I really like the tongue in cheek overblown romantic rock ballad take on the Nile Song. Almost foreshadows Spinal Tap in that, but I wonder if that's only half of the story of this song. Combining evocative lyrics and beautiful imagery with a corny really corny rhyme scheme and awesome playing seems also to parallel the goddess of psychedelic experience toying with the psychonaut, appearing as through a glass darkly deep revelations of beauty which get mangled by our clumsy descriptions. In one verse, she's an angel (I doubt harpies smile at humans) by the final verse, she is the Lorelei and our hero senses his doom. But ahead of its time? Dunno about that, didn't this come out in 1969? So did the Stooges first album, the Velvet Underground, the White Album had Helter Skelter. Compare the opening chords of Search and Destroy. The Nile Song is great because it's such a departure from the usual dreamy Pink Floyd. Almost like an exercise in deconstruction of rock, but for the obvious fact that it's nearly a perfect recording. I would have loved to see the reactions of the suits at the label when they heard it.