily...

1. 1TOP RATED

   #1 top rated interpretation:
   dylanisgod

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Jun 12th 2008 !⃝

   It's not about Syd tripping on LSD in the woods. It's just that kind of thing that gives Syd a bad name. He was a genius not just some trip head.
   
   I believe it's Syd scorn for the people around him.
   
   "Emily tries but misunderstands"
   
   Syd turned his back on the sound of the Floyd just one and a half years later. "Emily" is a name given to the innocence of the hippie generation, however Emily "misunderstands". We is unaware of what Syd probably saw as the real mission of the hippies.
   
   "She often inclined to borrow somebody's dreams till tomorrow"
   
   What Syd is saying that the innocence hippies who try but misunderstands should get their own dreams as opposed to borrowing somebody elses.
   
   After Syd sings "See Emily Play" their is the famous section of mad demented guitar instrumental. This seems to be the sound of Emily at play. The tone of the instrumental piece suggests that Syd is dissatisfied with the Emily characters and even making them out to be slightly evil. This may of been bought on by his paranoid state of smoking dope everyday, just like every other band. It wasn't beamed down to him from a UFO while he was sitting on a layline tripping. He wrote the song for a concert for Games for May in the Elizabeth Hall. YES, I know Syd said he "received" the song in a interview but he also said he was "full of dust and guitars" in another interview and you can't really believe that.
2. anonymous

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Nov 14th 2022 !⃝

   my thoughts on the lyrics. not going through every verse but a small window into what i think.
   the song may have been inspired by a girl in the woods and/or LSD, but to my mind the song is about depression and the ultimate end. borrowing other peoples dreams giving her hope, but at night alone, "gazing through trees in sorrow, hardly a sound till tomorrow" seems to indicate a huge sense of being alone in the world. syd was a troubled man, could be a small window into his troubled thoughts at the time.
   
3. anonymous

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Aug 17th 2020 !⃝

   the struggles of growing up and trying to find a place to fit it, trying to find people 'Emily' could relate to, but as the lyrics go "Emily tries but misunderstands" she finds these people she admires and tries to fit in with them but gets it wrong, she is still young and doesn't want to let go of the freedom of childhood "there is no other day, lets try it another way, you'll lose your mind and play" Going back to 'Emily' trying to fit in "she's often inclined to borrow somebody's dream until tomorrow" she's obviously found someone she admires and has listened to their dreams and is using their dreams to find other people with the similiar dreams. Or it could just be about 'Emily Young' aka Psychedelic Schoolgirl, whom i'm pretty sure when to the club Pink Floyd were playing at when she was not old enough, 17 I think she was and she jut didn't quite fit in and you could tell but she was admired for it, for being so young and doing psychedelics and going out to clubs. -a 16 year old girl
   
4. anonymous

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Sep 8th 2016 !⃝

   "She's often inclined to borrow somebody's dreams until tomorrow" certainly refers to dropping acid. Emily was the "psychedelic schoolgirl" at the UFO club. The rest of the song is an idealized version of her trip, nothing more profound. Drop acid and listen to it, it's a lovely song.
5. anonymous

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Feb 9th 2013 !⃝

   I was surprised (although I should know better than to be) when I realized that my interpretation of this song is not among the accepted ones by the undeniable authority of the internet.
   
   To me this song is quite plainly about boredom. Quite possibly the boredom in the life of an ordinary housewife, or an aristocrat as some people seem to think. People in these situations are driven into doing things are meaningless on the surface, but represent a desperate attempt to aid the passing hour. Things like 'borrow somebody's dream', 'put on a gown that touches the ground'.
   
   Hence,
   There is no other day,
   Lets try it another way,
   You will lose your mind and play,
   See Emily play.
6. anonymous

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Apr 18th 2011 !⃝

   About Syd Barrett and a LSD trip. He often had these kind of things happen.
7. YourFan

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Oct 29th 2007 !⃝

   Yeah,
   It's about a girl who Syd saw in the woods after he took LSD.
8. daniellekennedy

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Mar 26th 2006 !⃝

   Syd Barrett, a very eccentic song writter actually wrote this song after an LSD trip...its about his hallucination and how he sore a very pretty girl running in a field naked...weird but true
9. daniellekennedy

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Mar 26th 2006 !⃝

   Syd Barrett, a very eccentic song writter actually wrote this ong after an LSD trip...its about his hallucination and how he sore a very pretty girl running in a field naked...weird but true
10. Cherryred

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5

    click a star to vote

    Mar 16th 2006 !⃝

    The song is about the abuse of the child Emily. Sad, but true.

Latest Articles

• 
  Anime to watch for the soundtracks… and other reasons you’re undateable
• 
  Dolly, we need you
• 
  The Stranger Things Effect: How new media is drawing Gen Z and Alpha's attention to aging media
• 
  The most underrated soundtrack of the early 2000s
• 
  Buy the Soundtrack, Skip the Movie: Brainscan (1994)
• 
  Let’s Go to the Hop - Ignore That Door’s Four Bunnies and a Beatbox