Drake's 'Magic' Saluted On Rarities Set

By Paul Sexton and Jonathan Cohen
Billboard

Nick Drake, the late English artist whose seminal influence is invoked by countless contemporary singer/songwriters, will be the subject of an album of rarities, remixes and unreleased material released due May 24 in the U.K. by Universal/Island.

"Made To Love Magic" spans Drake's early recordings with fellow student and future arranger Robert Kirby at Cambridge University in 1968, through to tracks cut in 1974 that have been remixed by original engineer John Wood as they were meant to be heard. The 13-track set will arrive June 22 in North America.

The album's true rarity is "Tow the Line," a never-before-released track that has not been heard since it was recorded in 1974. Drake died in November of that year at the age of 26 from an overdose of antidepressant medication. Also featured is "Magic," a reworking of one of his earliest songs with a new arrangement by Kirby. This song was released as Drake's first-ever U.K. single on Monday, backed by "Northern Sky," from his second album "Bryter Layter."

"Made To Love Magic" sports an alternate version of "Three Hours" featuring the late "Reebop" Kwaakhu Baah on congas and an unknown musician on flute, recorded two months before the version released on the album "Five Leaves Left." The version of "Hanging on a Guitar" stems from an alternate take with a different vocal. It was while letting this tape run that engineers discovered "Tow the Line."

On Saturday (May 22), BBC Radio 2 will broadcast "Lost Boy -- In Search of Nick Drake," a new documentary hosted by Hollywood star Brad Pitt, who describes himself as a "huge admirer" of his records. "When Radio 2 approached me to get involved in this project, I was delighted to be asked and pleased that I was able to fit it into my schedule," he says.

Drake's profile was raised exponentially in recent years by the use of "Pink Moon" in a 2000 Volkswagen commercial. The album of the same name experienced a huge sales spike afterward, moving more than 73,000 copies in the United States in 2000, according to Nielsen SoundScan, versus the 18,000 copies it sold the previous year. Overall, "Pink Moon" has sold more than 141,000 units since 2001.

Here is the track list for "Made To Love Magic":

"Rider on the Wheel"
"Magic"
"River Man"
"Joey"
"Thoughts of Mary Jane"
"Mayfair"
"Hanging on a Star"
"Three Hours"
"Clothes of Sand"
"Voices"
"Time of No Reply"
"Black Eyed Dog"
"Tow the Line"

Wow, this is going to be great! I heard about this on Bob Harris's BBC Radio 2 show! Nick Drake is one of the most important artists in the singer-songwriter movement, and, after so many years of his work being out of print, I'm glad to see not only the original albums lovingly restored to their original state on CD, but this new collection as well! I'm sure it will be essential for all Nick Drake fans.

Brad Pitt is a Nick Drake fan? Who'd have thought?

Regarding the 2000 Volkswagen commerical - I don't think I ever saw it. I saw the Styx "Mr. Roboto" one, but not the "Pink Moon" one. And I'm a Volkswagen fan - I even have a 2000 Golf! :)

Nick Drake released his debut album, Five Leaves Left, in 1969.

http://www.statinstabili.it/images/musica/Nick_Drake/Copertina%20five%20leaves%20left.jpg

In a year that saw debut albums from Crosby, Stills and Nash, Led Zeppelin, Blind Faith, and Neil Young, Drake's effort got lost in the shuffle. But it's still one of the most powerful debut albums ever made. Standouts include the haunting "Day Is Done" and the plaintive "Time Has Told Me," which features a guest appearance from Fairport Convention's Richard Thompson on electric guitar.

The track listing for Five Leaves Left is as follows:

Side One:

Time Has Told Me
River Man
Three Hours
Way To Blue
Day Is Done

Side Two:

Cello Song
The Thoughts of Mary Jane
Man In a Shed
Fruit Tree
Saturday Sun

(All songs are by Nick Drake.)

Nick Drake's sophomore effort, Bryter Layter, was issued in 1970.

http://www.statinstabili.it/images/musica/Nick_Drake/copertina%20bryter.jpg

A very adventurous album, both musically and lyrically, Bryter Layter was a song cycle of jazz, folk, and R&B influences that drew comparisons to Van Morrison's Astral Weeks. John Cale, Doris Troy, Richard Thompson, and other Fairport Convention members contributed to this album.

The track listing for Bryter Layter is as follows:

Side One:

Introduction (instrumental)
Hazey Jane II
At the Chime Of a City Clock
One Of Things First
Hazey Jane I

Side Two:

Bryter Layter (instrumental)
Fly
Poor Boy
Northern Sky
Sunday (instrumental)

(All songs and instrumentals are by Nick Drake.)

I got An Introduction To Nick Drake a few months ago, and it's great. I'll dive into the proper albums first chance I get.

Glad to hear it! :) I'll be covering 1972's Pink Moon next.

In the meantime, here's a link to the BBC Radio 2 documentary (http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/radio2_aod.shtml?docu3) on Nick Drake that Brad Pitt hosted. Enjoy! :)

Originally posted by Steve M.
In the meantime, here's a link to the BBC Radio 2 documentary (http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/radio2_aod.shtml?docu3) on Nick Drake that Brad Pitt hosted. Enjoy! :)

Excellent! :thumbsup:

Nick Drake released his third and final album, Pink Moon, in 1972.

http://www.statinstabili.it/images/musica/Nick_Drake/Copertina%20Pink%20Moon.jpg

Producer and enigneer John Wood recorded Drake accompanying himself with a guitar or piano, bringing out a crispness and a unvarnished truth to the songs. When it came time to arrange the tracks, Drake insisted that the album be released as is. The result is what you hear today. Pink Moon is as naked, raw, and honest as almost any artist could get.

The track listing for Pink Moon is as follows:

Side One:

Pink Moon
Place To Be
Road
Which Will
Horn (instrumental)
Things Behind the Sun

Side Two:

Know
Parasite
Free Ride
Harvest Breed
From The Morning

(All songs and instrumentals are by Nick Drake.)

Here are the lyrics of the songs from Nick Drake's albums, starting with Five Leaves Left.

Nick Drake's first album opened with "Time Has Told Me."

Time Has Told Me - Nick Drake

Time has told me,
You're a rare, rare find,
A troubled cure
For a troubled mind.

And time has told me
Not to ask for more,
For someday our ocean
Will find its shore.

So I'll leave the ways that are making me be
What I really don't want to be,
Leave the ways that are making me love
What I really don't want to love.

Time has told me
You came with the dawn,
A soul with no footprint,
A rose with no thorn.
Your tears, they tell me
There's really no way
Of ending your troubles
With things you can say.

And time will tell you
To stay by my side,
To keep on trying
'Til there's no more to hide.
So leave the ways that are making you be
What you really don't want to be,
Leave the ways that are making you love
What you really don't want to love.

Time has told me
You're a rare, rare find,
A troubled cure
For a troubled mind.

And time has told me
Not to ask for more,
For someday our ocean
Will find its shore.

River Man - Nick Drake

Betty came by on her way
Said she had a word to say
About things today
And fallen leaves.

Said she hadn't heard the news
Hadn't had the time to choose
A way to lose
But she believes.

Going to see the river man
Going to tell him all I can
About the plan, for lilac time.

If he tells me all he knows
About the way his river flows
And all night shows, in summertime.

Betty said she prayed today
For the sky to blow away
Or maybe stay -
She wasn't sure.

For when she thought of summer rain
Calling for her mind again,
She lost the pain
And stayed for more.

Going to see the river man
Going to tell him all I can
About the ban on feeling free.

If he tells me all he knows
About the way his river flows,
I don't suppose it's meant for me.

Oh, how they come and go.
Oh, how they come and go. . . .

Three Hours - Nick Drake

Three hours from sundown, Jeremy flies,
Hoping to keep the sun from his eyes.
East from the city, and down to the cave,
In search of master in search of a slave.

Three hours from London, Jacomo's free,
Taking his woes down to the sea.
In search of a lifetime to tell when he's home,
In search of a story that's never been known.

Three hours from speaking, everyone's flown.,
Not wanting to be seen on their own.
Three hours is needed to leave from them all,
Three hours to wonder, and three hours to fall.

(REPEAT FIRST VERSE)

Way To Blue - Nick Drake

Don't you have a word to show what may be done?
Have you never heard a way to find the sun?
Tell me all that you may know
Show me what you have to show
Won't you come and say
If you know the way to blue?

Have you seen the land living by the breeze?
Can you understand a light among the trees?
Tell me all that you may know
Show me all you have to show
Tell us all today
If you know the way to blue.

Look through time and find your rhyme
Tell us what you find.
We will wait at your gate,
Hoping like the blind.

Can you now recall all that you have known?
Will you never fall when the light has flown?
Tell me all that you may know
Show me all you have to show
Won't you come and say
If you know the way to blue?

Day Is Done - Nick Drake

When the day is done,
Down to earth then sinks the sun
Along with everything that was lost and won,
When the day is done.

When the day is done,
Hope so much your race will all be run,
Then you find you jumped the gun,
Have to go back where you'd begun,
When the day is done.

When the night is cold,
Some get by but some get old
Just to show life's not made of gold,
When the night is cold.

When the bird has flown,
Got no one to call your own
Got no place to call your home,
When the bird has flown.

When the game's been fought,
You sped your ball across the court
Lost much sooner than you would have thought,
Now the game's been fought.

When the party's through,
Seems so very sad for you.
Didn't do the things you meant to do,
Now there's no time to start anew.
Now the party's through.

When the day is done,
Down to earth then sinks the sun
Along with everything that was lost or won,
When the day is done.

Cello Song - Nick Drake

Strange face, with your eyes
So pale and sincere,
Underneath you know well
You have nothing to fear.
For the dreams that came to you when so young
Told of a life
Where spring is sprung.

You would seem so frail
In the cold of the night
When the armies of emotion
Go out to fight.
But while the earth sinks to its grave
You sail to the sky
On the crest of a wave.

So forget this cruel world
Where I belong,
I'll just sit and wait
And sing my song.
And if one day you should se me in the crowd,
Lend a hand and lift me
To your place in the cloud.

The Thoughts of Mary Jane - Nick Drake

Who can know the thoughts of Mary Jane
Why she files or goes out in the rain
Where she's been, and who she's seen,
In her journey to the stars.

Who can know the reason for her smile
What are her dreams when they've journeyed for a mile
The way she sings, and her birghtly coloured rings,
Make her the princess of the sky.

Who can know what happens in her mind
Did she come from a strange world,
And leave her mind behind?
Her long lost sighs, and her brightly coloured eyes,
Tell her story to the wind.

(REPEAT FIRST VERSE)

Man In a Shed - Nick Drake

Well, there was a man, lived in a shed
Spent most of his days out of his head
For his shed was rotten, let in the rain,
Said it was enough to drive any man insane.
When it rained, he felt so bad,
When it snowed, he felt just simply sad.

Well, there was a girl who lived nearby
Whenever he saw her, he could only simply sigh.
But she lived in a house so very big and grand,
For him it seemd like some very distant land.
So when he called her, his shed to mend,
She said, "I'm sorry, you'll just have to find a friend."

Well, this story is not so new,
But the man is me, yes, and the girl is you.
So leave your house, come into my shed,
Please stop my world from raining through my head.
Please don't think I'm not your sort,
You'll find that sheds are nicer than you thought.

Fruit Tree - Nick Drake

Fame is but a fruit tree,
So very unsound.
It can never flourish
'Til its stock is in the ground.
So men of fame
Can never find a way,
'Til time has flown
Far from their dying day.

(REFRAIN)
Forgotten while you're here
Remembered for a while,
A much updated ruin
From a much updated style.

Life is but a memory,
Happened long ago.
Theatre full of sadness,
For a long forgotten show.
Seems so easy
Just to let it go on by,
'Til you stop and wonder
Why you never wondered why.

Safe in the womb
Of an everlasting night,
You find the darkness can
Give the brightest light.
Safe in your place deep in the earth,
That's when they'll know what you were truly worth.

(REPEAT REFRAIN)

(REPEAT FIRST VERSE)

Fruit tree, fruit tree,
No one knows you but the rain and the air.
Don't you worry,
They'll stand and stare when you're gone.

Fruit tree, fruit tree,
Open your eyes to another year.
They'll all know
That you were here when you're gone.

Saturday Sun - Nick Drake

Saturday sun came early one morning,
In a sky so clear and blue.
Saturday sun came without warning,
So no one knew what to do.

Saturday sun brought people and faces
That didn't seem much in their day
But when I remembered those people and places,
They were really too good in their way.
In their way, in their way. . .
Saturday sun won't come and see me today.

Think about stories with reason and rhyme
Circling through your brain.
And think about people in their season and time
Returning again,
And again, and again. . .
But Saturday's sun has turned to Sunday's rain.

http://www.das-ideenmagazin.de/drake.jpg

Nick Drake's second album, Bryter Layter, was released in 1970. The first track was an unititled musical introduction, followed by "Hazey Jane II." "Hazey Jane I" comes later. :lol:

Hazey Jane II - Nick Drake

And what will happen in the morning when the world it gets so crowded that you can't look out your window in the morning

And what will happen in the evening in the forest with the weasel with the teeth that bite so sharp when you're not looking in the evening

And all the friends that you once knew are left behind that kept you safe and so secure amongst the books and all the records of your lifetime

What will happen,
In the morning,
When the world it gets so crowded that you can't look out your window in the morning?

Hey, take a little while to grow your brother's hair,
And now, take a little while to make your sister fair.
And now that the family is part of a chain
Take off your eyeshade, start over again.

Now take a little while to find our way in here,
Now take a little while to make your story clear.
Now that you're lifting your feet from the ground,
Weigh up your anchor and never look 'round.

Let's sing a song for Hazey Jane
She's back again in my mind,
If songs were lines in a conversation,
The situation would be fine.

At the Chime of a City Clock - Nick Drake

A city freeze, get on your knees,
Pray for warmth and green paper.
A city drought, you're down and out,
See your trousers don't taper.
Saddle up, kick your feet,
Ride the range of a London street
Travel to a local plane
Turn around and come back again.

And at the chime of a city clock,
Put up your road block,
Hang on to your crown.
For a stone in a tin can
Is wealth to the city man
Who leaves his armour down.

Stay indoors beneath the floors,
Talk with neighbours only.
The games you play make people say
You're either weird or you're lonely.
A city star won't shine too far
On account of the way you are,
And the beads around your face
Make you sure to fit back in place.

And at the beat of a city drum
See how your friends come,
In twos, or threes, or more,
For the sound of a busy place
IS fine for a pretty face
Who knows what a face is for.

The city clown will soon fall down,
Without a face to hide in.
And he will lose if he won't choose
The one he may confide in.
Sonny boy with smokes for sale
Went to ground with a face so pale
And never heard about the change,
Showed his hand and fell out of range.

In the light of a city square
Find out a face that's fair,
Keep it by your side.
When the light of the city falls
You fly to the city walls,
Take off with your bride.

But at the chime of the city clock,
Pick up your road block,
Hang on to your crown.
For the stone of a tin can
Is wealth to the city man
Who leaves his armour. . . down.

One of These Things First - Nick Drake

I could have been a sailor, could have been a cook
A real live lover, could have been a book
I could have been a signpost, could have been a clock
As simple as a kettle, steady as a rock
I could be here and now,
I would be, I should be, but how?
I could have been one of these things first,
I could have been one of these things first.

I could have been your pillar, could have been your door
I could have stayed beside you, could hae staed for more
I could have been your statue, could have been your friend
A whole long lifetime could have been the end.
I could be yours so true,
I would be, I should be through and through,
I could have been one of these things first,
I could have been one of things first.

I could have been a whistle, could have been a flute
A real live giver, could have been a boot
I could have been a signpost, could have been a clock
As simple as a kettle, steady as a rock
I could be even here,
I would be, I should be so near,
I could have been one of these things first,
I could have been one of these things first.

Originally posted by Steve M.
One of These Things First - Nick Drake

I could have been a sailor, could have been a cook
A real live lover, could have been a book
I could have been a signpost, could have been a clock
As simple as a kettle, steady as a rock
I could be here and now,
I would be, I should be, but how?
I could have been one of these things first,
I could have been one of these things first.

I could have been your pillar, could have been your door
I could have stayed beside you, could hae staed for more
I could have been your statue, could have been your friend
A whole long lifetime could have been the end.
I could be yours so true,
I would be, I should be through and through,
I could have been one of these things first,
I could have been one of things first.

I could have been a whistle, could have been a flute
A real live giver, could have been a boot
I could have been a signpost, could have been a clock
As simple as a kettle, steady as a rock
I could be even here,
I would be, I should be so near,
I could have been one of these things first,
I could have been one of these things first.

That song is really pretty.

Originally posted by shavelyLBC34
That song ["One of These Things First"] is really pretty.

It is - probably the best song on Bryter Layter! :)

Here's "Hazey Jane I," which comes after "Hazey Jane II" on the record! :lol:

Hazey Jane I - Nick Drake

Do you curse where you come from?
Do you swear in the night?
Will it mean much to you
If I treat you right?
Do you like what you're doing?
Would you do it some more?
Or will you stop once and wonder what you're doing it for?
Hey slow, Jane, make sense,
Slow, slow, Jane, cross the fence.

Do you feel like a remnant
Of something that's past?
Do you find things are moving
Just a little too fast?
Do you hope to find new ways
Of quenching your thirst?
Do you hope to find new ways of doing better than your worst?
Hey slow, Jane, let me prove,
Slow, slow, Jane, we're on the move.

Do it for you
Sure that you would do the same for me one day
So try to be true
Even if it's only in your hazey way.

Can you tell if you're moving
With no mirror to see?
If you're just riding a new man
Looks a little like me.
Is it all so confusing?
Is it hard to believe?
When the winter is coming, can you sign up and leave?
Hey slow, Jane, live your lie,
Slow, slow, Jane, fly on by.

Side two of the original Bryter Layter LP began with the title track, an instrumental, then continued with "Fly," which featured John Cale on viola and harpsichord and Fairport Convention / Jethro Tull member Dave Pegg on bass.

Fly - Nick Drake

Please give me a second grace
Please give me a second face
I've fallen far down the first time around
Now I just sit on the ground in your way.

Now if it's time for recompense for what's done
Come, come sit down on the fence in the sun,
And the clouds will by
And we'll never deny
It's really too hard for to fly.

Please tell me your second name
Please play me your second game
I've fallen so far for the people you are
I just need your star for a day.

So come, come ride in my street car by the bay,
For now I must know how fine you are in your way.
And the sea, sure as I
But she won't need to cry
For it's really too hard for to fly.

Poor Boy - Nick Drake

Never sing for my supper
I never helped my neighbour,
Never do what is proper
For my fair share of labour.

I'm a poor boy
And I'm a rover
Count your coins, and
Throw the over my shoulder,
I may grow older.

Nobody knows how cold it grows,
And nobody sees how shaky my knees.
Nobody cares how steep my stairs,
And nobody smiles if I cross their stiles.

Oh, poor boy
So sorry for himself
Oh, poor boy
So woried for his health.

You may say every day,
"Where will he stay tonight?"

Never know what I came for
Seems that I've forgotten
Never ask what I cma efrom,
Or how I was begotten.
I'm a poor boy,
And I'm a ranger
Things I say
May seem stranger than Sunday
Changing to Monday.

Nobody knows how cold it flows,
Abd nobody feels the worn down heels.
Nobody's eyes make the skies,
Nobody spreads their aching heads.

Oh, poor boy
So worried for his life
Oh, poor boy
So keen to take a wife.

He's a mess, but he'll say yes,
If you just dress in white.

Nobody knows how cold it grows,
And nobody sees how shaky my knees.
Nobody cares how steep my stairs
And nobody smiles if you cross their stiles.

Oh, poor boy,
So sorry for himself
Oh, poor boy,
So worried for his health.

You may say every day,
"Where will he stay tonight?"

Oh, poor boy,
So worried for his life
Oh, poor boy,
So keen to take a wife.

Oh, poor boy,
So sorry for himself
Oh, poor boy,
So worried for his health.
Oh, poor boy. . . .

Northern Sky - Nick Drake

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.

I've been a long time that I'm waiting,
Been a long time that I'm blown.
I've been a king time that I've wandered,
Through the people that I've 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 throughthe winter?
Would you love me 'til I'm dead?
Oh, if you would and you could,
Come blow your horn on high.

(REPEAT FIRST VERSE)

http://www.hotshotdigital.com/WellAlwaysRemember/NickDrake.Images/nickdrake-1.jpg

(Bryter Layter closed with "Sunday," an instrumental.)

Nick Drake's third album, Pink Moon, was released in 1972. It was starker and moodier than his previous work. The title song kicked it off.

Pink Moon - Nick Drake

I saw it written and I saw it say,
Pink moon is on its way.
None of you stand so tall,
Pink moon gonna get ye all,
And it's a pink moon,
Yea, it's a pink moon.

Pink, pink, pink, pink. . . pink moon.
Pink, pink, pink, pink. . . pink moon.

(REPEAT FIRST VERSE ONCE)

Place To Be - Nick Drake

When I was young, younger than before,
I never saw the truth hanging from my door.
And now I'm older, see it face to face,
And now I'm older, gotta get up, clean the place.

And I was green, greener than the hill,
Where flowers grew and the sun shone still.
Now I'm darker than the deepest sea,
Just hand me down, give me a place to be.

And I was strong, strong i nthe sun,
I thought I'd see when day was done.
Now I'm weaker than the palest blue,
Oh, so weak in this need for you.

Road - Nick Drake

You can say the sun is shining if you really want to,
I can see the moon and it seems so clear.
You can take the road that takes you to the stars now,
I can take a road that'll see me through.
I can take a road that'll see me through.

You can take the road that takes you to the stars now,
I can take a road that'll see me through.
I can take a road that'll see me through.
I can take a road that'll see me through.

Which Will - Nick Drake

Which will you go for?
Which will you love?
Which will you choose from,
From the stars above?
Which will you answer?
Which will you call?
Which will you take for
For your one and all?
And tell me now. . .
Which will you love best?

Which do you dance for?
Which makes you shine?
Which will you choose now,
If you won't choose mine?
Which will you hope for?
Which can it be?
Which will take you now
If you won't take me?
And tell me now. . .
Which will you love best?

Originally posted by Steve M.
Nick Drake's third album, Pink Moon, was released in 1972. It was starker and moodier than his previous work. The title song kicked it off.

Pink Moon - Nick Drake

I saw it written and I saw it say,
Pink moon is on its way.
None of you stand so tall,
Pink moon gonna get ye all,
And it's a pink moon,
Yea, it's a pink moon.

Pink, pink, pink, pink. . . pink moon.
Pink, pink, pink, pink. . . pink moon.

(REPEAT FIRST VERSE ONCE) I remember that song from a car commercial

Originally posted by "Weird" Jack Wilso-vic
I remember that song from a car commercial

I know it's from a Volkswagen ad, but I'll be damned if I remember seeing it - and I'm a big VW nut! (I own a 2000 Golf.) I got into Nick Drake because Steve Harley devoted his entire show on the BBC's Radio 2 to Nick Drake's music one week last year. :)

"Which Will" was followed by "Horn," a brief instrumental. This led to. . .

Things Behind the Sun - Nick Drake

Please beware of them that stare
They'll only smile to see you while
Your time away,
And once you've seen what they have been
To win the earth just won't seem worth
Your night or your day.
Who'll hear what I say?
Look around, you find the ground
Is not so far from where you are
But don't be to wise,
For down below they never grow,
Thet're always tired and charms are hired
From out of their eyes,
Never surprise.
Take your time and you'll be fine
And say a prayer for people there
Who live on the floor,
And if you see what's meant to be
Don't name the day or try to say
It happened before.
Don't be shy, you learn to fly
And see the sun when day is done
If only you see
Just what you are beneath a star
That came to stay one rainy day
In autumn for free
Yes, be what you'll be.
Please beware of them that stare
They'll only smile to catch you while
Your time away,
And once you've seen what they have been,
To win the earth just won't seem worth
Your night or your day.
Who'll hear what I say?
Open up the broken cup,
Let goodly sin and sunshine in.
Yes, that's today,
And open wide the hymns you hide,
You'l find renown while people frown
At things that you say.
But say whay you'll say
About the farmers and the fun,
And the things behind the sun,
And the poepl 'round your head,
Who say everything's been said,
And the movement in your brain
Sends you out into the rain.

(End of side one of the original vinyl record.)

Side Two of Pink Moon began with a very short song:

Know - Nick Drake

Know that I love you,
Know I don't care.
Know that I see you,
Know I'm not there.

Parasite - Nick Drake

Lifting the mask from a local clown
And feeling down like him,
Seeing the light in a station bar
And travelling far in sin.
Sailing downstairs to the northern line
Watching the shine of their shoes,
Hearing the trails of the people there -
Who's to care if they lose?
Take a look, you may see me on the ground,
For I am the parasite of this town.

Dancing a jig in a church with chimes
A sign of the times today,
Hearing no bell from the steeple tall,
People all in dismay.
Falling so far on a silver spoon,
Making the moon for fun.
Changing a rope for a size too small,
People all get hung.
Take a look, you may see em coming through,
For I am the parasite who travels two by two.

When lifting the mask from a local clown
And feeling down like him,
And I'm seeing the light in a station bar,
And I'm travelling far in sin.
And I'm sailing downstairs to the northern line
Watching the shine of the shoes.
Anfd hearing the trials of the people there -
Who's to care if they lose?
Take a look, you may se me on the ground,
For I am the parasite of this town.

And take a look, you may see me in the dirt,
For I am the parasite who hangs from your skirt.

Free Ride - Nick Drake

I know you,
I care, too.
I see through
All of the pictures that you hang on the wall,
All of the people that will come ot the ball.
But hear me calling, won't you give me. . .
A free ride?
Hear me calling, won't you give me. . .
A free ride?

I know, too,
What you do
When you're through
Counting the cattle as they go by the door,
Keeping a carpet that's so thick by the floor.
But hear me calling, won't you give me. . .
A free ride?
Hear me calling, won't you give me. . .
A free ride?

(REPEAT FIRST VERSE)

Harvest Breed - Nick Drake

Falling fast and falling free,
You look to find a friend.
Falling fast and falling free,
This could just be the end.

Falling fast, you stoop to touch
And kiss the flowers that bend,
And you're ready now
For the harvest breed.

From the Morning - Nick Drake

A day once dawned, and it was beautiful,
A day once dawned from the ground.
Then the night, she fell,
And the air was beautiful
The night, she fell all around.

So look, see the days,
The endless coloured ways,
And go play the game that you learnt
From the morning.

And now we rise,
And we are everywhere,
And now we rise from the ground.
And see she flies
And she is everywhere,
See, she flies all around.
So look, see the sights,
The endless summer nights,
And go play the game that you learnt
From the morning.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/gloucestershire/music/2003/09/images/reviews/nick_drake_150.jpg

And there you have the full lyrics from Nick Drake's original three albums. It was worth the effort to spread his artistry further.

This thread, of course, started as an announcement about the release of the Made To Love Magic rarities album. I've since gotten it, and I'll have a song-by-song review of that in a new thread. Watch for it.

Meanwhile. . . the pink moon is on its way.