Shine on You Crazy Diamond
"Shine On"
Dick Halloran continuously tells Danny to "shine on". The repetitive reference of "shine on" in the book is connected to Pink Floyd's song, Shine on You Crazy Diamond. This song was an inspiration for King because “shine on” is usually utilized to articulate a positive aspect of a glowing, inner light or a golden aspect of oneself that shines from within. King utilized it as an uncanny means: a way to see events of another time, past or future, or as a way of having a conversation, or readings another’s, without the requirement of movement of the lips.
Pink Floyd wrote the song, Shine on You Crazy Diamond, for their former and founding member, Syd Barrett, who struggled from mental illness and a severe and damaging drug addiction that forever left Barrett in a drugged and vegetative state due to excessive use. We see this struggle represented in The Shining's main character, Jack Torrance. Jack struggles heavily with an alcohol addition, as well as mental illness. Throughout the novel, we witness Jack's physical and mental agitations of "being on the wagon". Looking deeper into the song's lyrics, we can see eerie similarities in Jack and the muse for the song, Syd Barrett.
Crazy Diamonds
“Remember when you were young? You shone like the sun. Shine on you crazy diamond.” This could be easily linked to both Jack and Danny, however, due to the fact that it addresses being young in the past tense, all signs of this connection point to Jack. Again, keeping in mind the similar struggle shared by both Jack Torrance and Syd Barrett, they are both considered the "crazy diamond" in their own respective way. The song links the addictions by stating, “Now there’s a look in your eyes, like black holes in the sky.” The connection made between eyes and black holes in the sky is due to the pupils being dilated when someone is on drugs, appearing black, rather than the natural color of the eyes. Linking these lines together, Syd and Jack's shine got diluted in time, due to a disturbance that clouds it – mental illnesses and addictions.
The official music video for Shine on You Crazy Diamond is below with lyrics starting at 8:27 into the video.