As today is the first Sunday of the month, Jim is giving us an invitation to play a song written or performed by someone born in the month of June. His post, Queen Of The Gods, tells all. There were quite a few possibilities for me this month, but my choice really was a no-brainer: I couldn’t possibly go for anyone else.

That choice is Nick Drake, who was born on 19 June 1948, and sadly passed away from an overdose of prescription medication on 25 November 1974, at the age of just 26. His Wikipedia page tells the full sad story of a troubled life. Nick made three albums in his lifetime, and was believed to be working on a fourth in the months before he died. He has left us a legacy of beautiful music, from which I’m playing three songs, two by Nick himself and one in an amazing cover version. All were written by Nick.

My first choice is probably my favourite of his songs:

And the lyrics, if you need them, can as usual be found at genius.com.

Northern Sky was a track on Nick’s second album, Bryter Layter, which was released in March 1971. It sold fewer than 3,000 copies when first released, and met with mixed reviews from critics – a pattern which was consistent throughout his brief career, which was partly the cause of the depression and stage fright from which he suffered, and which brought about his death. But, like all of his studio albums and three of the seven compilation albums which have been released, it has sold steadily over a long period, and has been certified Gold here in the UK. This track was certified Silver as a single earlier this year, from a 2004 re-release.

Wikipedia says that the song was probably written during Nick’s brief period of living in Hastings with John Martyn and his wife Beverley. According to her, “He wrote that one around us. We had a tree in the garden across the pavement – hence the line, ‘Smelt sweet breezes at the top of a tree.’ The top of the tree came to the window where Nick was, and you could see the full moon on the sea at night.” There has been speculation as for whom the song was written, with Linda Peters (later Linda Thompson) as the most often mentioned candidate. There is no real evidence for this, however, and he was at the time friendly with a number of women, mostly, it is thought, platonic in nature. Whoever was in his mind when he wrote it, I still think it is a beautiful song, probably the most uplifting of all of his tunes – which thought has fuelled the speculation about its subject!

My second song for today is Hazey Jane I, another track from Bryter Layter:

And again, genius.com has the lyrics.

From what I can tell, no one seems entirely sure what this song and its companion piece on the album, Hazey Jane II, are actually about. This one is clearly intended as advice and support for a friend, though who ‘Jane’ was isn’t clear – if she even existed. But it is another lovely song, and very typical of Nick’s work, though one of the interpretations I have found – that it is an ode to the pale ale brand Hazey Jane – is rather more prosaic. I tend to reject that!

As well as its belated sales recognition, Bryter Layter has also been rated at 245 on the 2003 edition of Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. I’d have placed it higher.

My final track for today – the cover version – is a song that wasn’t released in Nick’s lifetime. It first appeared on Time of No Reply, a 1987 compilation album featuring outtakes and alternative versions of some of his songs. It has subsequently appeared on three further compilations: Way To Blue, Made To Love Magic, and A Treasury, all of which have been certified for UK sales, two of them Gold and the other Silver. The song is Black Eyed Dog, and this incredible cover is by my favourite German pagan folk band, Faun:

Lyrics, if you need them, are of course at genius.com.

Black Eyed Dog is thought to be the last song Nick wrote and recorded before his death, and it refers to a phrase used by Sir Winston Churchill to describe his periods of depression. The lyrics are quite brief but they don’t need to say any more: you can feel Nick’s suffering in them. Faun do a wonderful job with the song, and some of the imagery in their video is amazing.

That’s my lot for today. As always, I am grateful to Jim for running the show, and I’m looking forward to seeing who other SLS participants have chosen to play.

Have a lovely day, and I’ll see you again for Tuesday Tunes, I trust 🎶