ANY COLOUR YOU LIKE (Gilmour, Mason, Wright)
The next song on the album is ‘Any Colour You Like’ an instrumental track with keyboard and guitar solos. This song has no lyrics nor does it have any sound clips, making it very difficult to interpret.
One interpretation is that the song encapsulates the transition into madness, as it precedes ‘Brain Damage,’ which is about madness. Another theory is that the song is about drugs, as it is considered a “psychedelic” song. Drugs certainly could qualify as a “pressure” making this song fit in with the rest of the album. Both of these interpretations may also be true in conjunction, as drugs were indeed what led Syd Barrett into madness, at least partially.
David Gilmour on Pink Floyd’s drug reputation: "Roger's and Nick's largest indulgence was alcohol, mine and Rick's might have involved the occasional reefer. But at that time we were nothing like our image. I'm not sure Roger's ever taken LSD - it certainly wasn't on our menu after Syd left [April, 1968]. We've never got away from that reputation, though, not to this day."
According to the Pink Floyd encyclopedia, “Any Colour You Like - You are what you are. The song title is from a catch phrase used by former Pink Floyd Road Manager, Chris Adamson. When asked for a guitar, Adamson would respond "Any colour you like, they're all blue." He may have picked this up from local street traders in Cambridge. This was based on a statement by automobile manufacturer Henry Ford in the 1920's who declared that you could have a Ford in any color you liked, as long as it was black.”
The proposition of ‘Any Colour You Like’ is interesting because it appears to be a choice, but is really an illusion as there is only one option. “You are what you are” is hinted as the theme of this song in the encyclopedia entry. This alludes to the fact that it was not Syd’s choices that led him to become what he became, it was pre-determined (genetic).
This song is certainly open to much interpretation, which was clearly intentional by Waters. My interpretation is that the song is certainly a depiction of Syd’s fall to madness, which is apparently caused a choice to use drugs but truly caused by nothing but fate. (I do not really suggest the existence of fate here, Roger has stated that he believes in free will, as do I; genetics do not prove the existence of fate.) This alludes to the argument made in ‘Speak to Me’ that we are predestined to experience these “pressures” in life.
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