‘Cello Song

Nick Drake

The guitar picking in this great tune might be more outstanding than the cello — and both fall second to his lyrics and vocals. To think this young man died in relative obscurity at 24? What a loss. His record deal came as a college student and he released his debut FIVE LEAVES LEFT in ‘69 — which produced this tune along with a brilliant batch of mature songs. Wise and talented beyond his years — unfortunately his depression and drug use increased until asocial tendencies peaked and he OD’d. Accidental or intentional — he was perhaps just too good for this world, because his music showcases such a wide, poetic range of ideas and emotion.

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 see me in the crowd
Lend a hand and lift me
To your place in the cloud