Jeremy flies
Hoping to keep
The sun from his eyes
East from the city
And down to the cave
In search of a 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
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 for a master
In search for a slave
Nicholas Rodney Drake (19 June 1948 – 25 November 1974) was an English singer-songwriter. An accomplished acoustic guitarist, Drake signed to Island Records at the age of twenty while still a student at the University of Cambridge. His debut album, Five Leaves Left, was released in 1969, and was followed by two more albums, Bryter Layter (1971) and Pink Moon (1972). While Drake did not reach a wide audience during his brief lifetime, his music found critical acclaim and he gradually received wider recognition following his death.
Drake suffered from depression and was reluctant to perform in front of live audiences. Upon completion of Pink Moon, he withdrew from both performance and recording, retreating to his parents' home in rural Warwickshire. On 25 November 1974, Drake was found dead at the age of 26 due to an overdose of antidepressants.
Drake's music remained available through the mid-1970s, but the 1979 release of the retrospective album Fruit Tree allowed his back catalogue to be reassessed. Drake has come to be credited as an influence on numerous artists, including Robert Smith of the Cure, Peter Buck of R.E.M., Kate Bush, Paul Weller, Aimee Mann, Beck, Robyn Hitchcock and the Black Crowes. The first Drake biography appeared in 1997; it was followed in 1998 by the documentary film A Stranger Among Us.
Hell the 'Net was just some Darpa (Defense department) step-child in those days. A small province played in by a subset of college techno-geeks who didn't have a clue the portent of that which they were doing. There certainly wasn't all the various YouTube styled venues by which you could put yourself out there. Maybe there was the Midnight Special....but it catered to that which was promotionally popular and not gypsie vagabound stuff.
To a certain extent this guy must have felt like he was singing, and playing, into a vacuum. Or at best a very small circle of like minded others. It's kind'a sad when you think about how he missed out on being able to ride the wave of enthusiasm that grew up around that which he put out there.
But I suppose it comes to this with all artistic expression. You're not doing it, necessarily, for self-serving reasons. No. You do it because it feels good. You do it because you can't envision not doing it. You do it because something tells you that you have no choice. What you produce is more like your children. You create them; you set them free, and can only hope that the energy you put into producing them will radiate out positively in time, regardless of you being there to witness it, or not.
Just some thoughts.
Highlow
American Net'Zen
And then there's this: Consider that this song is HALF A CENTURY OLD. And yet, it feels as fresh as if it were recorded yesterday.
Music that stands the test of time is rare. So very rare.
But I suppose it comes to this with all artistic expression. You're not doing it, necessarily, for self-serving reasons. No. You do it because it feels good. You do it because you can't envision not doing it. You do it because something tells you that you have no choice. What you produce is more like your children. You create them; you set them free, and can only hope that the energy you put into producing them will radiate out positively in time, regardless of you being there to witness it, or not.
Just some thoughts.
Highlow
American Net'Zen
Good thoughts. I imagine that most of the "folk" musicians of that era (Bert Jansch, John Renbourn, John Martyn, Richard Thompson, etc.) must've often felt as if they were in a very small circle. Given that Drake is reputed to have been withdrawn and depressed, his circle may have seemed even smaller. As you said, artists often don't make art for it to be seen or heard, they often produce it because they feel compelled to do so.
We are so fortunate that he struggled with his depression to give us his 3 albums. He was ahead of his time and almost forgotten. I'm happy VW popularized him. Like fine wine, the soul of his music ages well. We are so fortunate.
Very true. …and it is still SO heart wrenching that he could find no solace in his brilliant creations.
Once had a Yamaha 5 CD carousel player. Loaded it with Drakes 5 CD box set collection when it first came out and listened to nothing else at home for five straight months from November 2001 to March 2002. The lyrics, the finger style guitar, just wow. Wouldn't recommend it though. The depression aspect was very real for me. Beautiful just the same.
Nov-Mar is the time of year in the Pacific NW (Seattle area) that depresses me to tears, though oddly, listening to the 5 discs of Nick's music nonstop during those dark months might be a good thing for folks like me, stepping into the depression instead of trying to fight it.
Oddly, Spring 2022 has been slow to develop, we normally joke "April showers bring May showers" and this year we can add "bring June showers" - as if the weather is as disgruntled as the populace in these crazy times.
All the same, Long Live RP and Nick Drake's evocative, emotional, exceptional music! Heck, +1 to 10 on this one today too.
Good thoughts. I imagine that most of the "folk" musicians of that era (Bert Jansch, John Renbourn, John Martyn, Richard Thompson, etc.) must've often felt as if they were in a very small circle. Given that Drake is reputed to have been withdrawn and depressed, his circle may have seemed even smaller. As you said, artists often don't make art for it to be seen or heard, they often produce it because they feel compelled to do so.
Drake and John Martyn were close friends.
similar open tuning. both exceptional guitarists.