Arnold Layne's Strange Hobby And The Pride Parade

“Arnold Layne
Had a strange hobby
Collecting clothes
Moonshine washing line
They suit him fine…”

                      “Arnold Layne,” Pink Floyd

      I saw a lot of posts about Pride Parade in my News Feed these past few days, and it reminded me of how a few editors (this was when I was writing for komiks two centuries ago) asked me to have a few pen names so I could submit more stories to them (a writer was allowed only limited number of stories per issue of komiks). Choosing a pen name or even choosing a name for my characters had always been my weakness so I decided to just look at existing names and saw a Pink Floyd song entitled “Arnold Layne.” The name seemed smart and scholarly so I decided  to use it. 

     I only stopped using it when I discovered the story behind the song: it was written (and sang) by Syd Barrett  and it’s about a gay man who steals female clothes (including knickers) from the washing lines so he can wear them. 

     Syd was the founder and original frontman of Pink Floyd, who we, the fans, all know went crazy (he had schizophrenia) after their first album, breaking the hearts of the rest of the band and forcing them to ditch him and replace him with David Gilmour. And we also all know that David Gilmour becoming part of Pink Floyd was the best thing that happened to the band. And we also all know that Syd's mental illness inspired many classic Pink Floyd songs, foremost of them was "Shine on You crazy Diamond."