No Man's Land

"Originally the words were meant to be heard clearly, but we went and actually did it, that's how it came out, which wasn't really how I'd planned it."

- Syd Barrett, Terrapin 9, p. 8.

G.D.:In "No Man's Land" on 'Madcap' there's a long spoken part which is barely audible, like the faded lyrics of "Astonomie Domine", was the intention to abstract the words into just background noise?

S.B.: Originally the words were meant to be heard clearly, but we went and actually did it, that's how it came out, which wasn't really how I'd planned it.

Giovanni Dadomo interview with Syd, July and August 1974 Interview with Syd Barrett c. 1971; unpublished until Terrapin 9/10) p. 8.

Shirley and Willie Wilson, the former Jokers Wild drummer, were both drafted into the making of the LP midway through April, helping in the recording of 'No Man's Land', with its incoherent spoken piece.

– "The Madcap Laughs: Mick Rock Photo Sessions, 1993