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
Forgotten while you’re here
Remembered for a while
A much updated ruin
From a much outdated style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
deep in the earth
That’s when they’ll know
what you were truly worth
what you were truly worth
Forgotten while you’re here
Remembered for a while
A much updated ruin
From a much outdated style
Fame is but a fruit tree
So very unsound
It can never flourish
‘til it’s stock is in the ground
So men of fame
Can never find a way
‘til time has flown
Far from their dying day
Fruit tree, fruit tree
No one knows you
but the rain and the air
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
Nick Drake
The John Peel Session+
1968-71
01 Time of No Reply
02 River Man
03 Three Hours
04 Bryter Layter
05 Cello Song
06 Time Has Told Me
07 Fly
08 Hazey Jane I
09 Place to Be
10 Parasite
11 Day Is Done
12 Saturday Sun
Total time: 44:44
Nick Drake - guitar, piano & vocals
unidentified, possibly Lyn Dobson - flute
Tracks 01-05: John Peel session, BBC Studios, London UK 8.5.1969, aired 8.6.1969 & 9.24.1969
sourced from the single sided 10" LP included with the 2014 book "Remembered for a While"
Track 06: unidentified studio, London UK 1969
Tracks 07-12: various home recordings, Tanworth-In-Arden & London UK 1968-71
Tracks 06-12 sourced from the 2014 bootleg silver CD "A Day Gone By" on the Rover Records label
all tracks slightly remastered, repaired and -- where necessary -- speed corrected by EN, June 2019
136 MB FLAC/June 2019 archive link
Some people. They want the world to hear what they have to say more than anything, but they can't become worldwide legends until their stock is in the ground.
What makes it worth it is the numbers. He would have been just 71 today, but when you can't even sell 15,000 records during your brief life -- yet somehow sell 15 million after it's over -- these numbers and the brevity of this flash of the spirit cease to have real meaning, and you understand that it's all about what you did for the people you'd never meet.
Nick Drake only made those three LPs -- one just 28 minutes long -- and no one cared. He ended his life at 26, never to know how what he perceived as total failure and what made him give up on living would take time to percolate into a legend galaxies beyond what he could have imagined.
Please enjoy this rare glimpse into the private world of one of the most beloved musicians of our lifetimes, whose songs and style will never be outdated and will never need updating. If only he could know how it all turned out for him, and us.--J.
6.19.1948 - 11.25.1974
Thank you EN !
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