| Released | October 2, 1970 (UK) October 10, 1970 (US) |
| Recorded | June 11 - 13, 1970 (mixed July 5) |
| Genres | Psychedelic folk • psychedelic rock • progressive rock |
| Studio | Abbey Road Studios |
| Length | 5:24 |
| Label | Harvest |
| Vocalists | David Gilmour |
| Songwriters | David Gilmour |
| Producers | Pink Floyd • Norman Smith (executive producer) |
Overview[]
Info[]
- This was performed live in a greatly expanded form (often exceeding fourteen minutes), both before and after the album's release. Live, "Fat Old Sun" transformed from a ballad into a jam, leading off from the solo after the last refrain. Extended jams would follow, with free-form drumming, organ solos and revised chord progressions based on the "Sing To Me" chorus.
- Gilmour plays every instrument on this song except for keyboards, which were played by Richard Wright.
- Gilmour revealed that he'd argued for this to be on Echoes: The Best Of Pink Floyd, however he was outvoted.
- "Fat Old Sun" is best described as a pastoral, a hymn of praise to the countryside, with a gentle, incisive melody and lyric.
- It has been performed in the 2001/2002 David Gilmour In Concert tour, minus the guitar solo. Early during the tour in support of the On An Island album in 2006, the song returned to the setlist. This incarnation was composed of the lyrics followed by backup singers repeating the "sing to me" chorus, then a bluesy version of the guitar solo closer to the size of the album version (the 2006 incarnation clocked in around seven minutes).