Handwritten lyrics by Syd Barrett for the Pink Floyd song ‘Apples and Oranges,’ the band’s third UK single, which was released opposite ‘Paint Box’ on November 17, 1967. The lyrics, unsigned, no date, are penned in ballpoint on two off-white 8 x 13 sheets of notebook paper, the first page of which is titled at the top, “Apples and Oranges,” with Barrett adding a series of musical chords immediately below. The lyrics, in full:
“Got a flip-top pack of cigarettes in her pocket / Feeling good at the top, shopping at shops / She's walking, in a sunshine town / Feeling very cool / At the butchers and the bakers and the supermarket stores / Getting everything she wants from the supermarket stores / More More More More More More More / Apples and Oranges / Apples and Oranges
Cornering neatly, she trips up sweetly / to meet the people / She's on time again, And then / I catch her by the eye then I stop and have to think / What a funny thing to do cos I'm feeling very pink / Think Think Think Think Think / Apples and Oranges / Apples and Oranges
I love She. / She loves me. / See you See you See you / I thought you might like to know / I'm the lorry driver man / She's on her own. / Down by the riverside / Feeding ducks in the afternoon tide / Quack Quack Quack Quack / Apples and Oranges / Apples and Oranges / Apples and Oranges.” In fine condition.
‘Apples and Oranges’ was the final Pink Floyd single to be written by Syd Barrett before he departed the band in April 1968. The song, about a girl whom the narrator meets at the supermarket, was recorded shortly before the band's U.S. tour, on October 26 and 27, 1967. It was the group's first single that failed to break into the UK charts, with Roger Waters blaming the single's sales performance on producer Norman Smith: ‘’Apples and Oranges’ was destroyed by the production. It's a fucking good song.’ When asked about the single’s poor sales, Barrett purportedly replied that he ‘couldn't care less.’ Pink Floyd, along with Barrett, mimed ‘Apples and Oranges’ on their first U.S. televised performances on The Pat Boone Show and American Bandstand. Barrett famously kept his lips closed during the first performance, but mimed competently on the latter show, of which footage survives.
Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Tracks and by a letter of provenance from Mushi Jenner, the daughter of Peter Jenner, who was the first manager of Pink Floyd. It reads, in part: “These lyrics were used, filed, archived, and cared for by my mum, Sumi Jenner for 38 years until her passing in 2005. The boxes where then passed onto my care as archivist for Sincere Management…I believe, according to work experience with my parents and working in the music management business, that the lyrics were obtained for office use at Blackhill Enterprises. The lyrics were in a file marked Publishing, which leads me to the conclusion that they were requested by my father or mother to be used for notifying publishing or for use in a press release or some such. I have contacted the Syd Barrett Estate and the Pink Floyd management team, and they have provided approval that these lyrics are my father's property and can be sold.”
From the collection of Peter Jenner, Pink Floyd’s first manager, who co-founded Blackhill Enterprises with his childhood friend, Andrew King, after discovering the band playing at the Marquee Club in March 1966. The following year, Blackhill Enterprises set up Pink Floyd's Games for May concert, the first pop concert in South Bank, and then helped establish the first Hyde Park Free Festival, which were held in June, July, and August in 1968, and attended by over 120,000 people eager to see artists like Pink Floyd, Roy Harper, and Tyrannosaurus Rex.
After signing the upstart band, Jenner and King invested in new musical equipment, clothing, and promotion for each Pink Floyd member. However, it was Syd Barrett that the pair saw as the principal songwriter and creative force in the group. Jenner in particular took Barrett under his wing, sensing his vulnerability. Barrett was the lead singer, songwriter, and face of a new genre of progressive psychedelic rock. However, behind all of this, Barrett’s mental state was beginning to deteriorate, and he was starting to become lost both to drugs and to the pressures from the industry at the time.
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