Ummagumma is:
detached... earthy... ambitious... chaotic... complex...


Of all my children, Ummagumma is the most foreign to me. It took me a very long time to establish a relationship with him, as he is not really a very inviting person. I love him very much, but there will always be that distance.

He is confused and at times he just falls apart and breaks down. His songs almost always have no words and seem to have no meaning. Sometimes he frightens me more than other of my many children! He loves nature and the earth, but the most important thing to remember about him is his duality.

On the one side, he is random and lost, even insane. You must listen to him speak for a long time before anything starts to make sense. He speaks like Sisyphus rolling the boulder forever up the hill.

On the other side, he is majestic at his best moments. He loves his first two older brothers very much, and he sings the songs they taught him. Only, this one takes those songs and expounds on them. He finds life in them that I never knew could exist.

When I listen to him, I think of night time and darkness. I have only ever listened to him sing to me alone; without anyone else around. I usually only like to listen to him sing in the summer time. I think of lovely streams and glades in the forest. I always told myself that if I ever met a woman who knew this son, I would just marry her, simply because it is the most unknown and strange of every one of the children. She would be perfect for me.