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.
If You Leave Me
Nick Drake Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Better not treat me right
Just have to forget you
After tomorrow night
Believe me, pretty mama
Better take your picture too
What a good looking girl can do
Don't send me no letter
Don't write me no postcard
Thinking about you, baby
Makes it twice as hard
Believe me, pretty mama
Better not treat me right
Just have to forget you
After tomorrow night
Well I'm sitting here
On the sudden(? )
Watching the trees go by
My baby, at the end of the depot(? )
Lay me down and cry
Believe me, pretty mama
Better not treat me right
Just have to forget you
After tomorrow night
The lyrics to "If You Leave Me" by Nick Drake describe the emotional pain of a break-up and the need to move on. The first stanza warns the woman not to treat the singer poorly or else he will have to forget her after tomorrow night. He references taking her picture, perhaps indicating that he wants to preserve the memory of how she looks before he forgets her completely. In the second stanza, he implores her not to send him any letters or postcards, as thinking about her just makes the process of forgetting her all the more difficult.
The third stanza is particularly poignant, where the singer mentions sitting alone and watching the trees go by, while his lover is at the end of the depot crying. The final stanza repeats the warning that the woman had better not treat the singer badly, as he will have no choice but to forget her after that night.
The lyrics are relatively simple, but they convey a deep sense of sorrow over the end of a relationship. The use of the word "mama" in addressing the woman adds a layer of familiarity and comfort, suggesting that he is accustomed to her affection, and her leaving hurts even more. The repeated refrain of "Just have to forget you after tomorrow night" highlights the urgency and necessity of moving on to a place where he can heal.
Line by Line Meaning
Believe me, pretty mama
Listen to me carefully, my dear
Better not treat me right
You better not mistreat or take advantage of me
Just have to forget you
I must move on and forget about you
After tomorrow night
Starting from tomorrow night
Believe me, pretty mama
Listen to me carefully, my dear
Better take your picture too
I need a picture of you to remember how beautiful you are
Don't want to remember
I don't want to hold on to memories of us
What a good looking girl can do
I don't want to remember the things you can do because of how attractive you are
Don't send me no letter
Please don't send me any messages or letters
Don't write me no postcard
Please don't send me any postcard or letter
Thinking about you, baby
Remembering you, my dear
Makes it twice as hard
Makes it even more difficult for me
Well I'm sitting here
I am now sitting here
On the sudden(? )
I am suddenly struck
Watching the trees go by
Watching the trees and passing scenery
My baby, at the end of the depot(? )
My lover, waiting for me at the end of the station
Lay me down and cry
It makes me emotionally distressed and sad
Believe me, pretty mama
Listen to me carefully, my dear
Better not treat me right
You better not mistreat or take advantage of me
Just have to forget you
I must move on and forget about you
After tomorrow night
Starting from tomorrow night
Lyrics © Downtown Music Publishing
Written by: DAN VAN RONK
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Preston
on Kimbie
And I need a Mackinaw
Preston
on Kimbie
hawl
Preston
on Kimbie
It's not a show. It's a shawl. The point here is that can be once a luxury item, a shawl that costs $9, while the speaker needs a Mackinaw, which is a practical warm coat. She "wants" something, but he "needs" something.
Preston
on Kimbie
Kimbie wants a nine dollar show
Kimbie desires a performance that costs exactly nine dollars
Kimbie wants a nine dollar show
Kimbie repeatedly expresses her desire for a nine dollar performance
She wants a nine dollar show
Kimbie is insistent on attending a nine dollar show
And I need
The artist has a need that is yet to be revealed
Well Kimbie let your hair hang down
The artist is telling Kimbie to let her hair loose and relax
Kimbie let your hair hang down
The singer repeats his request to Kimbie, urging her to let go of her worries
Let your hair hang down
The singer encourages Kimbie to let her hair down, implying that she should stop worrying and enjoy herself
T'il it touches the ground
The artist suggests that Kimbie should let her hair down completely
Well Kimbie let your hair hang down
The artist reminds Kimbie to let go of her worries as he intends to depart soon
Kimbie let your hair hang down
The artist emphasizes the importance of Kimbie letting her hair down before he leaves
Cause come the morning I’ll be gone
The singer implies that he will not stay for long
Well Kimbie where you been so long
The artist questions Kimbie's whereabouts since he last saw her
I’ve been down in your state pen
Kimbie has spent time in a prison located in the singer's state
With those rough and rowdy
Kimbie has been surrounded by aggressive and unruly people
Rough and rowdy men
The people Kimbie has been surrounded by in prison are male and are known for their aggressive behaviour
Well Kimbie where you been so long
The artist repeats his question, wondering where Kimbie has been and why she has been away for so long
And I gotta go back again
Kimbie reveals that she has to return to prison once again
Well I wished I was a mole in the ground
The singer expresses his wish to be a mole that burrows underground
I wished I were a mole in the ground
The singer repeats his desire to become a mole
I was a mole in the ground
The artist imagines himself as a mole burrowing beneath the surface of the earth
And that I’d tear this mountain
The artist imagines himself digging through a mountain
I’d tear this mountain down
The artist would use his strength to destroy a mountain if he were a mole
Wished I was a mole in the ground
The singer repeats his desire to become a mole, implying that he wants to be free from the burdens of the human world
Dave
on Free Ride
That interpretation isn't correct at all.