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.
Northern_Sky
Nick Drake Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I never saw moons knew the meaning of the sea
I never held emotion in the palm of my hand
Or felt sweet breezes in the top of a tree
But now you're here
Brighten my northern sky.
I've been a long time that I'm waiting
I've been a long time that I've wandered
Through the people I have known
Oh, if you would and you could
Straighten my new mind's eye.
Would you love me for my money
Would you love me for my head
Would you love me through the winter
Would you love me 'til I'm dead
Oh, if you would and you could
Come blow your horn on high.
I never felt magic crazy as this
I never saw moons knew the meaning of the sea
I never held emotion in the palm of my hand
Or felt sweet breezes in the top of a tree
But now you're here
Brighten my northern sky.
The song "Northern Sky" by Nick Drake is a heartfelt expression of love and gratitude, with lyrics that speak to the transformative power of a relationship. The first verse speaks of the singer's previous lack of connection to the natural world and its beauty, but that all changes now that their lover is present. The second verse is a reflection on the singer's past troubles with finding themselves and their place in the world, and a plea for their lover to continue to guide them in their new growth. The third verse questions the motives of love, wondering if the person would still love them if they were to lose everything else, but ultimately comes to the conclusion that the love and connection they share is worth any sacrifice.
Overall, "Northern Sky" is a beautiful and tender tribute to the power of love, both as a guiding force and a transformative experience.
Line by Line Meaning
I never felt magic crazy as this
I've never experienced anything as enchanting as this moment with you.
I never saw moons knew the meaning of the sea
I've never fully understood the beauty of nature until now, with you by my side.
I never held emotion in the palm of my hand
I've never been able to fully grasp and comprehend my own feelings until now.
Or felt sweet breezes in the top of a tree
I've never been able to fully connect with nature and appreciate its peacefulness until now.
But now you're here
With you in my life, everything feels more meaningful and complete.
Brighten my northern sky.
You bring light and warmth to every part of my life, even the coldest and darkest places.
I've been a long time that I'm waiting
I've been patiently waiting for someone like you to come into my life.
Been a long that I'm blown
I've been through many experiences that have left me feeling lost or uncertain.
I've been a long time that I've wandered
I've been searching for meaning and purpose in my life for a long time.
Through the people I have known
I've tried to find fulfillment through the people I've met, but it never felt quite right until I met you.
Oh, if you would and you could
I hope that you are able and willing to help me find direction and purpose in my life.
Straighten my new mind's eye.
Guide me towards a clearer understanding of myself and the world around me.
Would you love me for my money
Do you truly love me for who I am, or only for what I can provide financially?
Would you love me for my head
Do you love me for my intellect and ideas, or only for superficial reasons?
Would you love me through the winter
Will you stick by me even during the difficult and challenging times?
Would you love me 'til I'm dead
Will you love and support me until the end of my life, through all its ups and downs?
Come blow your horn on high.
Make your presence known and show the world the love we share.
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: NICK DRAKE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@alanhill4334
I am 76 years old and only discovered Nick Drake by accident a couple of days ago while browsing YouTube. His songs get right inside my head and I can't understand why his music went unremarked for so long.
@daffpranco2513
Because he was pure and true, stupid masses are captivated by shows with musicians who acts....Drake didn’t act, he was a fragile poet, a great composer and musicians
@lindahandley5267
Same here Alan. Hard to believe.
@Longdoggy67
Nick Drake was an amazing musician & composer, but he was not a natural performer on the stage, during a time when touring pubs and clubs was how you made a name for yourself.
@irisrose8503
I discovered him 10 years ago, Micheal Stipe from REM mentioned him as a genius, I fell in love with his songs immediately
@keithburgess9822
Because he never toured, never had hits.
@usfiredancer
One Day brought me here in 2024. ❤
@jenniferlaman70
I can't believe it but I just discovered Nick Drake tonight. What a beautiful soul. Grateful to have found his music. Thank you, Nick
@ignatiusreilly2998
nunca es tarde... en hora buena!
@ThatIanShane
Welcome