Nick Drake "Riverman"

Here's a song that helps you improve your listening skills as well as your vocabulary.

Nick Drake

His life

Nicholas Rodney "Nick" Drake (19 June 1948 - 25 November 1974) was an English singer-songwriter and musician. 

Although he failed to find a wide audience during his lifetime, Drake's work has gradually achieved wider notice and recognition, to the point that he now ranks among the most influential English singer-songwriters of the last 50 years.

Best known for the sombre pieces composed on his primary instrument, the guitar, Drake was also proficient at piano, clarinet and saxophone.

Drake signed to Island Records when he was 20 years old and released his debut album, Five Leaves Left, in 1969. By 1972, he had recorded two more albums – Bryter Layter and Pink Moon. None of the albums sold more than 5,000 copies on their initial release.

Drake suffered from depression and insomnia throughout his life, and these topics were often reflected in his lyrics. 

Upon completion of his third album, 1972's Pink Moon, he withdrew from both live performance and recording, retreating to his parents' home in rural Warwickshire. 

On 25 November 1974, Drake committed suicide. He died from an overdose of amitriptyline, a prescribed antidepressant; he was 26 years old.

“During the early Eighties, I drifted away from the music scene. When I returned, I was surprised to find that Nick Drake was becoming famous."

- Ian Mac Donald (British music critic and author)

There were no press conferences, documentaries or compilation albums in the wake of Drake's death. However, at the end of the 1980s his reputation started growing, and Nick Drake's name was appearing regularly in newspapers and music magazines in the United Kingdom. Although he was still largely a cult figure, he was no longer unknown. Drake had come to represent a kind of mythical, mysterious, enigmatic and romantic musician. 

Discography 

Five Leaves Left (1969) / Bryter Layter (1970) / Pink Moon (1972) 

All three albums are in "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" by the Rolling Stone Magazine.

A Listen to the song and fill in the gaps by writing down the words on a sheet of paper. Then, check your answers here.

Betty came by on her way, 
said she had a __________ to say
about things today and the __________

Said she hadn't heard __________, 
hadn't had the time to choose a way to lose 
what she __________
Gonna see the river man
Gonna tell him all I can about __________
for lilac time
If he tells me all he knows
about the way his river __________
and __________ 
in summertime

Betty said she prayed today for the sky to __________

Or maybe stay, she wasn't __________
For when she thought of summer end
Calling for __________ again
She lost the pain, and stayed for __________

Gonna see the river man

Gonna tell him all I can 
about the ban on ___________
If he tells me all he knows
about the way his river flows
I don't __________ 
there's one __________

Oh how they come and go
Oh how they come and go

B In your own words: What’s the song about? How does the singer feel? What actors would you choose for the video making? What place? Post your answers in the comment section.

C Find out the meaning of the underlined words in the biography. Post your answers in the comment section.