Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun

"Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun"
Song by Pink Floyd
from the album A Saucerful of Secrets
PublishedMagdalene Music
Released
  • 29 June 1968 (UK)
  • 27 July 1968 (US)
Recorded8 August 1967, January – February 1968
StudioAbbey Road Studios, London, UK
Genre
Length
LabelEMI Columbia (UK), Tower (US)
Songwriter(s)Roger Waters
Producer(s)Norman Smith
Official audio
Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun on YouTube

"Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" is a song by the English rock band Pink Floyd, appearing on their second album, A Saucerful of Secrets (1968). It was written by Roger Waters, taking lyrics from a Chinese poetry book, and features a drum part by Nick Mason played with timpani mallets. It is the only song recorded by Pink Floyd to feature material from all five band members, as there are several different guitar parts recorded by both David Gilmour and Syd Barrett, although the guitar parts are buried in the mix.

The song was regularly performed between 1967 and 1973 and can be heard on the live disc of the 1969 album Ummagumma and seen in the 1972 movie Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii. Waters has also played the song on several solo tours, as has Mason.

  1. ^ "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun Review". Stewart Mason. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
  2. ^ Segretto, Mike (2022). "1968". 33 1/3 Revolutions Per Minute - A Critical Trip Through the Rock LP Era, 1955–1999. Backbeat. pp. 190–191. ISBN 9781493064601.
  3. ^ Gulla, Bob (2009). "David Gilmour". Guitar Gods: The 25 Players Who Made Rock History. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press. p. 92. ISBN 978-0-313-35806-7.