Nick Drake (Nicholas Rodney Drake, Rangoon, Burma, June 19, 1948 - Tanworth… Read Full Bio ↴Nick Drake (Nicholas Rodney Drake, Rangoon, Burma, June 19, 1948 - Tanworth-in-Arden, England, November 25, 1974) was an English folk singer known for his gentle, enigmatic songs and his virtuosic right-hand finger picking technique.
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.
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.
John Martyn Interview About Nick Drake
Nick Drake Lyrics
We have lyrics for these tracks by Nick Drake:
"'Cello Song" Strange face, with your eyes So pale and sincere. Underneath…
'Cello Song Strange face, with your eyes So pale and sincere Underneath …
* Pink Moon Saw it written and I saw it say Pink moon is…
02-Place To Be When I was younger, younger than before I never saw the…
02-river man Betty came by on her way Said she had a word…
02. Place to be When I was young, younger than before I never saw the…
05 Day is Done When the day is done Down to earth then sinks the…
06. 'Cello song Strange face, with your eyes So pale and sincere Underneath …
06. Things behind the sun Please beware of them that stare They'll only smile to see…
08-One Of These Things First I could have been a sailor, could have been a…
08-Poor boy Never sing for my supper I never help my neighbor Never do…
09. Free Ride I know you I care too I see through All of the pictures…
1 of these things first I could have been a sailor, could have been a…
10 free ride I know you I care too I see through All of the pictures…
11 harvest breed Falling fast and falling free you look to find a…
12. Black Eyed Dog A black eyed dog he called at my door A black…
18 Saturday Sun Saturday sun came early one morning In a sky so clear…
2. river man Betty came by on her way Said she had a word…
3. three hours Three hours from sundown Jeremy flies Hoping to keep The…
6.Things Behind The Sun Please beware of them that stare They'll only smile to see…
All My Trials I had a little book Was give to me And every page Spoke…
All My Trials feat. Gabrielle Drake I had a little book Was give to me And every page Spoke…
At the Chime of A city freeze Get on your knees Pray for warmth and green…
At the Chime of a City Cock A city freeze Get on your knees Pray for warmth and green…
Been Smoking Well I wake up in the morning Look at my clock Its…
Believe Me Pretty Mama Believe me, pretty mama Better not treat me right Just have …
Betty And Dupree Betty told Dupree, wanted a diamond ring Betty told Dupree, …
Bird Flew By Bird flew by And wondered, wondered why She was wise And oug…
Black Eyed Dog A black eyed dog he called at my door A black…
Black Mountain Old black mountain Tried to spit in your face Old black moun…
Blossom Black days of winter all were through The blossoms came and…
Blossom Friend Black days of winter all were through The blossoms came and…
Blue run the game Catch a boat to England, baby Maybe to spain Wherever I have…
Boy Never sing for my supper I never help my neighbor Never do…
Cello Song Strange face, with your eyes So pale and sincere Underneath …
Clothes Of Sand Who has dressed you in strange clothes of sand? Who has…
Cocaine Blues Got my baby dressed in white Hey baby won't you…
Come Into The Garden In the bright red sky In the heat of an evening When…
Courting Blues Green are your eyes In the morning, when you rise Don't you…
Day is Come When the day is done Down to earth then sinks the…
Do You Ever Remember? Do you ever remember Now you’re so far away Things that we…
Don't Think Twice It's All Right Well it ain't no use to sit and wonder why,…
E1- Place To Be When I was younger, younger than before I never saw the…
Fly Please give me a second grace Please give me a second…
Free Ride I know you I care too I see through All of the pictures…
Free_Ride I know you I care too I see through All of the pictures…
From The Morning A day once dawned, and it was beautiful A day once…
Fruit Tree Fame is but a fruit tree So very unsound. It can never…
Get Together Love is but the song we sing Fear the way we…
Hanging An A Star Why leave me hanging on a star? When you deem me…
Hanging On A Star Why leave me hanging on a star? When you deem me…
Harvest Breed Falling fast and falling free you look to find a…
Hayzey Jane II And what will happen in the morning when the world…
Hazey Jane Do you curse where you come from, Do you swear in…
Hazey Jane II And what will happen in the morning when the world…
Hazy Jane II And what will happen in the morning when the world it…
Here Come The Blues Monday is shining You know 'em tuesday's rain Well, the da…
Here Comes the Blues Monday is shining, you know 'em Tuesday's rain Well, the day…
I Was Made to Love Magic I was born to love no one No one to love…
If You Leave Me Believe me, pretty mama Better not treat me right Just have …
Joey Joey will come, to see your flowers Joey will come, to…
Kimbie Kimbie wants a nine dollar show Kimbie wants a nine dollar…
Know Know Know Know Know Know Know Know Know Know that I love…
Leaving Me Behind The tramp moves on to the end of the street I…
Magic I was born to love no one No one to love…
Man in a Shed Well there was a man who lived in a shed Spent…
Man In A She Well there was a man who lived in a shed Spent…
Man in a Shed Well there was a man who lived in a shed Spent…
Mayfair Mayfair strange in the morning light Mayfair strange in the …
Milk & Honey Gold and silver is the autumn Soft and tender are her…
Milk And Honey Gold and silver is the autumn Soft and tender are her…
Must Have Been Smoking Too Long Well I wake up in the morning Look at my clock Its…
My Baby's So Sweet Yes, mama - yes, girl Hear me calling you So sweet, so…
My Sugar So Sweet Yes, mama - yes, girl Hear me calling you So sweet, so…
Nick Drake The tramp moves on to the end of the street I…
Northern Sky I never felt magic crazy as this I never saw moons,…
Northern_Sky I never felt magic crazy as this I never saw moons…
One Of These Things First I could have been a sailor, could have been a…
Parasite Lifting the mask from from a local clown Feeling down like…
Pink Moon Saw it written and I saw it say Pink moon is…
Place To When I was young, younger than before I never saw the…
Poor Boy Never sing for my supper I never help my neighbor Never do…
Poor Mum Poor mum Poor mum After a lifetime of dreaming Poor mum …
Rain Thoughts of rain at sunset Clouds of rainbow blue Thoughts o…
Ride I know you, I care too I see through all of…
Rider On The Wheel And now you know my name But I don't feel the…
River Man Betty came by on her way Said she had a word…
Road You can say the sun is shining if you really…
Saturday Sun Saturday sun came early one morning In a sky so clear…
Season of the Rain (Nick Drake) Handwritten lyric sheet Thoughts of rain at …
Strange Meeting II Deep down in the depths of forgotten dreams So far away,…
Strollin' Down the Highway Strolling down the highway I'm gonna get there my way Just k…
Strolling Down the Highway Strolling down the highway I'm gonna get there my way Dusk t…
Suicide is painless Through early morning fog I see Visions of the things to…
Summertime It's summertime And the living is easy Fish are jumping And …
The River Man Betty came by on her way Said she had a word…
The Seasons Snow in springtime, storm in the sea Mist at my window,…
The Thoughts of Mary Jane Who can know The thoughts of Mary Jane Why she flies Or goes…
These Things First I could have been a sailor, could have been a…
They're Leaving Me Behind The tramp moves on to the end of the street I…
things behiind the sun Please beware of them that stare They'll only smile to see…
Things Behind The Sun Please beware of them that stare They'll only smile to see…
Thoughts of Mary Jane Who can know The thoughts of Mary Jane Why she flies Or goes…
Thoughts of Mary Jane J Who can know The thoughts of Mary Jane Why she flies Or g…
Three Hours Three hours from sundown Jeremy flies Hoping to keep The su…
Time Has Told Me Time has told me You're a rare, rare find A troubled cure Fo…
Time Has Told Me. Time has told me You're a rare, rare find A troubled cure …
Time of No Reply Summer was gone and the heat died down And Autumn reached…
Time Piece The tramp moves on to the end of the street I…
times of no reply Summer was gone and the heat died down And Autumn reached…
To the Garden In the bright red sky In the heat of an evening When…
Tomorrow Is a Long Time If today were not an endless highway If tonight were not…
Tow The Line This day is the day that we rise or we…
Voice from the mountain Voice from the mountain And a voice from the sea Voice in…
Way to Blue Don't you have a word to show what may be…
Which Will Which will you go for Which will you love Which will you…
Winter Is Gone Winter is gone And the leaves are green Winter is gone And t…
The lyrics are frequently found in the comments by searching or by filtering for lyric videos
More Genres
No Artists Found
More Artists
Load All
No Albums Found
More Albums
Load All
No Tracks Found
Genre not found
Artist not found
Album not found
Search results not found
Song not found
keith brown
I had a couple of conversations with John Martyn and it IS him. This may shatter some people's image of John, but he liked his drink and drugs, but it never impinged on his ability to give a faultless performance. Rest in peace, you old scroat!!! You have never been replaced and your talent is soerely missed.
Roy Ferguson
@Marissa Gomez-Davis you will never understand the rhetoric of an Englishman. It is ' our ' privilege. Sorry you not understand
lukenluken
@Marissa Gomez-Davis it was sarcasm. Another thing British do very well, hard to get across in text though! Didn't mean to offend
lukenluken
@diecast jam selfish bastard!!
drummerboy1390
In an interview, John Martin was asked if his drink and drug use had hampered his career. He replied that all his best songs had been written in the early hours of the morning when he was out of his head on something and they may otherwise never have been written.
Martin and Drake, two troubled individuals with one thing in common. They were both touched with genius.
Treasure them. Talent of that magnitude doesn't come along very often.
diecast jam
Nice words my friend, the old git went and died on my daughters birthday too, lol.
Kevin Qualls
Thank you very much for posting this. I have recently been taken by Nick's music. I had tried to listen to him about a year ago and couldn't get into it but I just got the Pink Moon album and can't listen to it enough. Thanks again.
Cathal MacSiurdain
Lot of shitetalk below about speed. But to return to Nick Drake on stage...he had to retune during tracks because he didn't use the basic guitar tuning. As an Irishman, I love the essential English sound of his work. Put it on very late at night when you're on your own, close your eyes and enjoy. The guitar work is very beautiful.
drummerboy1390
If you play it at .75 speed it sounds better. Not great, but it sounds more like John Martyn.
It's an old and rare recording, so I wouldn't be over critical. It's better than nothing.
Mondegreen
@Marissa Gomez-Davis That was a little before my time, so I'm actually not old enough to remember, but yeah, I'm familiar with that song.