Although he recorded only three albums, critics and fellow musicians hold his work in very high esteem. Drake failed to find a wide audience during his lifetime and had a strong aversion to performing. Since his death, however, Drake's music has gained a significant cult following.
Drake's father worked as an engineer. Although he was born in Rangoon, Burma, Nick's family moved back to England soon afterward, and Drake was brought up in Tanworth-in-Arden, a small village in the English county of Warwickshire. He went to public school at Marlborough College, where he learned to play the clarinet and piano. As a young adult, Drake enrolled in Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, to study English. His older sister, Gabrielle Drake, is an actress.
Drake was a fan of British and the emerging American folk music scene, including artists Bob Dylan and Phil Ochs. While a university student, Drake began performing in local clubs and coffee houses. He was discovered by Ashley Hutchings, the bass player of the folk rock group Fairport Convention. Hutchings introduced Drake to the other members of Fairport Convention, folk singer John Martyn and producer Joe Boyd.
He delayed attendance to spend six months at the University of Aix-Marseille, France, beginning in February 1967. While in Aix, he began to practice guitar in earnest and to earn money would often busk with friends in the town centre. Drake began to smoke cannabis, and that spring he traveled with friends to Morocco, because, according to traveling companion Richard Charkin, "that was where you got the best pot". Drake's associates convinced Island Records to sign the young singer-songwriter to a three-album contract. Drake began recording his debut album Five Leaves Left later in 1968, with Boyd assuming the role of producer. The sessions took place in Sound Techniques studio, London, with Drake skipping lectures to travel by train to the capital. At the age of twenty, he released his first album Five Leaves Left (1969), which featured a chamber music quartet on several songs and had a light, breezy sound. Drake's second album Bryter Layter (1970) introduced a more upbeat, jazzier sound, with keyboards, horns and several brass instruments. Both albums were produced by Boyd and featured several members of Fairport Convention.
Many accounts of Drake focus on his mythology, but a large part of his enduring popularity is due to his meticulous songwriting, prosody, odd guitar tunings and lyricism.
Drake was pathologically shy and resented touring. The few concerts he did play were usually in support of other British folk acts of the time, such as Fairport Convention or John Martyn and were often brief and awkward. Partially because of this, his work received little attention and sold poorly. Whilst in the recording studio, he was so shy that he'd always play into the wall so as to avoid people's gazes.
Severely depressed and doubting his abilities as a musician, Drake recorded his final album Pink Moon (1972) in two two-hour sessions, both starting at midnight. The songs of Pink Moon were short (the album consists of eleven of them and lasts only 28 minutes) and emotionally bleak. Drake recorded them unaccompanied, in the presence of only a sound engineer (a piano was later overdubbed on the title track). Naked and sincere, it is widely thought to be his best work.
At this point, he considered other careers including the army and computer programming, but more suitably as a songwriter for other artists. However, none of Drake's plans materialized. In the next few months, Drake grew severely depressed and maintained relationships only with close friends such as John Martyn, who wrote the title song of his 1973 album Solid Air for and about Drake and with Sophia Ryde. He was hospitalized several times and lived with Hardy for a few months. Friends from that time have described how much his appearance changed: his nails grown, his hair and frame gaunt and thin.
In 1974, Drake felt well enough to write and record a few new songs. However, on November 25, he died of an overdose of antidepressants. The coroner concluded that the cause of Drake's death was suicide, although this was disputed by friends and relatives. Antidepressants of that time were quite lethal if ingested in any higher dosage than the one prescribed. His mother recounts that he must have had difficulty sleeping and had got up in the night to have a bowl of cornflakes. It's unclear whether he took more pills to help him sleep or to take his own life.
His simple gravestone in the Tanworth churchyard bears the line "And now we rise/And we are everywhere", taken from From the Morning - the last song on the last album Nick lived to complete.
Posthumous popularity
Since Drake’s death, his music has grown steadily in popularity. Several modern musicians, such as Lucinda Williams, Badly Drawn Boy, Matthew Good, Sebadoh's Lou Barlow, R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck, Blur’s Graham Coxon, and Belle and Sebastian, consider Drake an important influence. In early 1999, BBC2 aired a 40-minute Nick Drake documentary, "A Stranger Among Us — In Search of Nick Drake", as part of its Picture This strand. The following year saw the release of a documentary by Dutch director Jeroen Berkvens, titled A Skin Too Few: The Days of Nick Drake and featuring interviews with Joe Boyd, Gabrielle Drake, audio engineer John Wood, and arranger Robert Kirby. Brad Pitt is a fan of Drake and, in 2004, he narrated a BBC radio documentary about the singer.
Island has responded to Drake’s popularity with several new releases including Time of No Reply (1986), an album of unreleased material including four new songs recorded in 1974, Way to Blue: An Introduction to Nick Drake (1994), a "best of" album, remastered HDCD releases of his three studio albums in 2000, and Made to Love Magic (2004), featuring one new track and some newly recorded orchestration for a previously released track. A replacement for Way to Blue called A Treasury was also released in 2004 on Hybrid-SACD.
In 2000, Volkswagen licensed the track Pink Moon, the title track from Nick's third release, for a particularly serene car commercial in the US. The advertisement caused a significant bounce in Drake’s popularity, bolstered by uses of Drake's music on a number of film soundtracks, including 1998's Hideous Kinky and Practical Magic (featuring "Road" from Pink Moon and "Black Eyed Dog" from Time of No Reply, respectively). In 2001, two Bryter Layter tracks appeared in mainstream films: "Northern Sky" in Serendipity, and "Fly" in The Royal Tenenbaums. In the same year, "Cello Song" from Five Leaves Left was featured in Me Without You. In 2004, "One of These Things First" appeared in Garden State and "Northern Sky" was featured again, this time in Fever Pitch.
Drake's "River Man" has become quite popular among Jazz musicians. A piano improvisation based on the melody was released by Brad Mehldau on the album "Progression: Art Of The Trio, Volume 5", and a Jazz vocal version by Claire Martin appears on the album Take My Heart.
Drake's posthumous popularity has made many fans consider the lyrics to "Fruit Tree" a song from Five Leaves Left prophetic: “Fame is but a fruit tree / So very unsound. / It can never flourish / Till its stock is in the ground. / So men of fame / Can never find a way / Till time has flown / Far from their dying day.” In 2004 two of his singles reached low positions in the UK charts - "Magic" and "River Man".
Most recently, Nick Drake has emerged as a key influence in the resurgence of 1960's and 1970's folk traditions, apparent in the works of artists including Devendra Banhart, Joanna Newsom, and Six Organs of Admittance.
In 2005, performer Beck updated his website during Christmas time with covers of three songs from Pink Moon: "Pink Moon", "Which Will" and "Parasite."
Family Tree, the next Bryter Music/Island record was released in July 2007.
I Was Made to Love Magic
Nick Drake Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
No one to love me
Only the wind in the long green grass
The frost in a broken tree
I was made to love magic
All its wonder to know
But you all lost that magic
I was born to use my eyes
Dream with the sun and the skies
To float away in a lifelong song
In the mist where melody flies
I was made to love magic
I was born to sail away
Into a land of forever
Not to be tied to an old stone grave
In your land of never
I was made to love magic
At its core, Nick Drake's song "I Was Made to Love Magic" is a contemplation on the nature of love and enchantment. The singer of the song acknowledges that they were born without a specific person to love, and without anyone to love them. Instead, the singer finds solace in the natural world around them, in the wind and in the frost. Yet, at the same time, the singer claims that they were "made to love magic," that they were meant to embrace the wonder and possibility of the world around them. Despite this, the singer laments that others have lost the ability to connect with the magic within, to see the beauty and mystery that's so evident in the world.
As the song continues, the singer expands on their love of magic, claiming they were also born to use their eyes to witness and experience the natural world. This love of nature manifests itself in the form of a "lifelong song" that leads the singer to float away in the mist. Yet, despite all this, the singer seems to feel trapped, tied to a "land of never." They long to sail away into a "land of forever," to be unencumbered by the limitations of the world around them.
Overall, "I Was Made to Love Magic" is a poignant, introspective examination of the human desire to connect with something greater than oneself. The singer acknowledges the beauty and allure of the world around them, yet feels held back by the limitations of the everyday. It's a song that speaks to the longing that is so often present in the human experience.
Line by Line Meaning
I was born to love no one
I was brought into this world with no specific person to love or be loved by.
No one to love me
Likewise, there is no person who is specifically designated to love me.
Only the wind in the long green grass
In the absence of human love, I find solace in the gentle natural elements akin to the rustling wind in the verdant grass.
The frost in a broken tree
Similarly, I take comfort in other natural phenomena like the beauty of a tree damaged by frost or the harshness of winter, as opposed to human companionship.
I was made to love magic
My innate purpose in life is to understand and appreciate the incredible beauty and wonder of magic.
All its wonder to know
I believe it is essential to comprehend the mysteries and intricacies of the magic that surrounds us.
But you all lost that magic
Unfortunately, most people have lost their appreciation for the incredible magic that exists in the world around them.
Many, many years ago
This loss of wonder and appreciation for magic occurred long ago and has persisted ever since.
I was born to use my eyes
I came into being with the primary purpose of finding beauty in the world by using my eyes to observe it.
Dream with the sun and the skies
My purpose is also to dream and imagine the world as it could be, complete with the sun and skies that shine above us.
To float away in a lifelong song
My desires are to be transported by the beauty of the world and remain in that place indefinitely, using the metaphor of a song that can seemingly play forever.
In the mist where melody flies
Similarly, I find beauty and solace in the subtle and complex melodies that arise from the mist in the world around us, and I strive to be forever surrounded by those melodies.
I was born to sail away
Another purpose I came into this world with is to sail away from everyday life and seek out new experiences and adventures.
Into a land of forever
The goal of my adventures is to find a place or state of mind that is permanent and eternal, beyond the transience of daily life.
Not to be tied to an old stone grave
Unlike others, I don't want to be restrained or restricted by the legacy of a physical place or object that would trap me in the past.
In your land of never
This aversion to being trapped and constrained by old places and ways of being is in opposition to others who are content to never leave the past behind.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
ufohstarseed
"I Was Made To Love Magic"
I was born to love no one
No one to love me
Only the wind in the long green grass
The frost in a broken tree.
I was made to love magic
All its wonder to know
But you all lost that magic
Many many years ago.
I was born to use my eyes
Dream with the sun and the skies
To float away in a lifelong song
In the mist where melody flies.
I was made to love magic...
I was born to sail away
Into a land of forever
Not to be tied to an old stone grave
In your land of never.
I was made to love magic...
Isabel Archer
I was born to love no one
No one to love me
Only the wind in the long green grass
The frost in a broken tree
I was made to love magic
All its wonder to know
But you all lost that magic
Many, many years ago
I was born to use my eyes
Dream with the sun and the skies
To float away in a lifelong song
In the mist where melody flies
I was made to love magic
I was born to sail away
Into a land of forever
Not to be tied to an old stone grave
In your land of never
ufohstarseed
"I Was Made To Love Magic"
I was born to love no one
No one to love me
Only the wind in the long green grass
The frost in a broken tree.
I was made to love magic
All its wonder to know
But you all lost that magic
Many many years ago.
I was born to use my eyes
Dream with the sun and the skies
To float away in a lifelong song
In the mist where melody flies.
I was made to love magic...
I was born to sail away
Into a land of forever
Not to be tied to an old stone grave
In your land of never.
I was made to love magic...
paola agnella
ufohsta
Lady Nenari Princess of the Sea
<3
l l
Fragile beautiful genius. Nobody will ever compare to him.
Thin Ice
I was born to love this man.
juan grandio
nick drake is one of the best musicians in the world. nunca senti tanto a un musico como a nick espero que descanse para siempre en paz y que sepa que hay gente que lo escucha,
phil tait
Nick had what idiot doctors call psychosis. The decent doctors call it,
now, Distress. He was a total gentleman and gentle to a tee. It's time
we woke up to the fact that mental illness does not exist in the manner
doctors and media think of it. Start a Nick revolution and speak out FOR
distressed people, because it just might be someone as special as Nick
Drake. Nick Drake's songs are about God mostly. You can say he is a
genius or a crackpot. I know where I stand on this.
Rui Silva
I love Nick but I think this is as unapropriate as it gets. Doctors follow rules estabilished by science and unfortunatelly there's a lot we still don't know about the brain and what makes us humans. To go from there to undermining Medicine and go straight to God is an overstatement. Nick Drake certainly wasn't thinking of that when he wrote this masterpiece.
Wendy Parry
Phil thanks for your comments on so called Psychosis . My Brother had this distress in his 30s . He died of suicide 5 yrs ago. Nick was his favourite musician. Whatever you call distress it ruins lives as i know .
A Public Forum for Discussion
his lyrics are very deep. I'm always struck by all the sun and moon references that run throughout his music